I don’t know why they don’t make the shutter automatically close when you take the lens off?

Good light is subjective, as is it’s appreciation.

For me I like certain types of light for certain types of subjects. Take sunlight for example. Generally my rule of thumb with sunlight is that the closer it is to the horizon the better the quality of light, especially in regard to portraits or landscapes.

If I was to shoot a portrait of a person in the middle of summer in the sunshine at midday day, that in my opinion would be poor light for the subject. The high angle of the light would cast shadows under the nose and the chin and the cheeks and the eye sockets. Terrible light.

On the other hand if they were standing under a tree the light would be so much softer on their face and would reveal their features in a much more flattering way. Better still, if I were to photograph them at sundown where the light is horizontal or just after sundown where the light is particularly soft that would be nice flattering light in my opinion.

Light can be soft and cast graduated shadows on the subject or it can be hard and cast very sharp shadows. Soft light comes from a broad light source, like an overcast sky or light filtering in to a room through a window. Haed light is cast from a small light source, by direct Sun or a spotlight or direct flash.

So a broad light source is soft, a point light source is hard. That is the quality of the light. Not to be confused with the quantity of light.

To get a feel for it try this: Create hard (point source) or soft (broard source) light and use it to illuminate a subject to see the result. Light stuff from the top or the front or the sides. See what it does. If you can’t create the light find it and do the same thing.

I hope this is helpful. I could add so much more. If you have any questions or need clarity feel free to ask.

Ahh yes, you will get flare at an almost 90 degree angle to the sun if you have a filter on because it’s further forward than the lens itself.

I shoot a few portraits and probably 75% of them are backlit so there’s potential for flair to get on my lenses a lot of the time.

So I have three tiers of lens shading to keep sun off my filter. The first is a lens hood. If, due to the angle, the lens hood doesn’t stop sunlight or other bright light striking the filter I take off my cap or hat (which I always wear on a shoot for this single purpose) and hold it at the end of the lens would to shade the lens.

Then, if it’s still not enough shade I have an assistant or a bystander hold a black card which I have on a stick and ask them to shade the lens with that. Regulars have become very adept at wielding the card on a stick! Then sometimes when I’m going for a strong rim light I will shoot right into the sun and in that situation I remove the filters.

I find it’s imperative to take the filters off when I’m shooting at night because any bright light will reflect off the inside of the filter causing bright spots in undesirable places. So that’s pretty well any nighttime light source.

If I damage a lens, for me that wouldn’t be disaster either. But it would be a financial inconvenience. Then there’s also downtime for the time it takes to replace or repair the lens. And on top of that there’s the boss (my wife) to take into account!

Is it necessary, is it even helpful in a studio. I assume the beep goes off when the lens stops hunting because it finds focus!

I have to say that I have never checked mine with a loupe but occasionally I do clean my actual lens glass (I find those lens pens are very good) and have only ever had one small spec on one lens (200 2.8). It was very minor, but it was there.

I don’t spare my equipment and risk it a bit. I find having fulters on my lenses allows me to operate in situations where I might not otherwise - like in crowded situations where i might get a scratch, thumb print or some liquid spilt on it. Or dusty environments etc.

Also, when the tempo of a shoot picks up I occasionally put lenses in my camera bag or jacket with no lenscap on (I always manage to get the rear caps on). It’s not hard to get a scuff on an uncovered lens in that situation.

I must admit that I have never taken side by side shots with the filter on and off to compare the results. I think I will do that to see how much difference it makes.

You seemed to miss my point. The filter cost $40 to replace, which I do when it needs replacing.

People who leave the focus confirmation beep on!

I have always put a filter on my lenses and I have replaced many over the years. There are situations where I take them off where flair or reflections are an issue but otherwise they stay on.

I have always used a uv filter on my lenses. It’s not necessary to protect against dropping or other impacts although sometimes it helps with that too.

The main reason is that the $40 filter takes the wear and scrapes rather than the $2K lens - you have to be careful cleaning the actual lens and it takes time. Also, whenever you clean the lens you erode the coating and risk scratching it. Meanwhile you can scrub a filter clean with a tissue while on the go. The upshot is that I’m confident to deploy my cameras in risky situations and clean if they get dirty.

There are times when I take them off to reduce flare and reflection.

I have an R7 and I don’t have this problem with the dials. Are you bumping stuff on the touch screen with your nose or something similar?

I must add that I have a mix of OEM and AM batteries from several older cameras, as well as the new Canon ones, that I use in it and they make no difference in that regard.

Bullshit!

I am part of a group who collab regularly, with 2 or 3 photographers, a MUA and 1 or 2 assistants and a model. Everyone gets tagged in every image posted. The creator of the image first, then the MUA, then the model, then the collab photographers, then the assistants.

It is beyond rude to not credit you for your images and is stealing imo.

I think a lot of people don’t understand the effect focal length has on an image. I also think a lot of creators can struggle with differentiation when it comes to perks for supporters as opposed to viewers. So there might be some value in that. However, I think if that information were part of the content the creator would get much more value from the content possibilities.

So, I wouldn’t call it wired, but it is maybe a little desperate and misguided.

I haven’t photograph sport for a few years now but I never used to use all the focus points when photographing sport. I usually use just the five in the center or even the single fine one in the dead center. I think that’s your problem.

If you want to convey a message in photos you need to include the subject, of course, but also elements which support the narrative.

If I want to photograph a person in context I try to get stuff in either the foreground or background to help establish that context.

Sometimes just a photo of the person themselves without the background is enough to convey a message.

When I want to include the foreground, but especially the background, to support the subject I use a wide angle lens. I move in close to the subject so they are large in the frame and I choose an angle that includes relevant elements in the background, or foreground.

If I want to exclude the background because it is not relevant or is distracting I use a longer lens. I will choose an angle that has the least intrusive background.

So the rule of thumb here is: Step in zoom out, to include the background or foreground. Step back zoom in to exclude the background or foreground.

I’m not sure if this is what you’re looking for but I hope it helps.