How many shots does it take??? Hey all,, Just wondering how it goes for you? When you go out shooting,, how many shots do you take to get those few great perfect focus shots.? Ive been...

dabbleshots Loc: Richmond,va.

Hey all,, Just wondering how it goes for you? When you go out shooting,, how many shots do you take to get those few great perfect focus shots.? Ive been taking pics about 10 years and sometimes it seems the shot that you have a bit of time taking ,, say like a bird on a fence....and you think its the shot you are hoping until you load it up and its out of focus...people tell me I have a great eye or take beautiful pictures but perhaps im a bit too hard on myself,,,wondering how/ if you go through the same things! Just curious........

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I take about a million, experimenting with focus points, apperture, composition, whatever. It's all a learning experiment for me.
I also will print a shot I kinda like, mark it up as to what I think might make it better and go back when possible to try and improve it, using the print as a " roadmap".
Best of luck!

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

It all depends on what I am shooting, where I am shooting and what is the lighting like.

Getting the correct focus (unless it is motor racing, and sometime birds in flight) is not a real problem.

Getting a "moment" just takes patience.

How many shots?
Dawn seascapes, maybe 40 - mostly trying out different compsitions and nailing the exposure in changing lighting conditions. Will end up with more than one good one.
Flowers - only one or two.
Classical music concerts - a couple for each performer plus a few for an overview.
Motor racing when shooting trackside, especially if it is raining, about 2000 per day. However I should have a lot of good ones.
Family stuff - maybe 100 over a full day.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

dabbleshots wrote:

Hey all,, Just wondering how it goes for you? Wh... (show quote)

You have to be in the right place at the right time and to be ready. I do not get a good shot every time I go out. And if the lighting is bad, it still might not be what i want. But sometimes, it all aligns. Then its worth it.

jcboy3

BassmanBruce wrote:

I take about a million, experimenting with focus points, apperture, composition, whatever. It's all a learning experiment for me.
I also will print a shot I kinda like, mark it up as to what I think might make it better and go back when possible to try and improve it, using the print as a " roadmap".
Best of luck!

That's going to take a lot of memory cards.

BebuLamar

Most of my shots are in good focus but I don't take pictures of birds in flight and such.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

dabbleshots wrote:

Hey all,, Just wondering how it goes for you? Wh... (show quote)

That's a simple math question. More than zero, at least one, and possibly many.

The better question is the proportion of good shots to actual shots, which depends on many things, the situation, planning, preparation, skill with your equipment, amount of time and having the right equipment when you need it, the list is endless...

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

Peterff wrote:

That's a simple math question. More than zero, at least one, and possibly many.

The better question is the proportion of good shots to actual shots, which depends on many things, the situation, planning, preparation, skill with your equipment, amount of time and having the right equipment when you need it, the list is endless...

The proportion???? Maybe 15 out of 100.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

jethro779 wrote:

The proportion???? Maybe 15 out of 100.

I don't think that you can give a proportion. The subject that you are shooting is a bigger factor. If I doing landscapes, everyone will be in focus. And if I'm doing Air Shows, most of those will be in focus since everything is predictable.

Its the unpredictable stuff that you just have to be ready for.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

jethro779 wrote:

The proportion???? Maybe 15 out of 100.

But in what situation?

A controlled, dedicated photo shoot, a primarily social gathering, or an opportunistic and dynamically changing scenario?

They are all going to give different results. The point is how do you improve the ratio in any given situation?

Are you doing something wrong that you can correct for? Can you prepare better? Can you slow down and think more about each shot? Do you have the right equipment and are you ready when the photo opportunity presents itself? Do you practice specific scenarios so you have an idea of what does or does not work?

There is no real universal number, but you can look at your results and try to get better each time a similar situation occurs.

dabbleshots Loc: Richmond,va.

wow,,, thanks all for the replies....I guess its all a learning process,,, Maybe others do the same thing,, I look around on line and some of these shots people take are so incredible,,, its amazing but too I gotta think,, how much do they shoot,, do they sleep with their camera.s are they pros that spend 80 hrs a week shooting... all varibles,,,,I need to hang out more on here,, I like this site and feed back,, just get busy and put things aside,,, I will be here more often,, Really enjoy the pics you folks shoot as well and reading forums has helped me a bit also,,,, still lots to learn!!

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

Peterff wrote:

But in what situation? br br A controlled, dedica... (show quote)

No, I can't stop airplanes as they fly over. I live in the flight path of D-M Air Base and as the jets fly overhead they are usually moving fast enough that one picture out of each burst of 10 or 11 shots per bird I might get 2 that are close in focus. The ones flying more directly overhead are easier to get in focus than the ones off to my right or left.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

dabbleshots wrote:

wow,,, thanks all for the replies....I guess its a... (show quote)

I can tell you that we are not all pro's. I have never sold a photo in my life. But as an almost retired engineer, photography is certainly a direction to pursue that lets me experiment to my heart's content to see if I can something a new way or to do it better. And I'm sure there are others who share this desire.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

dabbleshots wrote:

wow,,, thanks all for the replies....I guess its a... (show quote)

It is and will continue to be a learning process unless you choose for it not to be....

I went out to experiment yesterday, with an unfamiliar situation for me, and I got a lot of failures, a few OK shots, and one that I was pretty pleased with. Not perfect, but it fulfilled the educational experience, in more ways than one!

The main pic is below and the full story is in this link: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-335476-1.html

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

jethro779 wrote:

No, I can't stop airplanes as they fly over. I live in the flight path of D-M Air Base and as the jets fly overhead they are usually moving fast enough that one picture out of each burst of 10 or 11 shots per bird I might get 2 that are close in focus. The ones flying more directly overhead are easier to get in focus than the ones off to my right or left.

And that is probably a decent result for that given situation, since you can only plan and prepare for the opportunity, but not control it.

I think we are on the same page in thinking about this.