I'm curious to find out how most of you take your shots. Are you a rapid shooter or do you try to wait for the right moment to take your shot?
On average how many shots do you take and how many reaches post-processing? And how many actually reaches the clients?

That's a good question Paul.

For Rapid shooting. Well it depends with your agreement with the client. For wedding shots, if the client agree's a journalistic style rather than traditional way, then Rapid shooting cannot be avoided since you want to capture significant moments.

When we shoot parties and occasions and average of 600 shots and 90% of my shots go to clients. I dont post process much, since i shoot JPEG all the time thanks to my SREALA 2 curve on my Nikon, it works like a charm without post processing. In a situation with difficult lightings, then i shoot RAW+jpeg.

interesting question pero i am a hobbyist lang so walang pumupunta sa client. :D

i shoot in controlled lighting and sometimes mga portraiture in ambiant light so hindi ako rapid shooter. :D average is 5 shots per pose/layout hihihi and 3 out of 5 pinopost process ko.. :D

Very spoiled nga ang mga clients namin dito sa Saudi... imagine an average of 500 images on a single affair (e.g. birthday, binyag, etc.)... puro pa blowup ang prints (6" x 8" ang considered normal print dito).

As much as possible... I do my best to make each shutter click translate to an archival frame/capture. :)

hi there,

i would normally shoot less than 1000 shots. i make every shot count as compared to shooting an image with 10 straight clicks, i erase right away the shots i dont like on camera and my mindset is the Less is more , quality than quantity approach..
pat

I prefer to shoot large format film for ad work. First I shoot 1 to 3 polaroids to test the exposure. When all is good, I shoot film. I uses a box of 10 sheets of film per layout. I pick one, process it and my involvement with the project is done.

As an example (repost from another thread), I used up 11 boxes for a 12-concept for an ad.

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6519/filmue1.jpg

My team shoot around 1500 per wedding. That's coming from 2 photographers. Everything are a turned over to the client.

Only around 300-400 end up in post processing which about 150 end up in the album.

We wait look for moments all day long buwe're not rapid shooters for every moment that we see.

Dino

sir nick, masakit sa bulsa yan ah..hehehehe

My team shoot around 1500 per wedding. That's coming from 2 photographers. Everything are a turned over to the client.



Wow, those are a lot of images. Without a pocket photo downloader, that'll translate to about 3-4 1GB CF cards.

In the end, only about 10% makes it to the album. Am just curious, how long before the couple returns to you with their select photos?

I'm not a pro shooter, but lucky for me, I get the opportunity to shoot my nephews/nieces birthday parties or some of our medical societies events. I don't consider myself trigger happy but I set my camera to multishot. I fire 1-3 frames when I think the "shot" needs it. Saves me the agony of watching a nice shot turned bad because one guy has his eyes closed 8-). Sometimes, even posed shots need a couple of fires. Maybe half of the pictures I've taken for the event get deleted - kasi redundant. Despite that kind of shooting....di parin siguro umaabot ng 10,000 actuations 20D ko. I should go out and shoot more.....salamat.

Wow, those are a lot of images. Without a pocket photo downloader, that'll translate to about 3-4 1GB CF cards.

In the end, only about 10% makes it to the album. Am just curious, how long before the couple returns to you with their select photos?

Due to large number of shots we do, I do an initial selection for them. The couple just have to approve it. They can change some if they want. Based on experience, they ask to me change about 10% of my selection.

I use 10-15 CF per wedding which is a combination of 512 and 1GB. I don't wait till the CFs are full. I download it during those waiting times.

I shoot jpg BTW. Total shots is around 4GB to 6GB per wedding.

Dino

Due to large number of shots we do, I do an initial selection for them. The couple just have to approve it. They can change some if they want. Based on experience, they ask to me change about 10% of my selection.

I use 10-15 CF per wedding which is a combination of 512 and 1GB. I don't wait till the CFs are full. I download it during those waiting times.

I shoot jpg BTW. Total shots is around 4GB to 6GB per wedding.

Dino

Wow! 4-6 GB of JPEGs. :) Imagine choosing +-150 pics out of all of those for the album layout...

Yaman!

:d :d :d

Wow! 4-6 GB of JPEGs. :) Imagine choosing +-150 pics out of all of those for the album layout...

Yeah, that's part of what they're paying. :)

Going beyond the original question on this thread, if we shoot around 1500 or sometimes it goes more than 2000, I choose around 500-600 shots. The criteria for choosing is in terms of techncal and artistic quality. The main secret there is to edit hard. It take me around half day to full day to choose and do some adjustments. I shoot in JPG mainly because it more processor friendly.

I will then turn over it to my designer for album design. That's about 3-5 days work. Once it is finish, I will review it do some necessary changes. That's the only time I give it to the client for their approval.

Normally, there are just minor changes such as they want to include their lola, tita or they prefer another picture from the same scenario. But the story is there already.

FWIW, that's my workflow. :)

Dino

I've done small weddings so far and I usually shoot alone, I end with around 600 - 700 images but only about only 250 get to post processing, the most would be around 450. I rely a lot on post processing of which 90% get pressented to my clients.
I still have to shoot a big wedding, in which case I will be shooting tandem with another photographer.

FWIW, that's my workflow. :)

Dino

Doable but mind boggling. :)

For me, whenever I am shooting "speed" i.e. sports, Im more of a trigger-happy type - continous shooting i should say... so that there will be more choices for end-processing.

But for anything else, i prefer to wait for the right moment before clicking - somewhat saving the "shutter cycles" of the camera's shutter mechanism. And I'm not using the most powerful DSLR so I guess I only have a few shutter cycles remaining.

Wow, those are a lot of images. Without a pocket photo downloader, that'll translate to about 3-4 1GB CF cards.

In the end, only about 10% makes it to the album. Am just curious, how long before the couple returns to you with their select photos?'''


Not really. That is typical. I found out that our counterparts in the USA in other countries hit this average pretty much the same.

As a lead photog, I hit 750-900 on avg. On a 2-man team, we exceed 1,000 but usually no more than 1,400. We don't count our shots. It just so happens this way, almost all the time.

At the church we hit 300-400 shots easy per person. Dress-up about 250-300 avg. The rest is at the reception. About 400-600 can be used for proof reading. About 200-220 or so that goes into an album, mostly less (much less) for a layout type. It depends on a lot of things, but you can assemble a decent album with good story telling for around 120-150 pics.

Finally, we do not often shoot in bursts. But we shoot in sequence (and at time in bursts). And it is not haphazard, not spray and pray. Mostly the reason for doing this is to insure that a good shot or moment is captured with insurance shots. How do you know that the bride didn't close her eyes on the first shot? Firing in burst of 3 or 4 lessens the chance of those things.

I heard an outfit (with a 1d mk2) of a 4-man team that shoots 4,000 shots. To me, that is excessive. But hey, who am I to question their motives and workflow?:) Trouble is they give all that 4,000 shots to the clients to pick!:RedEye: Not a good idea in my mind.

when i shoot film, which i did in my last wedding, i bring 30 rolls. contact prints are made and i choose anywhere from 600 to 800 for printing.

with digital, i bring 6mb worth of space, shoot and edit on cam. i end up with anywhere from 800 to 1400 pics which is further edited to around 800 pics for printing and delivery.

this further editing is what kills me. sooo tedious. groan.

:<)

Personally I take snapshots before the serious ones. That is if I'll take of anyone or anything on the street, I would take 2 or 3 unannounced photos before approaching (if needed) the subject/s to ask permission/rearrange, if granted i'll consume the whole card if the subject is interesting.
I seldom shoot weddings (only friend's) but I do wedding album layouts for several pros. I usually receive 120-200 shots of pre-edited materials and its up to me to cram it in a 40 or so wedding album pages. However, there are those over-trusting friends who give me thousands of photos of their coverage and say "bahala ka na". And it's up to me how to keep sane just by editing what's going in or stay out of the album. The rest of the way its much like Dino Lara's procedure.

'''


As a lead photog, I hit 750-900 on avg. On a 2-man team, we exceed 1,000 but usually no more than 1,400. We don't count our shots. It just so happens this way, almost all the time.

At the church we hit 300-400 shots easy per person. Dress-up about 250-300 avg. The rest is at the reception. About 400-600 can be used for proof reading. About 200-220 or so that goes into an album, mostly less (much less) for a layout type. It depends on a lot of things, but you can assemble a decent album with good story telling for around 120-150 pics.

Finally, we do not often shoot in bursts. But we shoot in sequence (and at time in bursts). And it is not haphazard, not spray and pray. Mostly the reason for doing this is to insure that a good shot or moment is captured with insurance shots. How do you know that the bride didn't close her eyes on the first shot? Firing in burst of 3 or 4 lessens the chance of those things.



I agree. Isn't it amazing what digital has done vis-a-vis film? In the film days, there were pre-determined shots whose outcome would be more or less be predictable (say... 10 rolls of 36-exp film for pre-wedding, formals and reception and that's it). And if the photog is skimping on the negative, one would very much end up with a closed-eyed-portrait (I hate to admit it but this was what happened to us during our wedding back in the late nineties, which is the reason i hardly ever give the album a browse). :(

Ah.. I envy the couples getting digital coverage. Well, perhaps on my next wedding (wedding anniversary that is). :Grin:

'''

I heard an outfit (with a 1d mk2) of a 4-man team that shoots 4,000 shots. To me, that is excessive. But hey, who am I to question their motives and workflow? Trouble is they give all that 4,000 shots to the clients to pick! Not a good idea in my mind.


Agree, I think its an overkill, unless ofcourse its a 100-page album layout. :)
Must be a heck of a time before the client returns with their choice of photos from among the 4000, assuming the couple have the time to do so. Maybe after a year? :Grin:

Sorry, not my intention to bash anyone. Peace!:Dum:

i guess if there would be more to shoot you'd have a larger number of photos than if you have less to shoot (i have attended a very non-interesting wedding where almost nothing happened). unless you have a quota like say 300 shots during the ceremony, 100 post ceremony portraits, 400 during the reception, etc etc... and hahabulin mo para di ka mabitin. hehe! :D

i guess if there would be more to shoot you'd have a larger number of photos than if you have less to shoot (i have attended a very non-interesting wedding where almost nothing happened). unless you have a quota like say 300 shots during the ceremony, 100 post ceremony portraits, 400 during the reception, etc etc... and hahabulin mo para di ka mabitin. hehe! :D


I agree. In a "very-non-interesting-wedding-where-nothing-almost-happened situations", do you find it your responsibility as the photog to make it eventful? Just asking.

Agree, I think its an overkill, unless ofcourse its a 100-page album layout. :)
Must be a heck of a time before the client returns with their choice of photos from among the 4000, assuming the couple have the time to do so. Maybe after a year? :Grin:

Sorry, not my intention to bash anyone. Peace!:Dum:

That 4,000 shots was handed to the couple in 9 CDR discs.

I have not done a 100 page layout, but if you ask me, there's a psychological limit that a person can tolerate. Too much images results in sensory overload. It's not different like going to the mall and finding too much clothes to pick from. Assuming a 100 page layout, would 500 shots suffice to fill this? If so, why give the couple 4,000 to pick over? Not only that, surely that 4,000 shots you have duplicates, even triplicates of the same thing. Why not pare it down to even 1,200 to make the job of the couple easier?

Again, not my workflow, but I wouldn't give the client 4,000, not even 1,000 pictures to pick from. 300-600 is ok. Also, giving them too much is not just tiresome to sort out, but it weakens you as a photographer in the eyes of the client. Showing only a few of your best will show your best shots. Showing other shots, the mundane and less than stellar shots (even if technically correct) will dilute the client's perception of you as an artist.

Well, those guys must have their reasons, and maybe all those 4,000 shots are very good. Maybe I'm the one on the blind side and needs to be educated. I can't really see the value of sending 4,000 shots.

...well, if it were sports shots, I can understand 4,000 or even 20,000 shots of an event, maybe even 50,000. But a wedding? Hmmmm. Maybe if it is a HINDU wedding w/c can last for days....:)

...That 4,000 shots was handed to the couple in 9 CDR discs.
...Well, those guys must have their reasons, and maybe all those 4,000 shots are very good.

...well, if it were sports shots, I can understand 4,000 or even 20,000 shots of an event, maybe even 50,000. But a wedding? Hmmmm. Maybe if it is a HINDU wedding w/c can last for days.



Huge numbers indeed.
It turns out, it's different strokes for different folks. :Grin: