"Chimping": why the derogatory connotation?

sanaka

A fellow noob has made a good inquiry about photog lingo in this thread.

It made me think about my recent attempt to understand the term "chimping"

Apparently, this is the behavior of examining your shot right after it's taken on the camera's LCD. This ability is the whole reason I'm getting into photography again after selling my film rig years ago. Since my first digital P&S in 2003, I've been composing shots on the LCD, and getting to see immediately more or less how they come out. To my mind, this is THE central paradigm shift in terms of developing one's shooting skills, and just plain enjoying photography, that has occured with digital.

Having got a dSLR a few weeks ago, I am now readjusting again, sort of translating what I (hope I) have learned about composing back to the eye-to-the-viewfinder paradigm. But being able to review shots immediately afterwards is still at least as vital.

It seems some people think this practice is silly, or the mark of lame photographic skills. Why?

(Sanaka realizes that he has probably just irrefutably revealed his silliness and lame photgraphic skills...)

Oh, and why the heck is it called "chimping?"


Peace,
Sanaka

SloYerRoll

Look at the back of the LCD and say OOO OO OOOOO!!! When you get a good shot.

I chimp all the time. But I never look at the image itself. I just look at the RGB histogram. But there's nothing wrong w/ looking at the images either

Don't let any comments stop you from looking at your LCD. It's instant feedback on how well or poor your shot is.

CHIMP ON!!

darkdragon

Funny you posted this, I just read Shay's post about Chimping on Friday (read it friday, its much older).

I think chimping is important when conditions change. Say the sun gets cloudcover - if you are shooting manual you will probably have to adjust settings. Of course anyone shooting on "green box" mode wouldn't really benefit as much from chimping.
I don't make the noises, but I do check the LCD to find out how close my exposure is when in new situations.

Anyway, here it is http://www.digitalgrin.com/showpost.php?p=115633&postcount=4

sanaka

SloYerRoll said, in part:

Look at the back of the LCD and say OOO OO OOOOO!!! When you get a good shot.

Aha! Well, there is the source of my bewilderment right there: Real chimping entails actually getting a shot good enough to be excited about

Thanks, darkdragon, that is a good and encouraging post from Shay.

Peace,
Sanaka

aktse

And this video clip from sportsshooter is also pretty good intro on chimping.

Icebear

aktse wrote:

And this video clip from sportsshooter is also pretty good intro on chimping.

Worth every second!!!

Oh, and the biggest reason I've found against indiscriminate (excessive) chimping is that I miss good shots while looking at crappy ones.

DonnaLu

Is a good thang!
I stopped chimping over the LCD a loooong time ago. I get a good idea of what I've got from the highlight & histogram views, but until I see it on my monitor, I don't get excited.

I've said before that I chimp every time I use my Gitzo/BH40 rig & it's true.

I chimped big time when I first held my D300 and many times afterward as I'm learning the features.

My husband has learned that if I chimp while he's driving, it means "photo op!!" and he needs to find a place to stop or turn around immediately.

I chimp when I think of cheesecake from Lindy's.

But that's just me. I never had kids so in a way, I never grew up. It's all good.

*no chimpin smuggy......poo! *

Tango

im sure im not the only one...but chimping corrected what i was doing wrong in camera....

someone calls me a chimper i just tell them, big deal...i can always stop chimping but they have to live with that stupid look on their face....

eL eSs Vee

Yeah, I chimp from time to time: Anytime the lighting changes and, sometimes, just to look or edit. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. My reason? . . .

Back in the days of film, chimping was done with Polaroids. Many professional photographers would use them to check lighting ratios, exposure and composition, particularly in the studio. Ansel Adams used 16X20 Polaroids when shooting his landscapes. Imagine shaking those dry!

I see no reason for digital to be any different. I mean, some art directors like to see results as soon as the picture is shot so that they'll know they're getting what they need, so Teathered Shooting was invented. Teathered shooting is but a way for you and your client to "chimp" during the shoot.

So if it's good enough for the pros and their clients. . . .

Richard

I don't pay much attention to the preview image other than to check for blinking blown highlights, but I do look at the histogram. In general, I only do this at the beginning of shooting a scene to make sure the exposure is correct, or if the light suddenly changes. Very rarely, I will zoom in on the preview to check the DOF. Whatever will help you get better pics is fine, including chimping, so don't worry about it. If you are interested, there is a fairly decent explanation of the term in the Wiki.

SloYerRoll

Icebear wrote:

Worth every second!!!

Oh, and the biggest reason I've found against indiscriminate (excessive) chimping is that I miss good shots while looking at crappy ones.

Ya, those houses can really move pretty quick on you if you chimp too much...
(j/k John )

gus

Chimping is my histogram...my ETTL correction... my exposure settings checker... my composition reviewer...checks my ISO requirements..shortens my time in bridge by deletion... suggests luminosity for next shot...my filter advisor..etc etc etc etc

its all good.

Scott_Quier

My take on chimping ....

It is a goodness - something to do in preparing for the shoot. To make sure that I've dialed the camera in correctly for the conditions. Chimping is a tool and, my view, one's refusal to avail one's self of any and all useful tools to bring in the best product possible is ... well ... less then wise.

During the event, and most of my photography, is event shooting, I'm shooting the action being fairly sure I've got the light more or less figured out. Once the action stops/slows down (and it always does), then I look for blinkies and histogram to correct for the next set of action.

When shooting IR, I ALWAYS chimp the histogram because the light meter in my 20D is not well suited to measuring the intensity of the the IR spectrum (hmmm, strange that). So, when I'm shooting something stationary, I will take a shot, chimp, then adjust my settings for the next one. For moving action - and I've done a couple of those as well - set it up early and hope the IR intensity doesn't change a lot over the course of the action. When the action slows down, chimp the last couple to make appropriate adjustments.

thebigsky

Perhaps the point is, why worry what other people think, it's the results that count, not how you went about achieving them?

Charlie

cmason

I think the holy sin in chimping is missing a better shot. If you are looking at your LCD, you are not looking at your subject.

cmorganphotography

eL eSs Vee wrote:

Teathered Shooting was invented. Teathered shooting is but a way for you and your client to "chimp" during the shoot.

So if it's good enough for the pros and their clients. . . .

hear! Hear! Models like to know that they are doing stuff right and everytime I've photographed someone I've shown them something that made me say "yeah! go us!" and then they appreciate it. Plus, it shows them what I'm looking for, if I got excited because they smiled or kissed or got a sad, beautiful look on their face... they magically start doing that more for more positive squeals and peals of laughter on my part.

I don't have any kids either, and I just get worse around little kids. I don't see myself growing up much if I have a kid either, who doesn't like to build forts and play make believe? [maybe... don't answer that... ]

cmorganphotography

SloYerRoll wrote:

Ya, those houses can really move pretty quick on you if you chimp too much...
(j/k John )

House hunting is a serious sport, Man. Those things can book it if they think you're onto them.

colourbox

sanaka wrote:

Oh, and why the heck is it called "chimping?"

I don't know if this is the real reason, but I always thought it was because of the way you now see photographers bob their heads up and down all the time. Down to the LCD, up to the subject, down to the LCD, up to the subject...like a bunch of chimps eating bananas, you know?

In the old days of film, we used to just keep our eye in the viewfinder on the subject, there was no reason to pull away and check out the back of the camera every 3 frames, except maybe to adjust the dials or something.

sanaka

I'm glad I asked about this!

It turns out to be a quite entertaining subject, whatever the views!

It's obviously silly to obsess over every shot when the scene is changing too fast to be able to reshoot or do anything about it. But otherwise, I'd proudly wear a Planet of the Chimps Tshirt any day. The 3" LCD was a big reason I wanted the XSi over the XT.

I'm strongly drawn to phtography even though I don't consider myself as having a strong natural talent for it. I want my photgraphy to improve, and I've never gotten good at anything by contemplating that I am at such-and-such level of proficiency. I study a number of crafts, and hopefully it's my proficiency as a student that always improves. "Chimping" seems an invaluable learning aid.

But not as much as hanging out here!

Me > < All you guys

Peace,
Sanaka

dogwood

Another use for chimping-- show the shot to your subject.

I mostly shoot models and what I like to do when we first start is shoot a few frames, then stop and show them the images. It gives them confidence that I know what I'm doing-- plus they can see how the light is complimenting them. Otherwise, a model has no idea you've geled the kicker and you're getting a cool shadow on their left and all that.

Once we establish all that, then I rarely look at the LCD while we're shooting.

cmorganphotography

dogwood wrote:

Another use for chimping-- show the shot to your subject.

I mostly shoot models and what I like to do when we first start is shoot a few frames, then stop and show them the images. It gives them confidence that I know what I'm doing-- plus they can see how the light is complimenting them. Otherwise, a model has no idea you've geled the kicker and you're getting a cool shadow on their left and all that.

Once we establish all that, then I rarely look at the LCD while we're shooting.

Same here! I'm glad I'm not the only one!

pathfinder

Lots of pros shoot tethered in the stdio so that they can see exactly what they are capturing. SO I don't feel bad at all looking at the LCD from time to time.

But one should be aware, that if you are shooting sports, news, events, etc you may miss an important moment while admiring your LCD...... TINSTAAFL and all that.


But saying Oooohh, OOOOOh, OOOOH!! is a little over the top and should only be done in the privacy of your own home.

Manfr3d

I guess you've seen the hilarius Chimping Exposed video at sportsshooters.com ?:
http://www.sportsshooter.com/special_feature/chimping/index.html

rutt

Chimps are among the smartest animals, so I don't see this as a derogatory term at all. Instead, it's sort of a compliment.

Manfr3d

rutt wrote:

Chimps are among the smartest animals, so I don't see this as a derogatory term at all. Instead, it's sort of a compliment.

Yes especialy because chimps are smarter than most humans

Slinky0390

Like many have said before, whatever helps you get the shot perfect. Just remember that a crap shot could look good on a 2 inch screen. So I guess they're talking about the people that "OOOOO and AHHHH" over their pictures on their 2 inch lcd screen.

darkdragon

Slinky0390 wrote:

Like many have said before, whatever helps you get the shot perfect. Just remember that a crap shot could look good on a 2 inch screen. So I guess they're talking about the people that "OOOOO and AHHHH" over their pictures on their 2 inch lcd screen.

Mine is 3", thank you very much.