How good are you, really?

[limr]

Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'M AWESOME

Except when I suck.

From every roll I shoot, there are always a few that I like enough to clean up, tweak, and name. From a roll of 120, I aim for 2-3 keepers. For 35mm, I'd like to see 5-8 (depending on 24 or 36 exposures.) I guess that's generally a 10-20% keep rate. Sometimes the ones I don't like are shots that just didn't come out the way I envisioned it. Nothing really wrong but they just fall flat. Other ones I don't like because I totally effed them up And every once in a while, the stars are aligned or something and I get a roll that is just full of win. :cheer: Then the very next roll will be one stinker right after the other.

 

[snerd]

I'm not really very good at all. It's a good thing that it's not a requirement for enjoying it!!

 

[Ilovemycam]

I just shot this last week.

(nsfw)

Whoop Whoop! The Gathering of the Juggalos.

Took about 2500 shots. I will get maybe 60 shots for my book. But just guessing, still going through them.

It just depends on your standards. If many of you guys were saving shots you would get hundreds from my work. But my standards are a little different than the average Flickr photog. With me it boils down to this; is it going into a museum, an artists book, my portfolio or sentimental / personal? If not...it is trash.

BTW...I have not been to a rock concert in 40 years. Even then only went to 2 of them in my lifetime. So I went into the project blind and with no skills for concert photography. You camera fondlers would not like this shoot. My Faygo soaked camera had to be washed 7 times a day or more. Some of the buttons are sticky now. But cams are disposable, at least the Fuji's. The Leica's I am more cautious with. I can't afford to replace them.

No doubt I could have done better if I had connections and access. But I have none. I just buy a ticket like everyone else and start shooting.

 

[keyseddie]

I believe nipple licking is frowned upon here.

 

[rexbobcat]

I just shot this last week.

(nsfw)

Whoop Whoop! The Gathering of the Juggalos.

Took about 2500 shots. I will get maybe 60 shots for my book. But just guessing, still going through them.

It just depends on your standards. If many of you guys were saving shots you would get hundreds from my work. But my standards are a little different than the average Flickr photog. With me it boils down to this; is it going into a museum, an artists book, my portfolio or sentimental / personal? If not...it is trash.

BTW...I have not been to a rock concert in 40 years. Even then only went to 2 of them in my lifetime. So I went into the project blind and with no skills for concert photography. You camera fondlers would not like this shoot. My Faygo soaked camera had to be washed 7 times a day or more. Some of he buttons are sticky now. But cams are disposable, at least the Fuji's. The Leica's I am more cautious with. I can't afford to replace them.

No doubt I could have done better if I had connections and access. But I have none. I just buy a ticket like everyone else and start shooting.

I've wanted to do a photo essay over juggalos for the longest time. Unfortunately, there aren't any juggalo gatherings near me and I'm afraid I would either say the wrong thing and get stabbed or I'd just be creepy as hell, because I just do not understand the culture. lol

In the long run, I just want my photos to be recognized as being good enough to tell a story that people respond to. Because when I die, nobody will even know or care how I thought of myself. All that will remain of me is my work and other people's opinions of me and my work. If that work doesn't have staying power, then chances are I will most likely be forgotten very quickly (well except for family and stuff). Then again, who's to say I will ever create work powerful enough to create such a response in the first place lol

 

[imagemaker46]

I just shot this last week.

(nsfw)

Whoop Whoop! The Gathering of the Juggalos.

Took about 2500 shots. I will get maybe 60 shots for my book. But just guessing, still going through them.

It just depends on your standards. If many of you guys were saving shots you would get hundreds from my work. But my standards are a little different than the average Flickr photog. With me it boils down to this; is it going into a museum, an artists book, my portfolio or sentimental / personal? If not...it is trash.

BTW...I have not been to a rock concert in 40 years. Even then only went to 2 of them in my lifetime. So I went into the project blind and with no skills for concert photography. You camera fondlers would not like this shoot. My Faygo soaked camera had to be washed 7 times a day or more. Some of he buttons are sticky now. But cams are disposable, at least the Fuji's. The Leica's I am more cautious with. I can't afford to replace them.

No doubt I could have done better if I had connections and access. But I have none. I just buy a ticket like everyone else and start shooting.

I've wanted to do a photo essay over juggalos for the longest time. Unfortunately, there aren't any juggalo gatherings near me and I'm afraid I would either say the wrong thing and get stabbed or I'd just be creepy as hell, because I just do not understand the culture. lol

In the long run, I just want my photos to be recognized as being good enough to tell a story that people respond to. Because when I die, nobody will even know or care how I thought of myself. All that will remain of me is my work and other people's opinions of me and my work. If that work doesn't have staying power, then chances are I will most likely be forgotten very quickly (well except for family and stuff). Then again, who's to say I will ever create work powerful enough to create such a response in the first place lol

Just wear the makeup, you should be fine

 

[snerd]

.......... You camera fondlers......

Hmmm..... we probably don't want to go there hee hee..............

 

[snerd]

I believe nipple licking is frowned upon here.

Speak for yourself, my good man.

 

[robbins.photo]

I believe nipple licking is frowned upon here.

Speak for yourself, my good man.

I don't think he meant your own Snerd.. lol

 

[spacefuzz]

I am amazing, and my photography is outstanding. What else do you need to know?

Doesnt really matter how many shots I take, its art so its the end result that matters. Some will hate it, some will love it...but in the end its personal expresion and if you go into it feeling like you suck I bet your images will suffer accordingly. Of course on the flip side don't be cocky....then you get lazy.

 

[DanOstergren]

I'm certainly not as good as I want to be. I want my work on the covers of W Magazine and Italian Vogue. I want to be as skilled as Michael Thompson and Mario Testino, if not more so. I want to be able to sustain a living with photography that allows me to continually travel and explore every place that I want to see before I die. I'm partway there, but still have a long way to go before that goal is met. I obsess about this and longboarding 24/7.

I don't shoot many frames when I am shooting. I just don't like having a lot of photos to go through or edit. I like to take my time, find the right light, do my best to groom the model and setting, and usually take 2-3 frames before getting the shot and moving to the next. I'll generally shoot about 150 frames in 2 hours, and have around 20-30 decent shots that I think can be kept, but only really about 3-8 favorites that stand out above the rest.

I feel like my strongest skills are being able to work natural light like it's my *****, waiting for a very evocative moment or expression before hitting the shutter button, and sometimes I'm decent with retouching. My weaknesses are posing models without reference, not being able to replicate a photo in my head (sometimes I can do this), I procrastinate when it comes to planning shoots and meeting deadlines, and I am very ungraceful when it comes to receiving uncouth or non-constructive critique.

Really I'm happy if I get just 1 exceptional shot out of 200 frames, but I definitely strive for more.

 

[keyseddie]

I'm certainly not as good as I want to be. I want my work on the covers of W Magazine and Italian Vogue. I want to be as skilled as Michael Thompson and Mario Testino, if not more so. I want to be able to sustain a living with photography that allows me to continually travel and explore every place that I want to see before I die. I'm partway there, but still have a long way to go before that goal is met. I obsess about this and longboarding 24/7.

I don't shoot many frames when I am shooting. I just don't like having a lot of photos to go through or edit. I like to take my time, find the right light, do my best to groom the model and setting, and usually take 2-3 frames before getting the shot and moving to the next. I'll generally shoot about 150 frames in 2 hours, and have around 20-30 decent shots that I think can be kept, but only really about 3-8 favorites that stand out above the rest.

I feel like my strongest skills are being able to work natural light like it's my *****, waiting for a very evocative moment or expression before hitting the shutter button, and sometimes I'm decent with retouching. My weaknesses are posing models without reference, not being able to replicate a photo in my head (sometimes I can do this), I procrastinate when it comes to planning shoots and meeting deadlines, and I am very ungraceful when it comes to receiving uncouth or non-constructive critique.

Really I'm happy if I get just 1 exceptional shot out of 200 frames, but I definitely strive for more.

Dan the man, your post should be required reading. Having ambition to be the best, realization that you are not there, dedication and a recognition of weakness and strength, are all necessary elements in the pursuit of excellence.

 

[MargueriteBeaty]

I think that the number of photos that I think are good change the more I look and edit my work.
At first I feel more emotion towards the images, specially when I photograph travel or babies.
I remember the moment and details.
The second time I look, I pay more attention to the technical details and so on.
By the end I love fewer images.

 

[jsecordphoto]

Dan, I completely agree. I want to travel, be in magazines, etc for my landscape work. Things started to change for me big time when I started holding myself to the standard of photographers I look up to that are succeeding on that level. Now I know that my work isn't on their level, but I strive for it. I had to suffer failures, spend a ton of time reading and learning, and try new techniques often while out shooting. I started seeing my keeper rate go way up. And it has paid off, with more print sales, magazine features, etc. I'm still not on the level I want to be, but so far the true success has been chasing a dream, working hard, and having a small taste of success for my efforts. Great post.

 

[jowensphoto]

My keep rate for a wedding is about 70%

Are all of them works of art? No. Are half of them works of art? Not even close.

I get maybe 1-2 shots if I'm lucky that I fall in love with. That's what keeps me doing what I do.