Composing P/S style

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I am sure everyone here already made some jokes about the typical P/S users taking a photo. They stare on the monitor of the camera in a more or less elegant pose. I recently bought a Canon powershot G10 as a companion to my "real" camera and a big concern was, if I would feel comfortable with taking pictures that way.
At the moment I am astonished how much I like composing with the monitor of the camera. Looks stupid but really helps me composing the picture. First I have to say that I am not really good in pre-visualising a picture. When I see a nice landscape/cityscape I often have no clue if it could work as a 2-dimensional photo. Even the viewfinder is sometimes not so helpful for me. With my DSLR or RF I compose with the viewfinder. After taking the picture I look at the preview and sometimes instantly see that this won't work. I didn't notice this while looking through the finder. With my G10 I look at the screen and not directly at the scene. To my surprise this helps me to see immediately if this composition is OK.

Thought about it for a while but found no explanation for that. Perhaps I am just a bad photographer and do not deserve to own more than a P/S :rolleyes:

Did anyone else here experience this?
 
Doesn't make you a bad photographer in any way. The "correct" way of working is the one that lets you create the images you want.
 
Makes sense to me. I am pretty sure I compose best when looking through the waist level viewfinder of a medium format camera, which has some similarities with looking at the screen on the rear of a digital compact.
 
I do the same thing. I took my old Sony on vacation and, after two days, realized I was not using the viewfinder at all but using the monitor. Now, with my G9, I only use the finder for a quick shot.
It does look silly when a group of tourists are holding their cameras at arms length but the system works just fine.
 
The large screens on the back of digicams are really a major advantage of the technology, I reckon. Until it comes to focusing. Then they're useless.

Spotted this fella in Prague.


Prague Castle, Czech Republic. November 2003.

Not sure if the window was mimicking him.

Cheers, Paul.
 
The only problem with composing this way is that the camera is less steady than when clamped against the head in the traditional way.

I've noticed my shots (with a film compact) tend to be sharper than anything my friends shoot with digital compacts. Not because of any intrinsic property of film but, I suspect, largely because of differences in 'camera hold' and steadyness.
 
Strongly agree. I've noticed this even w/my own photos when using a digital point & shoot.

mcgrattan said:
The only problem with composing this way is that the camera is less steady than when clamped against the head in the traditional way.

I've noticed my shots (with a film compact) tend to be sharper than anything my friends shoot with digital compacts. Not because of any intrinsic property of film but, I suspect, largely because of differences in 'camera hold' and steadyness.
Click to expand...
 
I don't own a P&S, but on the occasions I've used them, I've somewhat enjoyed the experience. I often find myself shooting with my camera over my head or otherwise at arm's length, and it would be nice to be able to compose in that situation.

It wouldn't replace a viewfinder for me though. It's essential for low light in order to steady the camera, and I find it helps me to stop and think about what I'm doing.

I think something like the Lumix G1 would be nice. It gives you both a high quality viewfiner and a tilt-out screen, so you get the best of both worlds.
 
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Whatever works best for a person is the best way to do it. I personally prefer the viewfinder and wouldn't want a P&S without one. Still, there are times when I use the screen, such as low light.
 
tom.w.bn said:
Thought about it for a while but found no explanation for that.
Click to expand...

Maybe because the image is much larger with a RF or SLR, so it's hard to perceive it all at once (you have to look around to check the composition).

With a P+S, the screen is farther away so you can easily see the image as a whole, sort of like holding a print at arms length.
 
mcgrattan said:
The only problem with composing this way is that the camera is less steady than when clamped against the head in the traditional way..
Click to expand...
Depends on the camera model really, some (like the p5100 I have) have anti-shake built-in, and I'll have to admit, it does work.
 
yup, I don't own one at the moment, but when I did, I really enjoyed composing that way... almost got me to buy a null series Leica :)

(Too bad I missed out on B&H's final mark down sale :(

For focus, you either need to rely on AF or use scale focusing if it's available...

Propping your elbow or wrists on something solves the stability issue in low light... I never had much of a problem with camera shake...
 
usagisakana said:
Doesn't make you a bad photographer in any way. The "correct" way of working is the one that lets you create the images you want.
Click to expand...

echo!
p&s viewfinders are - imo - crap anyway, showing much less than what eventually ends up in the compo. for that reason alone they're unusable for composing. the p&s v.finders i've seen that is.

another plus about composing using the back screen is that one can pose as being a tourist, or just another girl/guy with a camera. makes people somewhat less aware of the fact that there's in fact someone shooting photos. well, in some cases at least..
 
mcgrattan said:
The only problem with composing this way is that the camera is less steady than when clamped against the head in the traditional way.

I've noticed my shots (with a film compact) tend to be sharper than anything my friends shoot with digital compacts. Not because of any intrinsic property of film but, I suspect, largely because of differences in 'camera hold' and steadyness.
Click to expand...

That's true. Camera at armlength is not very stable. The G10 has an image stabilizer that works ok. A warning is shown on the monitor at 1/20 sec. or longer. And at armlength pictures are sharp up to 1/30. When I clamp the camere against the head and use the finder I can even go up to 1/10sec.

Looks like I am not the only one who likes composing with the screen.
 
mh2000 said:
yup, I don't own one at the moment, but when I did, I really enjoyed composing that way... almost got me to buy a null series Leica :)
Click to expand...

You beat me to it- the first Leicas were composed through a little sight and held like the modern P&S digicams. When I first shot the '0' I realized this.
 
I have found using cameras with a larger screen on a tripod to be an absolute joy, if taking ones time you can comfortably study the image before shooting and is much nicer than peering through a viewfinder. Its also great if doing portraits as the sitter sees your face and can tend to be more comfortable.
 
On a large format camera mounted on a tripod you see the image on the ground glass upside down and reversed left to right. Some people claimed that you could frame and compose a photo better because you were looking at shapes, masses of lights and darks, rather than really seeing the subject. It should be easy enough to design an "upside down" switch into the electronics of a digicam.

I'll stick with the bright frame view finder, putting the frame around the image I already saw in my head.
 
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