Even with the WYSIWYG nature of digital photography, setting up lighting for a shoot can be a pain; during the few high-volume projects I shot, I started by photographing the subject under different lighting setups, with a piece of paper in-frame that had notes (aperture, shutter, lighting settings) scribbled on it for reference. That way the art director could later pick a lighting/shooting set-up they liked and I would have a reference for how to precisely recreate it, even weeks later during a re-shoot.

DSLR Slate is a brilliant iDevice app with paper-replacing functionality both for still photography shoots and video; as its name suggests, it can take the place of the old-school clacker-style slate.

Along with a color chart and selectable running timecode, DSLR Slate has all the traditional items for input such as Scene, Take, Framerate, Director, etc. DLSR Slate also provides unique items aimed specifically for DSLR cameras such as ISO Speed, Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance, Lens, Filter, and more. While being invaluable on set, these items also prove useful when shooting tests in varying lighting conditions.

DSLR Slate is the perfect companion for the DSLR Filmmaker from visual_experiences on Vimeo.

If you want to see more, click here to see a slew of reviews of the app.