How many photos do you take??
Discussion
Some of the pictures I see on some of the websites that people on here have are amazing.
How many pictures does it take to have the perfect shot??
Since I purchased my digital camera I take more photos than ever before, I can take 100 photos on an afternoon in the country.
Am I sad?? Or have I the right idea??
How many pictures does it take to have the perfect shot??
Since I purchased my digital camera I take more photos than ever before, I can take 100 photos on an afternoon in the country.
Am I sad?? Or have I the right idea??
zetec said:
How many pictures does it take to have the perfect shot?? Since I purchased my digital camera I take more photos than ever before, I can take 100 photos on an afternoon in the country. Am I sad?? Or have I the right idea??
I've been taking photos since about 1978. Mind you my father was a very keen amateur so I had tracks to follow, as it were. Getting the 'perfect' photo is not a function of how many times you press the button; a photograph starts in your head. You have to be able to see what will make a good photograph before you get the camera out. Of course with digital it's easy to take bad pix and delete them, but when shooting film you learn to be more disciplined and only press the shutter release when you think you've got a half-decent shot in your viewfinder.
All I can suggest is Practice - decide what kind of pix you like taking best - people/sports/landscapes/close-up/abstract/cars/colour/b&w. Understanding things like depth of field, shutter speed, the effect of focal length etc will help too. When you see the results, decide what you don't like about it and try to remember for next time!
Oh yes, and composition too!
>> Edited by simpo two on Saturday 21st February 20:57
Zetec i have had that very same question going round in my head for the last few days. Unfortunately i don't have a clue about depth of field ........YET! and i find that some of my better pics are quite by accident, although the ratio is falling now.
Riding to work today ( on my pushbike, about the only usefull thing i do all day ) when i saw a femail black bird ( brown and smaller than the black ones ) or at least i think it was. It was perched on a black wrought iron fence outside the town registry office. The office is old and made of sand coloured stone in a stately home sort of style. between the two was a lovely pink cherry tree in full blossom. "CLICK" i thought! blurr the pink and stone and bring in the bird in close-up. I'm always wishing i had a camera with me, more so i can share what i see with other people as i always remember the nice ones anyway.
Riding to work today ( on my pushbike, about the only usefull thing i do all day ) when i saw a femail black bird ( brown and smaller than the black ones ) or at least i think it was. It was perched on a black wrought iron fence outside the town registry office. The office is old and made of sand coloured stone in a stately home sort of style. between the two was a lovely pink cherry tree in full blossom. "CLICK" i thought! blurr the pink and stone and bring in the bird in close-up. I'm always wishing i had a camera with me, more so i can share what i see with other people as i always remember the nice ones anyway.
bilko - http://abetterphotoguide.bizhosting.com/depth_of_field_info.html
zetec -
I set this shot up and filled a 512 mb card as the sun set - so in answer to your question... lots and lots and lots
(and no, I haven't played with the colour!)
zetec -
I set this shot up and filled a 512 mb card as the sun set - so in answer to your question... lots and lots and lots
(and no, I haven't played with the colour!) thats a mighty impressive photo, but I often wonder if you lot are too critical on yourself.
I appreciate some of my photo's aren't that good (subject looks plain wrong, or slightly blurred...) but generally speaking I'm happy with about > 70% of the photos I take (still life).
Maybe I'm just not critical enough, but I enjoy taking photo's for taking photo's sake (not to sell them or anything) and don't personally see the point in searching for that elusive shot, which IMO is just as good as a previous one?
But in answer to the question, about 650 images in a month
with my new Canon A70.
>> Edited by docevi1 on Sunday 22 February 10:22
I appreciate some of my photo's aren't that good (subject looks plain wrong, or slightly blurred...) but generally speaking I'm happy with about > 70% of the photos I take (still life).
Maybe I'm just not critical enough, but I enjoy taking photo's for taking photo's sake (not to sell them or anything) and don't personally see the point in searching for that elusive shot, which IMO is just as good as a previous one?
But in answer to the question, about 650 images in a month
with my new Canon A70. >> Edited by docevi1 on Sunday 22 February 10:22
Haven't taken a photo of anything in years. Have a good memory... and photos can't record the atmosphere or sensations. Also have no need to torture people with my holiday pics 
As for doing it for artistic sense, how many of the "good" pics that are taken are purely down to the scenery/subject rather than photographic ability. Try taking a picture of an ugly car (eg new Megane) and make it look desirable or nice. Best go on a photography course (No, I haven't been on one, but I appreciate the topic enough to know it's not just about buying an expensive camera with loads of buttons... otherwise we'd all have given up our day jobs and be earning money photographing things!)
As for doing it for artistic sense, how many of the "good" pics that are taken are purely down to the scenery/subject rather than photographic ability. Try taking a picture of an ugly car (eg new Megane) and make it look desirable or nice. Best go on a photography course
(No, I haven't been on one, but I appreciate the topic enough to know it's not just about buying an expensive camera with loads of buttons... otherwise we'd all have given up our day jobs and be earning money photographing things!)
I tend to get an average of one "good" shot per film, and over the last 12 months have probably shot about 20-30 films, plus a couple of hundred digital photos.
I've also recently started to bracket my exposures (take 3 shots - one normal exposure, and one 1 stop either side) for shots that I want to get right, so if it's a crap shot, I now get 3 versions!
It does eat film though, so I try not to do it all the time!
I've also recently started to bracket my exposures (take 3 shots - one normal exposure, and one 1 stop either side) for shots that I want to get right, so if it's a crap shot, I now get 3 versions!
It does eat film though, so I try not to do it all the time!
At a recent track day on Anglesey, i did over 300 shots (EOS 300D) and filled my memory cards twice (1x 128Mb & 1x256Mb)
Lucky i took the laptop along to upload them all or i'd have been stuffed.
Pics are here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geoff.hubbert/Anglesey%20Gallery%202/ if anyone is interested
>> Edited by monkeyhanger on Sunday 22 February 23:11
Lucky i took the laptop along to upload them all or i'd have been stuffed.
Pics are here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geoff.hubbert/Anglesey%20Gallery%202/ if anyone is interested
>> Edited by monkeyhanger on Sunday 22 February 23:11
In answer to the original question, it all depends on what you mean by 'perfect'. If you mean technically good e.g. in focus, correctly exposed etc then with today's technology and the right camera technique you should be able to manage a high success ratio.
The problem isn't usually the technique but finding the right picture and this requires other skills that often are nothing to do with camera selection but more down to experience, being in the right place, have an eye for good images and a bit of luck thrown in.
It's easy to indisrimenently take a roll of technically good pictures that simply don't inspire. But if you plan your pictures carefully, be selective in what you take pictures of and couple this with good camera technique then you can attain a reasonably good ratio of successful images. I've managed anything between zero and about 20 (though this is rare!)successful shots per roll of 36 frames depending on how disciplined/selective I've been. The number usually refects how hard, or not as the case may be, I've worked at getting good images. There are plenty of books and magazines that go into good camera technique so invest in one of these, practice, and the rest is up to your imagination and creative flare.
The problem isn't usually the technique but finding the right picture and this requires other skills that often are nothing to do with camera selection but more down to experience, being in the right place, have an eye for good images and a bit of luck thrown in.
It's easy to indisrimenently take a roll of technically good pictures that simply don't inspire. But if you plan your pictures carefully, be selective in what you take pictures of and couple this with good camera technique then you can attain a reasonably good ratio of successful images. I've managed anything between zero and about 20 (though this is rare!)successful shots per roll of 36 frames depending on how disciplined/selective I've been. The number usually refects how hard, or not as the case may be, I've worked at getting good images. There are plenty of books and magazines that go into good camera technique so invest in one of these, practice, and the rest is up to your imagination and creative flare.
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