Chimping refers to the habit of some photographers of checking every photo on the camera display immediately after capture. Chimp is an acronym for CHeck IMage Preview.
It is sometimes used in a derogatory sense to describe the actions of amateur photographers, but that’s really narrow minded because professional and experienced photographers do that all the time.
Well, not for every photo they shoot, but for every important photo, say, the first of a series, to ensure proper exposure, white balance and composition. They review that image on-camera, make any necessary adjustments, shoot another test shot, adjust again until they are satisfied. Then they shoot away, confident that the exposure is correct and all they need to concentrate on is taking pictures.
Chimping is all the more important these days because the display screens on many digital cameras often show a much better image than you may have captured.
Many screens adjust intensity automatically depending on the ambient light and the smaller area often show your pictures as sharp when a closer look (using the magnification feature) often reveals out-of-focus or blurred areas.
You don’t have to chimp every shot you take. If you’re early for a photo shoot session (even if it is your child’s birthday party), take a few test shots and chimp them to see if there’s enough lighting, whether you need to use a lower or higher ISO, whether a tripod is warranted, whether you turned on Image Stabilization, if you need to adjust white balance, if you need to use flash, if the histogram is to your liking, and if you are using the appropriate lens for the setting. Or, simply, if the picture looks good! Then when you have made all adjustments, you can be pretty confident that you can shoot away and not appear [too] amateurish.
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