Decision Making Sequence Behind the Camera

[HungryCzech]

I tend to try and put settings back to a sort of "default" - ISO 200, auto focus and program mode - so it's real quick to fire off that first shot (very handy when you like photographing animals). Then if there's time to re-take the shot I'll pop into manual mode and fiddle with settings. It's interesting comparing the camera's settings to the ones I chose later too.
Having said that, forgetting to change something like white balance back to auto has certainly produced some interesting results and it's all great for learning!

[joooi]

A thought order process sounds attractive however with so many settings I'm bound to forget something so I will continue to fumble through the settings, change as I shoot and hope to become more proficient as time goes on. Experience is how we all learn.

[super duper]

Interesting-here is my sequence

1. What am I photographing, do I need to reconsider the metering mode or white balance (ordinarily set to spot metering and auto WB)?
2. Angle of view-choose zoom
3. Depth of feild-zoom, distance, aperture
4. Shutter speed- will I need VR, higher ISO, tripod to acheive this?