Don't be a "Machine Gunner"

[Gary A.]

LOL!!!! There you go.

 

[Gary A.]

My X100S, is 100%, absolutely, bonafide, unqualifiedly quiet on quiet mode. Gotta love those leaf shutters.

 

[Mr.Photo]

Actually the event was outdoors not indoors. The entire event lasted roughly 2.5 hrs. The speaking portion lasted just over an hour. I was on the opposite side of the crowd about 20' away and I could still hear her camera every 10 seconds or so firing away. The best part was she stayed in one place, and would shoot 3-4 long burst's at the speaker, then turn in to the crowd zoom in on someone, and fire off another 3-4 bursts. The she would zoom in on one of the other speakers in their chair, and do the same 3-4 burst's, then turn back and shoot someone in the crowd. After all the speakers were done there was a BBQ on the back lawn, and she was up there doing group photo's, and candid shots firing away like a woodpecker having a seizure.

Needless to say, but if I could hear her camera from 20' away. I can only imagine how annoying it was for the guest's hearing clicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicliclicli...........

Interestingly enough, I usually get beginners following me around taking the exact same shots I do. This woman picked one spot, and just stayed there not moving other than pivoting to take 100 portraits of a single person.

 

[Overread]

Sometimes if you're new to an event or situation it can be intimidating to move around - plus you don't really know the form of what is going to happen where or when so you tend to gravitate toward a more limited range (or even just pick one spot) because at least from there you have a base-line to work from.
It can also be a kind of herd-thinking if everyone else (spectators) are sitting still.

A few more similar events and a better working understanding of the flow of events and many will break out of their shell - they'll be more confident at moving around the area (even if other people are not) and also more confident at selecting good shooting positions because they'll have a rough idea of the format for the day so they'll be confident they can pick a spot and not miss key events happening elsewhere (or if they are they can justify that they can't cover everything and thus make a definitive choice what to shoot).

Going with another photographer or having prior experience of similar but not identical events can jump-start things a little - encouraging people to move out of the comfort zone more readily - although going with another photographer can also have varying effects depending upon that persons experiences, skill and method of operation.



One would hope that after a static day of 5K shots the photographer will start to learn more so how to judge the event to cut down on the volume of the bursts - and to also read the event and move around more freely (where practical/allowed).

 

[Mr. Innuendo]

I'll burst like Hell when I shoot motorcycle racing. It's there; it's a tool. I'll use it;.

Yeah, and it's also awesome for people at podiums, talking into microphones! Nothing like firing off 75 to 100 frames to get a good shot of the adjusting of the microphone's height, or 150 to 200 frames as a speaker steps up to the podium and shuffles his notes, and maybe, if you are lucky, he does something exciting and snap-worthy, and puts on his reading glasses!

Well, since I don't shoot people speaking at podiums, I wouldn't know. If I did, though, I would agree that it would be overkill.

Motorcycle racing? Yeah, I'll use it then.

 

[Derrel]

SNIP> 20' away and I could still hear her camera every 10 seconds or so firing away>SNIP> she stayed in one place, and would shoot 3-4 long burst's at the speaker, then turn in to the crowd zoom in on someone, and fire off another 3-4 bursts. The she would zoom in on one of the other speakers in their chair, and do the same 3-4 burst's, then turn back and shoot someone in the crowd.

OHHHHH! AHHHHH! the old " Action > reaction!" shooting method! How exciting!

 

[imagemaker46]

I've mentioned this story before about a photographer that sat next to me covering figure skating, he would start shooting as soon as the skater got on the ice, and for 5 minutes he just made a movie. As I was right next to him using the same camera and lens, I think I shot between 25-40 maybe. He would fill 10 5GB cards on roughly 15 skaters. I asked him why he shot the way he did, his honest answer was "Because I'm not very good"

So next time someone is blasting away, think of that honest answer.

 

[Mr. Innuendo]

So next time someone is blasting away, think of that honest answer.

Yes because the example of one person shooting figure skating clearly represents everyone who shots in that manner.

I think yours is an excessively extreme example.

Some solid points in favor of it have been brought, and they are valid.

Like I said, it's just another tool. Why not use it when it's appropriate?

 

[MichaelHenson]

Of course, this line of conversation made me think of all the new HD and now 4K cameras coming out on the market that allow you to video whatever you want then take the video back and select the single frame out of all of those in the video that you would like as the picture.

Sounds like some of these "spray n' prayers" would be better off getting a GoPro and just using that.

 

[snowbear]

A while back, my oldest son came down with his camera to shoot a little. He has my father's Minolta SRT101. i grabbed my new (to me) N90s and as we were walking around we spotted a cardinal in a tree. I didn't realize the N90's drive was in "high." Since I don't use burst mode that much, I tend to hold the shutter down a bit longer than most. I fired of about seven frames of film before I realized it. It hasn't been out of single frame since then.

 

[imagemaker46]

Having a camera that is capable of a higher frame per second rate does come in handy in certain situation, some people still use it without paying attention to what they are seeing. I've said this before. The other difference is that I don't consider a camera that is capable of only 4-6 FPS second as high speed cameras. As an example using a 5Dmklll which is 6fps second, or a 5D-6D which are both under 5fps, these may be considered high speed for the average user. I have a 5D mklll, and use it a lot of the time, great camera. I also have a 1Dx which is at 12fps, and I consider as high speed. I wouldn't think of blasting away for 10-15 seconds with the Dx. It still all comes down to looking at what you're shooting, and shooting just before, during and after peak action.

There is a huge difference between blasting away with a 4.5fps 6D and 12fps Dx.

 

[AlanKlein]

People shoot these bursts because they can. But even the US Army learned the disadvantages of this. The later M-16's machine guns shoot in three round bursts when on auto fire instead of the original design of continuous as long as you held the trigger down. If you couldn't hit the guy with three rounds, there was no point in wasting any more.

 

[xzyragon]

When I'm shooting with my 7d, i rarely have it on high burst mode. I don't need doubles of shots if I press the shutter for too long...

But to be fair, it's great for action shots. And particularly useful for skating. As a skater myself, I kind of know the lines and moves skaters are going to take, which makes it extremely easy to "guess" when and where they're going to throw their tricks. So just compose, wait for them to start the trick, and then 8 fps until they land.

But even then, an hour of shooting skating still only leaves ~200 photos...

 

[Overread]

Like I said, it's just another tool. Why not use it when it's appropriate?

I don't think its that people are straight out saying "don't use burst mode" but more that shooting an event with the angle of bursting shots at very single subject (no matter the context) is a poor way to shoot for a number of reasons:

1) It might mean that you're not confident on what you're looking for in a shot. You're gunning the moment, but you're still not quite sure what part of the moment you want to capture - so you're timing is likely going to be off (you'll start far too early and finish far too late).

2) It might mean that when you get home you've got thousands of shots - I did something like 2K shots once at the zoo and I never got through them all I can't imagine 5K shots from a single day - its just so much volume of material. If shooting like that regularly I'd honestly probably want to shift to JPEG mode just to have print ready shots from the get-go (or shoot in a situation where lighting is so standard that I can apply one action to the whole set without cherry picking through each shot).

3) It's "lazy" in that you as a photographer just gun the event; this is linking into point 1 - you don't know what to look for so you gun it - and if you continue to use that method then you're not learning what you do want to look for in a shot.

 

[Mr. Innuendo]

But, if "gunning" it results in you getting the money shot, a strong argument could be made that it's a good thing for someone to be able to take advantage of when they may not know how to compose a shot or how to predict what's coming next.

When I use burst (and it's rare), I don't think I'll end up with more than 3-5 frames per burst. It's difficult to predict when a motorcycle rider may go down, or when a guitarist is going to kick a cup of beer into the crowd. If I happen to be "mid-burst" when either of those things happen, well, good for me.

Likewise, though, for someone who doesn't know how to do those things, how is it bad if they do it and get the "money shot"? I get the impression that some here believe that such a person simply shouldn't be entitled to get such a shot because of their lack of knowledge. I just think that's a little silly.

I agree it's a poor way to shoot as a "go to" method. I know I certainly don't have the time I would need cull through thousands of photos shot at 6.5 fps over the course of an afternoon, so it would be a poor choice for me. But it being a poor choice for me doesn't mean that someone else, who's less experienced, can't use it to get that one shot to give his afternoon some meaning. If someone else has no problem with looking through that many photos, then it's not anyone elses place to say that it's "wrong".

Also, let's not lose sight of the fact that, while the OP experienced someone shooting like that, we have no idea if that's how she normally shoots. If someone were to to watch me shoot one concert, where you get to shoot the first three songs (if you're lucky), would it be fair for that person to assume that I always shoot that way? Truth be told, the vast majority of my photos are taken deliberately and with planning. I might shoot 15 photos in an hour, at best.