Shutter Actuations, Shooting without Scouting, Flash Triggers, Purple Cow, and more! [Podcast]

Summary: In Episode 27 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about shutter actuations, metering, flash triggers, and more. If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 27 [0:30] Jim's Random Thoughts Insulation reflector board - check out this article Jim wrote called 9 Weird Photography Tricks that Actually Work to see a description of what this is and where you can use it. (Also check out the rest of the article for the other 8 weird but awesome photography tips!) Jim says he may not be using his 5-in-1 reflector much any more now that he has this! It's super light, and it's stiff so it won't flop around when you hold it up. It's also large enough to cover two people, or a full-body shot of one person. The Purple Cow by Seth Godin - it's a business book (nothing necessarily to do with photography) but Jim highly recommends it. Reading this book has made Jim think a lot about his photography and how it seems that so many photographers are doing exactly the same thing as every other photographer out there. Eventually, seeing something that was beautiful just becomes "normal" when that's what you always see. Photos are getting pretty predictable now. Take some time to look for ideas, and use your creativity to start doing something different that will get noticed. Dustin points out that your idea doesn't have to be completely unheard of or so original that nobody can believe it. Perhaps just try something that is more rare and less common and see what you can do with that. [12:19]  How do I find out the shutter count of my camera? Canon really hides this in most of their cameras, so if you can't find it or if you would just like to know the shutter count of your camera, you can download a free utility called EOSInfo from astrojargon.net to find out how many shutter actuations your camera has (this utility is Windows only). This utility supports most of the Canon models. (Dustin says in the menu of the 6D you can find the shutter count, but most other Canons don't offer this feature.) Nikon cameras put this information right in the Exif data of any photo you take. For Nikon cameras, use any Exif reader to see the shutter actuations (and all the rest of the metadata). Most consumer cameras are rated to 100,000 shutter actuations (though they can go longer than that, just like a car). Pro cameras are rated between 150,000 and 300,000 shutter actuations. If you're buying a used camera, you will want to check to see how many actuations are left. [15:11] Do you have tips for taking photos in a location where the lights are always changing (something like a dance club)? Shoot in Manual mode. Usually indoors you will need a fast shutter speed (as fast as you can get), with the lowest f/stop you can support.