Saturday, 21 July 2018

terminology - Why is chimping a derogatory term?


Chimping - the act of reviewing the picture you just took on the camera's LCD, is used as a way to disparage shooters.


I heard that chimping might refer to proudly showing off a shot after you taken it with a nice vocal accompaniment of ooh-ooh-aah, but I have also heard that just bothering to look at the LCD after you shoot is also chimping. Why is either a big deal?


I review the histogram of nearly every shot I take. Admittedly, I rarely shoot anything in motion, so there is NIL chance that I will miss the shot (perhaps the Eiffle Tower might get up and walk away, but I somehow doubt it). Usually after the first time I review the shot, I will not look at it again until it's on my computer but there was one image that I couldn't help but look at, again and again through out the evening.



Answer




I believe it mocks photographers who spend more time fiddling with their equipment than making photographs.


It's not always derogatory. I used it a few questions ago and there it was just matter of fact, a concise and appropriate verb.


Other interesting jargon includes:



  • measurebation - becoming too caught up in data and measurements at the expense of making photographs

  • pixel-peeping - using 100% crops and similar techniques to identify flaws that have no effect on the photograph under real-world conditions


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