Reply To: Sh*t fauxtogs say (feel free to add your own)

[cameraclicker]

For a mall or main street studio that specializes in portraits, it makes some sense to hire someone who can get the subject to deliver a nice smile and pleasing pose, even if they know almost nothing about photography.  Set the camera to the shutter speed just below sync ( this works best for my studio strobes), aperture to f/8, and ISO to 100.  Then place the lamps to deliver the lighting ratio and power for the camera settings.  Now you just have to worry about focus and a smile.  At f/8, you probably have enough DOF to permit focus to be slightly off without major penalty.

You see exactly the same thing every year when the studios set up for Meet & Greet Santa.  The camera is locked down on a tripod of some sort, lighting is fixed, probably even focus is fixed.  Just have the child sit on Santa’s lap and press the button.  The camera is tethered to a computer and in a moment or two a print comes off the printer.  Very little expertise is required since someone else has worked out the details, and all the photos look the same.