One of the best ways to make sure your next (and every) session is a productive one is to develop some sort of pre-session routine.  This can include a series of things such as cleaning your lenses, checking your camera’s settings, checking your batteries, and so on.  Ideally, it’s best to do your pre-session routine with enough time to do something about any problems you might find.

To illustrate the point, here’s my mental check-list, which I typically follow the night before a known photography session:

• Check Battery (regarge if necessary)
• Unload Memory Card(s) to my computer – it’s always nice to start with empty cards.
• Verify all my camera’s settings and set them back to my personal defaults.
• Clean (dust off) my lenses
• Check and repack my camera bag

It’s a short list, but each item on my check-list serves an important role.  For example it’s too late to discover a dead battery when you’re setting up for your first shot is too late.  You will also not be able to clean your lenses as effectively in the field as you will at home.

So if you don’t have one already, you should consider creating your own Pre-Session Routine.

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