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How Many Photos Do You Take?
Are you the kind of photographer who shoots lots of pictures until you get what you want or do you watch and wait until you see what you want and then shoot? I guess in this age of digital photography, you can see the results instantly, so you can shoot less. But, since you don't need to use film, you can also shoot as much as you want. Maybe this question applies more to those who shoot with film. Sep 15 06 08:07 pm Link Wait for the moment. Then shoot. Sep 15 06 08:11 pm Link depends on what the shoot is.. I've been on commerical shoots where after 5 frames I knew I had the image I wanted and called it. In the studio with clients I'll shoot maybe 35-45 images max. On Location, Click away you never know when a stray hair or a blink is going to happen.. so 800-1000 in an afternoon of shooting isn't unheard of. Sep 15 06 08:18 pm Link Yes or it depends. I know they are lame answers but really the truth. Either way the goal is always the same. I'm looking to get that one image that I envision in my head before I start taking the photos. Rarely from a photo session am I hoping to get a bunch of usable photos .... just that one special one that gets all 1,000 words. Bill Sep 15 06 08:20 pm Link I think everyone waits until the see something they like. It's just that some photographers like a lot more than others. As for the number of exposures, I'd say it depends on the model. If I'm familiar with her, the fewer the photos since I have a better idea of what works. Sep 15 06 08:22 pm Link I average about 100 photos an hour Sep 15 06 08:29 pm Link my ratio of a decent photograph over the ones I took is 1/300...and that one still needs post work...so I shoot as much as I can...if I see something, like something or have something in mind I shoot the same thing for more than once...just in case  Sep 15 06 08:37 pm Link Depends.. When shooting with the 8x10 view camera - 8 shots per session Max Digital - till the card is full or I'm tierd of the model Sep 15 06 09:29 pm Link 100 an hour is how it goes with me. I have a tough time getting comfortable sometimes. I know when I get something and can relax thereafter. At the most recent shoot I snapped close to 200 inside a niteclub that we could actually use the stage lighting setups. Difficult day and I do have a few usuables. Near quitting time I took the model four blocks away to a warehouse and nailed everything I shot there. The niteclub shots won't see the light of day. archived. yeah it depends. Sep 15 06 09:29 pm Link well well i try not to use a 1gb card..... or i will shoot myself silly..... well it depends on what i am shooting..... i was at the brooklyn bridge on 09/11/6 all day for the eve i got something like over 300 shots of almost the same shot different exposure/ different angle and what not so it depends!!!!! Sep 15 06 09:38 pm Link Bill Bates wrote: Those are my answers as well. Sep 15 06 09:48 pm Link Forty (40) in a standard two-hour photoshoot. Four rolls of 6x7 on 120. Sometimes less, sometimes a little more. Never more than 60, as if I haven't gotten it in that many exposures, more aren't going to help. -Don Sep 15 06 09:50 pm Link We've been through this before, but, for the record... Digital - set at the same exposure/asa as my film camera - 150 shots, mostly to get the light right, most deleted on the spot or soon thereafter - ten of them are golden ~then~ Film - two to three rolls of 36 - 1/3 of them are golden Just the way I work. And it seems to work. Sep 15 06 09:55 pm Link Spent years shooting medium format at 12 shots a roll. Taught me to slow down and see the picture. The switch to digital has meant the ability to shoot a lot more pictures, but my hit rate is pretty consistent from what it was with MF. Which means I get a lot more good shots per session. Sep 15 06 09:59 pm Link I shoot film. Including some warm up shots and a few 'behind the scenes' shots I usually do about 100 to 150 shots in about 2 hours. The most I've done is 200. I usually have 3 3mm cameras all ready and loaded long with 2 medium format TLRs so I don't have to pause and reload film. For just portraits, 20 to 30 shots is usually more than enough to get what I need. Sep 15 06 10:00 pm Link 50-70 snaps per look/set Sep 15 06 10:01 pm Link For me, Digital was the satisfaction long denied. I always wished I had shot more or brought more film. I was never satisfied. Always got my shots but I have always loved wallowing in excess afterwards. Sorting gazillions of chromes or going over endless negs has been replaced by those wonderful cards! I always seem to find something overlooked long after the shoot. Sep 15 06 10:05 pm Link If it's a trade session with a model or stylist or make-up artist, 50 or 60 frames during the shoot. I don't need more. Many times it's been even less. Paid sessions vary by client/editor/art director. Model books could be anywhere from 100 to 150 frames depending on locations, looks, and the ideas rolling through my head. Maybe more. Though I never feel like I need to shoot that much, I'll shoot it if that's what is required. I've done some work for a local magazine and when that editor wants to run 8 or 10 shots, he doesn't want to see more than 12 to 15 of the best. I shoot until I get the 14 or 15 I need... which might be in 16 shots, it might be in 30. An AD at another magazine wants to see 150-200 images whether it's an editorial or whether it's for a portrait where they're running one shot. And yet a third magazine's editor only wanted to run one photo but she only wanted to see the best 5. It all depends on the assignment and editor. If I shot with digital, I'd be the same way, mainly because of the amount of time I put into each shot (which is usually quite a bit of composing and tweaking). I really only push the shutter when I like what I see... but I actively direct to recreate what I see in my head... Sep 15 06 10:23 pm Link A lot depends on the model, but usually I can get about 200/hour if my camera has a nice fresh battery (the fresher the batter, the faster it can reset itself for the next shot). When I'm working with a model that is experienced in what I am looking for, I can get an amazing number of photos, such as: FetishCon 2005: Shooting with Kobe Lee (MM 23936, who I am shooting with tomorrow!), we did a 120 photo shoot, including 2257 information and signing the release... all in 20 minutes. Also at FC2005, a one hour shoot with Tomiko (MM 8493), we got 295 photos. There are also some models who I've worked with enough that they know exactly what to do as I'm setting up the shot, esp. Tatiana (MM 24040), who I have shot with 17 times (and #18 is a week from tomorrow along with Audra, MM 3925).  Sep 15 06 10:27 pm Link gklosswa wrote: 666. Sep 15 06 10:37 pm Link Wynd Mulysa wrote: Why am I not surprised? Sep 15 06 10:45 pm Link With film I was always a slow and cautious shooter, I usually got my shot in just a couple of rolls. I found with people it normally took a roll just to warm things up. Now I have caught myself just shooting like there was not tomorow and having to dig through all those files. I am rethinkinf my way of shooting digital, the old film way had a lot to say for it. Plus if you mess up, it's digital, shoot again. Sep 15 06 10:45 pm Link As many as it takes for me to feel comfortable. I don't shoot any differently when shooting Digital or Film. Just because you are shooting Digital doesn't change the fact that you are still taking pictures... I have a motto, "It's Just Film". Film is the CHEAPEST part of ANY photoshoot!!! I've got pics in my port where I've shot hundreds of pics and a couple where I've shot less than a roll of film, 14 and 16 images to be exact before I got what I wanted. Then there are the times where I've shot in excess of 20 rolls of film or over 500 Digital pics before I got what I wanted. I have no explanation, I just know when I got the shot, it's just a Gut Feeling... Sep 15 06 10:46 pm Link I guess that is what I am realizing, film or digital, its all the same Sep 15 06 10:49 pm Link When I build up a head of steam, I'm a hyperfocus kind of guy and I have a lot of energy to expend. For model shoots, I prepare my ideas in advance and I move fast according to plan. At the time of shooting the plan is semi-flexible: half pre meditated, and half grabbing opportunities from the flow of the event. I've been serious about photography since 1972, so my style is pretty intuitive now without fiddling around. I keep my eye through the lens. I can concentrate on what I'm seeing and how I'm directing without thinking about camera adjustments. I know the exposure by the sound of the shutter, etc. My typical photo shoots are 4-5 hours and I produce around 800-1,100 images. I can shoot up to 3 photo shoots per day a few days a week. At around 15 hours, my brain might go numb. If I stall out during the day I might stop to reboot my brain with a cold Becks beer, and refer to my notes that I printed out before the model arrived. I shoot single shot mode. 90% are keepers with my 5D/24-70 2.8. It's a wonderful and accurate camera. I don't like to stop to change lenses for model shoots. My 20D/17-40 4.0 had a higher failure rate with "soft" images, maybe 20-40% (good riddence to the 20D) It's rare, but if the model is a blinker I'll shoot double snaps to make sure I don't have to reshoot otherwise good photos. But it's a pain in the butt to try to weed through to pick the best of doubles if there is no blink. I don't like weeding through rejects anyway, so I try to avoid them. I try to get directly to the selection process for editing without the clutter of useless images slowing me down. Extra people standing around distract and slow me down significantly. The best number of people for me is 2 - just the model and me. Rapport is everything. Sep 15 06 10:49 pm Link Well I'm still learning, so I'm sure I shoot a ton more than most others. First off, it takes me 50-80 shots just to warm up/get comfortable with a new model. After that, I shoot until either I'm exhausted or the model looks like he/she is tiring. But all my work right now is TFP/CD so the models know in advance I'm not a pro and for the most part we're both still learning the trade. So this all means I shoot everything that comes into my head and I usually end up with 300-500 shots over 3-4 hours. Then I go through, whittle them down and try to learn from the results and improve upon them the next time out. Sep 15 06 10:53 pm Link When I shot film, I waited for the moment, but now that I have converted to digital, well, I am becoming a virtual snappin freak...gotta sl;ow down...WAY down :0) Sep 15 06 10:59 pm Link generally a roll (18 shots) per look max if i know i have the shot i wanted, i'll move on Sep 15 06 11:04 pm Link oldguysrule wrote: What kind of film gets 18 shots per roll? Sep 15 06 11:12 pm Link  dick treffers on left... me on right... telescope (30" 5.6 optics) ... superduper ccd camera in box 250,000 images of galaxies in 4 years of which 8 times (wow) i got something like this:  but i did get a shot published in scientific american... Sep 15 06 11:26 pm Link actualy both approaches are valid and can teach you some thing if you take the time to try them.I shoot fast when I have to 300 to 400 shot in a session is not unusual,but lets define what we are talking about.Shooting fast doesn't mean clicking the shutter as fast as you can with out considering the shot.I don't mean blindly shotgunning but moving along at a good pace and trying minor variations.It also depends on your shooting style.My budget is limited and I want to get as much as I can out of my modeling dollar,so several costume changes and several lighting set ups with a whole list of preplanned ideas eat up the shots.But slowing down and takeing your time has also proved invaluble.I have learned to use it when needed Sep 16 06 01:33 am Link I wait a lot. 20-30 shots per look. 60 for a shoot is a decent number. Sep 16 06 01:35 am Link 1%er from a previous thread. Sep 16 06 01:41 am Link If it is a true muse and a second or greater session then you can count on 300-500 images out of which I'll want to clean up about 200. Then narrow it down to 20-30. In a couple of months I'll have it down to the best 10. but then I shoot in nature with changing elements and shoot at least 5 different locations in the area. So this kind of session (the kind I always aim for) is very intense. Most muses are fast asleep on the long ride home from nature. Me..i'm buzzing waiting to get it all on the computers and begin phase 2 of the process of making art. Mike PS when I did commercial work it was 10-30 shots per look and move on. Catelogue work in the studio was 10 per look MAX. And with 8x10, a session like I descibed above would exhaust about 20 sheets. Sep 16 06 01:52 am Link have always been amazed by those shooters who seem to need 500+ attempts, one young lady i know even shoots in movie mode, and then culls through the bunches for "the one" ... ... whereas the teachers i had stressed seeing in my mind first, then firing; "if it takes more than 30", they'd say, "you'll never make it!" simply the influence in my training; one i still hold today. FML Sep 16 06 01:58 am Link rexyinc wrote: This is the spray and pray method---I really dont like this. Sep 16 06 02:02 am Link Jeff Genung wrote: yup - you got it. you only get one shot at it, dozens of people spinning around the place, and yeah - click n miss - click n miss - click and oh thank god got it. Sep 16 06 02:28 am Link I take about 100/hr When I get the model in a pose I like we will go through a series of minor changes, hand positions, foot positions and we can do about 5-10 per minute, then we stop and repose before shooting another subset. Sep 16 06 06:35 am Link as many as i need? Sep 16 06 06:41 am Link gklosswa wrote: Situations call for different strategies, as an underwater photographer I must shoot immediately when I see a shot, it will not repeat, and that is with slide film. A 36 shot film roll with when shooting well will produce maybe 6 shots that are keepers. When I first started less, much less. Now with the digital age and the high resolution that can be achieved, more underwater shots can be taken, Digital is both a boon and a failure to an extent. It allows the individual the ability to shoot tons of photos, that ability to wait becomes lost, I am not so sure I want to loose that, I hope I never do. Sep 16 06 06:47 am Link |
