SHOOT LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOS.
One of the big misconceptions in photography is that a true professional gets the perfect shot with a single click. He shows up, pops out his or her camera, frames up the perfect photo, snaps it, and it’s magically a work of art.
This is a million miles from the process of most professional photographers these days. Most pros shooting events or even supermodels shoot hundreds, even thousands of photos in a single photo shoot. Granted, they nail their exposure, focus and other technical elements most of the time on every shot, but they shoot lots of photos. A model’s facial expression changes. People at events move around. The photographer changes vantage points. Being a professional often doesn’t mean shooting less…it often means intentionally shooting a LOT more.
I’ve always looked at it as a percent success rate. When I finish an event, what % of the images that I shot was good enough to post on social media? What % was good enough to print and frame. That percentage has changed through the years as I’ve gotten better and better in my skill level, but it’s still a percent. And I know that, today, if I’m shooting a fast-moving event like students on campus running around or playing basketball or something, I probably am going to be happy with about 1 out of every 10 photos. And I’ll likely end up with 1 out of every 100 that is worthy of framing. What does that mean to me? Well, it means that I likely need to take at least 100 shots at any given basketball game to get a truly exceptional shot. And if I want to get several at one game, it means I’m probably shooting 300-400 over the course of the game.
Yeah, that sounds like a lot. Maybe it’s a testament to me not being that great behind the camera. Regardless, I have a good understanding of what it’s going to take to get a frame-worthy photo, and I put in the work to get it.
Most events are not as technically challenging to shoot as basketball though. So when I go out to shoot a student event, it’s not unusual for me to shoot about 20-50 photos. Even if I’m shooting a simple story of Baylor’s weekly Dr Pepper Hour, I still likely will shoot a dozen or so shots before I pick the one that came out best.
Remember, digital is essentially free. You aren’t paying for film and processing. There is no excuse not to increase your quantity…it increases the odds of getting better quality. Intentionally increasing your quantity also means more opportunities to fail, and there is no greater teacher. After you’re done shooting, look at your failed shots. Why did you like one shot and not the other? Is there a technical aspect you need to learn more about? Is the composition of one shot better than the other? Or is it simply a case of catching the perfect moment? Especially on that last question, even the pros put their cameras into continuous capture mode and may grab 10 shots in one press of the shutter release.
Maybe your percentage is better than mine. If so, go you! The important thing is to know what that percent is…and then work to that end.
Tip: Shoot 10-100x more than you think you need. Yes, that much. And here’s a helpful tip I wish I’d learned a long time ago… When you are going through your shots after a shoot, throw away the bad shots AT THAT POINT. Don’t hang onto them. I’m a photo hoarder. I always fear I’ll want that bad shot later. I don’t ever actually. They just waste space on my hard drive. Don’t be like me. Throw away the stuff that is truly bad.
This is a million miles from the process of most professional photographers these days. Most pros shooting events or even supermodels shoot hundreds, even thousands of photos in a single photo shoot. Granted, they nail their exposure, focus and other technical elements most of the time on every shot, but they shoot lots of photos. A model’s facial expression changes. People at events move around. The photographer changes vantage points. Being a professional often doesn’t mean shooting less…it often means intentionally shooting a LOT more.
I’ve always looked at it as a percent success rate. When I finish an event, what % of the images that I shot was good enough to post on social media? What % was good enough to print and frame. That percentage has changed through the years as I’ve gotten better and better in my skill level, but it’s still a percent. And I know that, today, if I’m shooting a fast-moving event like students on campus running around or playing basketball or something, I probably am going to be happy with about 1 out of every 10 photos. And I’ll likely end up with 1 out of every 100 that is worthy of framing. What does that mean to me? Well, it means that I likely need to take at least 100 shots at any given basketball game to get a truly exceptional shot. And if I want to get several at one game, it means I’m probably shooting 300-400 over the course of the game.
Yeah, that sounds like a lot. Maybe it’s a testament to me not being that great behind the camera. Regardless, I have a good understanding of what it’s going to take to get a frame-worthy photo, and I put in the work to get it.
Most events are not as technically challenging to shoot as basketball though. So when I go out to shoot a student event, it’s not unusual for me to shoot about 20-50 photos. Even if I’m shooting a simple story of Baylor’s weekly Dr Pepper Hour, I still likely will shoot a dozen or so shots before I pick the one that came out best.
Remember, digital is essentially free. You aren’t paying for film and processing. There is no excuse not to increase your quantity…it increases the odds of getting better quality. Intentionally increasing your quantity also means more opportunities to fail, and there is no greater teacher. After you’re done shooting, look at your failed shots. Why did you like one shot and not the other? Is there a technical aspect you need to learn more about? Is the composition of one shot better than the other? Or is it simply a case of catching the perfect moment? Especially on that last question, even the pros put their cameras into continuous capture mode and may grab 10 shots in one press of the shutter release.
Maybe your percentage is better than mine. If so, go you! The important thing is to know what that percent is…and then work to that end.
Tip: Shoot 10-100x more than you think you need. Yes, that much. And here’s a helpful tip I wish I’d learned a long time ago… When you are going through your shots after a shoot, throw away the bad shots AT THAT POINT. Don’t hang onto them. I’m a photo hoarder. I always fear I’ll want that bad shot later. I don’t ever actually. They just waste space on my hard drive. Don’t be like me. Throw away the stuff that is truly bad.
