How many "keepers" averaged per roll?

[terri]

Ditto Michaelaw! I'm still pretty new at this and have had no form of training. I tend to get discouraged, because I have 4 photo boxes with multitudes of pics and then I have my special "keeper" album with only 23 photos in it. So I tend to think maybe I'm just not any good at this. Not that I'd ever stop ^_~

It certainly doesn't mean you're not any good, Amper. It probably points to you having high expectations of your work (a good quality) and being your own worst critic (also good, though it leads to self-doubt and torture).

Read as much as you can, keep shooting, and ask lots of questions. And continue to review your work from 6 months back or so. You'll be amazed.

 

[Flash Harry]

I like the "torture & self doubt" bit, totally true but I think most creatives suffer from these symptoms, depression's another.

 

[Torus34]

As a practical example;

I've recently noted a clump of white birches near my house. I wish to have a print of them on my wall. I'll take a 6 x 6 cm rig loaded with film, a tripod, an exposure meter, a cable release and take 12 exposures [1 roll.]

From this, I'll select the exposure I judge to be the best [contact sheet], enlarge it, matte it and hang it.

All I now need is a combination of light conditions and about 1 hour of free time away from the house.

Specific subject, goal and result. One 'keeper'/roll.

 

[neea]

I like the "torture & self doubt" bit, totally true but I think most creatives suffer from these symptoms, depression's another.

This is amazingly true!!! And all those years I (and everyone else) thought I was screwed up. Turns out I'm just creative. WHAT A RELIEF!!!

 

[Weaving Wax]

I'm not looking to sell or make money off of mine and some turn out "great", but I do take note of my "so-so" ones. I've shot a few rolls so far and 2 are "great", but I can get half a roll of "so-so" shots, which is good enough for me. It really depends on what you think is a great shot. I think many artists are "too harsh" on their own work and I bet if I looked at everyones collection of prints, I'd find more than 1-2 "great" ones per roll! I wouldn't get worried about it (not that you are), but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and as far as I'm concerned, my so-so shots capture something more then beautiful exposure and perfect timing...

 

[fightheheathens]

i'd say that i avarage about 5 good shots every 10 rolls (36 shots). (B&W film, im far worse at color)
further more, i find that often i have a negative look good, but then when it comes time to print it i find i can't get what i want.
i often print 3-4 versions of a neg before i get what i want after doing test strips and such. Sometimes i print and print and never get it right.

this year, i took 8 shots in color that i consider hangers,
and about 15 B&W shots that i consider hangers. of those, 5 different images are actually hanging on my wall or were given as gifts.

 

[ksmattfish]

I'm still pretty new at this and have had no form of training. I tend to get discouraged, because I have 4 photo boxes with multitudes of pics and then I have my special "keeper" album with only 23 photos in it. So I tend to think maybe I'm just not any good at this.

The bad news is that the more you learn, and the better you get, the harder you'll be on yourself. When I started out I also thought of it as "keepers per roll", now it's how many keeper's in a year, and if I were to end the year with 23 photos in my special box I'd say it was a pretty great year. Of course I keep almost every photo I shoot, and many are very nice, but if you are talking about photos that go above and beyond my norm, 8 to 12 truely special photos is a good year for me.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I'm asking because I can usually only get 1 or 2. Sometimes none. But, haveing been told I am far too harsh in my judgement of my photos by more than a few people, I was wondering if maybe it was common to see most of your shots as lacking.

When I shot film (which wasn't for very long) most of my shots were spent experimenting. My FE was my first SLR and my 35-70 f/2.8 was my first lens (got it used for real cheap). My shooting consisted of figuring out what the camera and the lens could do...and what I could do with it as a result. I never processed or developed my own film, I always took it to labs. I actually didn’t' start developing my own film until a few weeks ago when a good friend taught me how to do it. I shot film for about a year and in that year I learned SO MUCH because I had FAILED so much in my exposures and my experiments. In that year, I think I only had about 10 images worth printing and framing up.
As a result of shooting film, I gained a consciousness that every slide cost me money, so I better make it worth it. That way when I found something interesting, before just grabbing that one shot, I’d think about it and in my head I would think, “now what about this angle?” and I’d go around it and find the better angle and composition if there even was one. My last roll of film has been sitting in my FE for the last 5 months. I used it all at the California coast; I just haven’t gotten around to developing it. Film taught me how to ‘see’, and if I look at my slides (which I also keep) you can really tell.

 

[Digital Matt]

I normally bracket pretty heavily, even if I'm sure of the exposure I want. You never know for sure how something will look (especially when using film), until you print it. You may be wishing for that extra 1/2 stop of exposure to bring a bit more detail to the shadows.

With that in mind, I may only get 7 actual different compositions from a roll of 36 exposures, or 1 or 2 from a 645 or 6x7 roll. So, the chances of getting a keeper from 1,2, or 7 pictures is pretty low. I shoot multiple rolls to get 1 or 2 images I find "presentable".

 

[duelinthedeep]

its been a year and so far i only have one good image

 

[burtharrris]

I divide my pictures into four categories:

1. Masterpieces - still waiting for my first
2. Great photos - good composition, color, subject
3. Good photos - these have a place in my heart. These usually remind me of a person or place or event that I enjoy. They might not be photographically good, or of interest to anyone else. But hey, I do photography for my own enjoyment, right?
4. Rubbish - 50% of what I shoot.

 

[ted_smith]

I've been into photography on a more 'serious' level for about 2 years now (always enjoyed casual shooting using an old Olympus OM-10, which I took some great shots with, but only a couple of years ago bought my first Nikon kit) and I throw out pack after pack of prints. In two years of 'serious' photography (by serious I mean taking my camera with me most places except work) only one print has made it onto my walls as a 46" x 30" canvass, and here it is :

So yes, less than one per roll. I'd say I get 1 or 2 good pics per roll, but only 1 every dozen or so I consider 'great', but you guys might disagree.