What percent...

[chroix]

of photos that you take are you really in to, in the long term. How many portfolio pieces do you get per 100 shots? Just curious, I've been sorting through everything I've shot for the last two years and I'm figuring about 1-2% are real keepers.

 

[JamesD]

Usually, I pick one or two (on a good day) shots from a roll as "best." If they're really appeal to me, and they're b&w, I'll typically set them aside for detailed printing. Overall, though, the really good shots... around 1 to 2%.

Interestingly, pinhole photos I get a much higher rate, ranging from 20% to 50% for any given session. Once, I think I hit 75%. It's a different process, however, because I usually shoot, develop, print, and reshoot as necessary.

 

[2framesbelowzero]

of photos that you take are you really in to, in the long term. How many portfolio pieces do you get per 100 shots? Just curious, I've been sorting through everything I've shot for the last two years and I'm figuring about 1-2% are real keepers.

In April I shot 14 rolls of film..mostly rolls of 36, a few 24.

Apart from 4 rolls of film which were for an ad-hoc assignment,
and have been posted-on to an arts organisation to develop / appraise;

With the other 10 rolls I took about 300 shots.. and of these I like about 30-35. and I rate about 20. so.. about 7%.

I do consider that ratio a bit lame actually.

When I'm on top of my game, often enough I've got 5 pictures(black &white) that I'm really excited about, from a roll of 36,
and maybe 15 acceptable ones.


I recently went back to using film and it was a new camera system for me...removable prism - shooting from chest height, back to a manual lens,
handheld shooting, using a wider lens than previously... I blew several nice shots because from waist height with a wide, the perspectives are useless
(banana lamposts)..and with a few others the camera is off-kilter.

I'm losing interest in wide-angle lenses (28mm and wider). I I want to get a 35mm prime and an 80mm prime and use those for the social-documentary stuff that's become my main interest now.

I really could have used compensation (backlit/spotlit) in a lot of situations were things have come out a bit dark in certain areas of the frame.

I have a thing for full-frame photography, so I reject things which could be quite ok if cropped.

 

[chroix]

I'm not really talking how many usable shots, I'm talking portfolio pieces. Photos that will bump another photo from your collection you consider your best work.

 

[2framesbelowzero]

Well, for me, like I wrote - about 7%... and often up to 15%. My interest is in social-documentary. What subject do you specialise in that yield you 1-2% 'for the folio' ?

 

[craig]

My personal work is few and far between. Putting it into percentages is a little scary. I would guess 1-2%. I think it was Minor White who said something along the lines of "if I get twelve good shots a year I am lucky".

My commercial and editorial work has a much higher percentage. Especially in the studio.

 

[chroix]

I shoot a wide range of subjects. I work as a photojournalist and the number of shots I take that I like from assignments I go on is much higher in the 50-70% range, but for pieces that I use in my book it obviously gets narrowed down much further than that. Currently I've got about 15 series with at least 10 shots in each. Some I've been working on for years and that is what I'm referring to. Nothing too specialized, I just remove pieces periodically when i feel I have stronger shots waiting in the wings so to speak. If I were shooting at 1-2% for work I wouldn't be working for very long.

 

[2framesbelowzero]

I shoot a wide range of subjects. I work as a photojournalist and the number of shots I take that I like from assignments I go on ..

Who have you worked for ?
Do you have any tear-sheets or a folio online that we can see ?

 

[Torus34]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'portfolio piece.'

I judge prints by whether I wish to hang them on my wall or not. I expect one per 6x6cm 120 roll/35mm 20 exp. cassette. I usually bracket my negatives.

 

[markc]

I'm not really talking how many usable shots, I'm talking portfolio pieces. Photos that will bump another photo from your collection you consider your best work.

I think my "usable" percentage is fairly decent, 8-12%, but the number of portfolio worthy ones is probably closer to 1-2%. If you only count ones that I can look at and say, "Yeah, that's what it's all about!", then about a half-dozen. Total. Ever. That's been fairly consistent, but the actual half-dozen images that do it for me has changed over time as I do new work.

 

[mysteryscribe]

In reponse to Mark...

My son in law is new to this (well about eight years in) and is heavy into digital and photoshop work. For him, every week he produces something that is the best thing he has ever done. Most of it is very good, and some worthy of a spot on his studio wall.

Your comment about it changing and evolving is something I can finally relate to. It has been so long since my photo style has changed any, that I had gotten able to produce most paid for jobs without giving it a lot of thought or bringing more than a passing interest to them. And since I only shot when paid, I had gotten totally stale pretty much a hack... by the way I still am.

I have made change in direction and find that now I am learning new things from trial and error again. I have yet to shoot that piece I would display at a arts festival, but I see it evolving from day to day. I had missed that at the end of my career.

To answer the question, I haven't shot anything in a long time that I would bumb an old image for, but then I tossed my portfolio when I closed down the studio. One day I might start a new one, but it won't be anything like what I am shooting now because I will have evolved one more time before I start a new portfoliol.

 

[terri]

I've never really tried to put it into percentages like that, but for my own "wow" shots, I would guess 1-2% is pretty spot on.

Not to be confused with "usable" shots, I have a million of 'em (yawn).

 

[LWW]

We would think less of all photogs if we saw ttheir mistakes.

LWW

 

[niccig]

This thread makes me feel way better! So far I don't have anything at all "great", and not even 1% that I think are "ok". I only got my first real camera a few months ago though. Hopefully the huge amount of shots required for my photo class this fall will help me improve.....

 

[jwkwd]

I would be interested in the ratio's of keepers: digital versus film. More to the point, hardcore film users to digital users. Not to start any arguments, but just for curiousity.