your numbers

[Vtec44]

I don't know, it depends on how long is a session I guess. Out of any shoot, I think over 90% of my pictures are acceptable in the technical aspect of a photograph. Creative aspect? WAY WAY WAY below that. lol As far as worth keeping, I'd say under 10%. Amazing? I don't think I've reached that point yet. I feel that most of my photographs are bland, boring, and typical.

 

[IgsEMT]

What is the average number of photos you take per session?
Wedding (60-100/hr - depending on the wedding). kid Portrait session (about 100-150). Newborn (about 80 - kid doesn't move thus if I can get it right in one shot, i'll do that.)

Out of those how many are you proud of?
1-3%. I'm OVERLY critical of my work.

How many do you like but wouldn't put on a personal website?
90+%. (its 1-3% that would go on the site).

How many do you find acceptable?
85%.
10% - are usually blinkies and test shots.
How many do you throw out?

Are you a pro or an amateur or a hobbyist?
pro

 

[avajetl]

that's right the photo will depend on the shoot ..

 

[The_Traveler]

People who say that they themselves are their own worst critic have not posted their work on any public photo boards.

 

[honoryourlife]

People who say that they themselves are their own worst critic have not posted their work on any public photo boards.

Maybe you should check out a few of my threads. Especially my latest one HINDER (C&C). You should check them out and give some C&C. I'd really appreciate it actually Traveler.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/254749-hinder-c-c-wanted.html

 

[spacefuzz]

What is the average number of photos you take per session?
200-300 per hour usually. bracketed shots, always moving and trying different comps depending on the light. (landscapes)
Water shots shoot to get wave, blur right (which takes a while).

Out of those how many are you proud of?
Proud of? Perhaps 1 out of 1000.

How many do you like but wouldn't put on a personal website?
Perhaps 10-20

How many do you find acceptable?
Acceptable for editing / further review, perhaps 5-10
Keepers when all is said and done? 1-2

How many do you throw out?
never throw any out, they just go into cold storage on my hard drive.

Are you a pro or an amateur or a hobbyist?
amateur with delusions about going pro

 

[Shadowbox]

Wow this is really interesting to read! Last night I went out to see the nieces and had my dogs with me. I was practicing with my tripod for the first time. It's a very different experience than not using one and I'm not sure yet if I actually like using it.

I took 563 photos. Granted a large portion were test shots, and also I tend to take 10 photos of 10 angles of the same thing haha.

Well half of them were blurry because it was kinda dark out and I couldn't manipulate my shutter speed to go higher, it was at 200 and would not go up further. ISO was at 100 and it was open all the way AND had my sb-700 but still was too dark to catch the kids in motion. So all of those are pretty useless now. I ended up with about 40 out of 563 that I am keeping! I know, that's horrible. Some were not good because of technical reasons, some because of composition, some because of both.

The ones that I do like, I really like and see improvement from my previous 'session'. BTW I have never done any sessions like a wedding because I am soooo not prepared for that. It's probably a five year out type situation for me, but it's still really fascinating to hear about this. It kinda helps me to see that with more practice and training I'll be able to nail shots in any situation 80-90% of the time and that is exciting.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

As stated, it depends on the session length, the type of session as well as the photographer's skills, and the photographers pickiness.

For instance, in a controlled environment, like a studio portrait shoot, the level of quality shots would probably be fairly high. The main thing that would keep me from using shots would be that they are near duplicates, or the subject was making a wierd face ( or blinking ).

As for wildlife, you are sort of along for the ride, its more spontaneous and "go with the flow" style, atleast for me anyway. So the number of keepers goes down. Often times your subject is on the move as well which is obviously harder to shoot than a stationary subject.

Personally, I am very very picky and am currently trying to amass a good portfolio for possible publishing, fine-art, and stock photography. I want to have a leg up on a lot of the crap out there nowadays, so I am extremely picky about sharpness, composition, lighting and try to avoid cropping as much as possible. So my level of keepers is not very high. While atleast half of my shots may be "usable" there are probably only a select few that not only meet my quality standards, but are also of significant impact to warrant adding to my portfolio. Also, if I were selling framed fine-art prints at several thousand dollars a pop, I would probably be even more picky than I am now. You have the ability to be even more picky when the payout is worth the added effort and time of shooting with an extremely low yield.

 

[spacefuzz]

I agree GooniesNeverSayDie11, if your not shooting in a studio much harder (nie impossible) to get a 90% yield. Unless you never push the shutter button....but what fun is that?

 

[gsgary]

That depends on what I am shooting! It varies every time but I usually like and use about u of them.

We want your old avatar back

 

[christian.rudman]

What is the average number of photos you take per session?

Out of those how many are you proud of?

How many do you like but wouldn't put on a personal website?

How many do you find acceptable?

How many do you throw out?

Are you a pro or an amateur or a hobbyist?

-----------

Average 250-500 a session (meaning each time I have my camera out to take pics)

Proud of: 5-10

Like: 20

Acceptable: 20

Dislike: the rest lol

Amateur turning hobbyist

Please respond!

I'm shooting similarly, but with a higher retention rate on the like/acceptable photos.


Average: 300-600 a session

Proud of: 10

Like: 50

Acceptable: 150

Dislike: Every last one of them

Free Hobbyist that charges PITA fees.


I have found less and less need to charge for my work, because mainly it is for friends and family. If it's not for one of those two I charge. I'm about to be tuning down my digital and stepping into film more, so my shooting/retention rates are going to change here soon. Hoping for a higher percent with this change, but I could end up at %0!

 

[analog.universe]

It certainly depends on the shoot...

Post for my food blog:
take 300-500
proud of 10-15
like 20-30
acceptable 30-50

Hiking around snapping random subjects:
take 50-75 / hr
proud of 2 or 3 a day
like 2%?
these kinds of shots aren't acceptable if I don't like them.

I had a day out with a 10 stop ND where I only took like 20 shots, but I was proud of 3 of them and probably half were acceptable. I guess I put more thought into it if I know I need to wait 5 minutes before I can try again

And I also never throw anything away, HDDs are too cheap these days. I can store about 50,000 18mp RAWs for $75. I do tell myself I'll weed out the obviously useless shots someday, but it hasn't happened yet.

Oh, and hobbyist, the blog isn't profitable or anything...

 

[Neiby]

I think most of my photos suck. I could take 100 photos and have maybe 10-20 that I like. But I'm still a noob, so every time I take a picture that I later realize I don't like, I take the opportunity to figure out why I don't like it and learn something from it.

 

[Ron Evers]

I can tell most folk here have only shot digital, not film, or they would not be squeezing off hundreds of frames per outing. Even though I now shoot digital I still try hard to get the shot right the first time - old habits are hard to break.

 

[Neiby]

I can tell most folk here have only shot digital, not film, or they would not be squeezing off hundreds of frames per outing. Even though I now shoot digital I still try hard to get the shot right the first time - old habits are hard to break.

Guilty as charged.