I've heard it said that National Geographic Photographers may shoot 2000 shots to get the one shot they use on the cover of the magazine.
Many wedding photographers also seem to lean towards quantity as part of the value of what they do; easily shooting 100 or more shots per event.
Portrait studios; on the other hand, rarely take more than 5 - 7 shots given you only have one subject.
So the question arises .
.
.
which Q are you? Do you shoot so much "Quantity" that your subjects have to like at least one or two? Or do you spend so much time getting "Quality", that you only need a few shots to capture the moment? Having once worked at one of those "blue light" special studios I feel qualified to make some observations.
Fact, those $3.
95 package specials were always made from the first two or three shots.
Fact, the ones that most people liked better; had nothing to do with the background or special lighting; they were the ones where the subject was more relaxed.
Fact, I have never known a photographer who deliberately made his first shots worse than his last.
With those thoughts in mind it would sound as if I lean toward the quantity theory, but there are some other factors to consider here.
First, if you are talking a small child (5 or under), it takes time to build trust for the child.
Second, if you are talking a young child (6-12), it takes time for the photographer to capture personality as opposed to just a mug shot.
Third, if you are talking a young adult (13-18) or even a young couple (16-24), it takes time to understand what the customer actually wants from the image.
Are they trying to look sexy? .
.
Or just happy go lucky? Is the image for the person being shot? .
.
.
Or for them to give to someone else? In other words, quantity is not always just about the numbers.
The more I shoot, the more I understand.
The more I understand the better quality I produce.
If I take a subject (any subject) and only shoot it from one position, with one type of light .
.
.
I may or may not get an acceptable image as the result.
Chances are you probably will get a decent image (thus the popularity ofthese department store portrait studios); but will I get a great image? Will I have done my best? For those of you who do not shoot portraits, bare with me, this article still applies to you as well.
Can you re-shoot a burning building?I think not.
There are certain things that life will just not stand still for.
If your daughter's part in the school play only last for two lines, obviously you can't take 2000 pictures.
Well ok, technically I guess you could, but what would be the point?If you want to capture that event, you are going to have to plan your shots.
You have to tell a story.
Sure you can have a lot more than just one or two shots; but I guarantee if you try to shoot a thousand, they will probably kick you out, because nobody will be able to see after you have used your flash that many times.
Back in the1980's power winders were a big accessory on every photographers Christmas shopping list.
For Sports photographers or even some Nature photographers they made sense.
If the entire event you were shooting only lasted 6 seconds and your camera could shoot 6 frames per second, you had a lot more choices than us old photographers that only shot one picture at a time.
But the popularity of the power winder sort of disappeared over the years.
Why? Because not all of us shoot events that only last 6 seconds.
When I first worked as a college photographer, I would go out and shoot 2 or 3 rolls of 36 exposure film for any given assignment.
When I came back, my mentor would then go over every shot and explain to me why we could not use this, or could not use that.
"Too much dead space," He would say.
Or, "This background is too busy," he would say.
To tell the truth, it was rather discouraging.
But after a year or so of doing this I learned, and I grew in ways I never thought possible.
At the end of the year; I would only shoot 1 roll of 24 exposures and the review process turned from "Why most of them would NOT work" into "Why certain shots were even better than the rest.
" I would never advise anyone going to a once in a lifetime event to only take one roll of film (or a small memory card), but I would tell them to make every shot count.
If no one ever sees your 1999 bad shots, who cares as long as you get at least one good one? You do, or you should.
Being a great photographer is not about being lucky, or playing the odds.
It is about, creating great images again and again.
That's where quality makes a difference.
Personally, I can not comprehend shooting the same subject 2000 times.
But on the other hand; if I hike two and half hours into to see a waterfall that is several hundred miles away from where I live, I want to have shots worth remembering.
If I am shooting in a national park; it may take me a while to see something besides what the million plus tourists see every year.
Daring to see things differently is not the same as just blindly trusting what: "The Odds are .
.
.
" If I were to answer the question which Q are you? I would say, "I shoot enough quantity to ensure the quality of my work.
" May we all be brave enough to do the same.
Many wedding photographers also seem to lean towards quantity as part of the value of what they do; easily shooting 100 or more shots per event.
Portrait studios; on the other hand, rarely take more than 5 - 7 shots given you only have one subject.
So the question arises .
.
.
which Q are you? Do you shoot so much "Quantity" that your subjects have to like at least one or two? Or do you spend so much time getting "Quality", that you only need a few shots to capture the moment? Having once worked at one of those "blue light" special studios I feel qualified to make some observations.
Fact, those $3.
95 package specials were always made from the first two or three shots.
Fact, the ones that most people liked better; had nothing to do with the background or special lighting; they were the ones where the subject was more relaxed.
Fact, I have never known a photographer who deliberately made his first shots worse than his last.
With those thoughts in mind it would sound as if I lean toward the quantity theory, but there are some other factors to consider here.
First, if you are talking a small child (5 or under), it takes time to build trust for the child.
Second, if you are talking a young child (6-12), it takes time for the photographer to capture personality as opposed to just a mug shot.
Third, if you are talking a young adult (13-18) or even a young couple (16-24), it takes time to understand what the customer actually wants from the image.
Are they trying to look sexy? .
.
Or just happy go lucky? Is the image for the person being shot? .
.
.
Or for them to give to someone else? In other words, quantity is not always just about the numbers.
The more I shoot, the more I understand.
The more I understand the better quality I produce.
If I take a subject (any subject) and only shoot it from one position, with one type of light .
.
.
I may or may not get an acceptable image as the result.
Chances are you probably will get a decent image (thus the popularity ofthese department store portrait studios); but will I get a great image? Will I have done my best? For those of you who do not shoot portraits, bare with me, this article still applies to you as well.
Can you re-shoot a burning building?I think not.
There are certain things that life will just not stand still for.
If your daughter's part in the school play only last for two lines, obviously you can't take 2000 pictures.
Well ok, technically I guess you could, but what would be the point?If you want to capture that event, you are going to have to plan your shots.
You have to tell a story.
Sure you can have a lot more than just one or two shots; but I guarantee if you try to shoot a thousand, they will probably kick you out, because nobody will be able to see after you have used your flash that many times.
Back in the1980's power winders were a big accessory on every photographers Christmas shopping list.
For Sports photographers or even some Nature photographers they made sense.
If the entire event you were shooting only lasted 6 seconds and your camera could shoot 6 frames per second, you had a lot more choices than us old photographers that only shot one picture at a time.
But the popularity of the power winder sort of disappeared over the years.
Why? Because not all of us shoot events that only last 6 seconds.
When I first worked as a college photographer, I would go out and shoot 2 or 3 rolls of 36 exposure film for any given assignment.
When I came back, my mentor would then go over every shot and explain to me why we could not use this, or could not use that.
"Too much dead space," He would say.
Or, "This background is too busy," he would say.
To tell the truth, it was rather discouraging.
But after a year or so of doing this I learned, and I grew in ways I never thought possible.
At the end of the year; I would only shoot 1 roll of 24 exposures and the review process turned from "Why most of them would NOT work" into "Why certain shots were even better than the rest.
" I would never advise anyone going to a once in a lifetime event to only take one roll of film (or a small memory card), but I would tell them to make every shot count.
If no one ever sees your 1999 bad shots, who cares as long as you get at least one good one? You do, or you should.
Being a great photographer is not about being lucky, or playing the odds.
It is about, creating great images again and again.
That's where quality makes a difference.
Personally, I can not comprehend shooting the same subject 2000 times.
But on the other hand; if I hike two and half hours into to see a waterfall that is several hundred miles away from where I live, I want to have shots worth remembering.
If I am shooting in a national park; it may take me a while to see something besides what the million plus tourists see every year.
Daring to see things differently is not the same as just blindly trusting what: "The Odds are .
.
.
" If I were to answer the question which Q are you? I would say, "I shoot enough quantity to ensure the quality of my work.
" May we all be brave enough to do the same.
SHARE
