How many good shots should I aim for per shoot?

[Taurance]

I wanted to see the amount of good shots I should expect to get in lets say 60 minutes of shooting out doors. I know if I was good I should expect most to be good. But I am just getting started and it seems that out of the 164 posed pictures I took I was able to get 10 good shots. By good I mean correct pose both eye open no other items getting in the way, subject in focus.

Just using my camera's lcd it seems hard to tell if this was a good shot as my subjects eyes seemed to be closed/squinting in most of the pictures.

I want to see how many pictures I should be able to promise to a client ie 10 shots in an hour. Maybe I am doing something wrong and I should be getting a lot more I just want to make sure I am in the correct ball park.

[Casperd360]

I wouldn't promise them any set number. I would just tell them that you will shoot them until you feel you've got enough good shots and tell them they will receive the edited versions. I have had perfect days where I get 90% of my shots. Where I am very VERY selective in what I shoot. And days where I shoot 300 shots and end up with a ton of similar shots or bad shots and walk away with about 20-30 I like. It happens.

[jra]

It really depends on the photographer and the subject. Some photogs take an absolute ton of photos in hopes of getting a good one. Others take more time getting the right photo before releasing the shutter. IMO, you can see the photo in your viewfinder before pushing the shutter button....If you take your time and really think about and study the shot, the majority of your photos should come out decently in most cases (there will always be the odd blink here and there). On the other hand, sometimes certain subjects can be very difficult and may not hold still for any period of time (such as animals and small children)....in those cases, it can be tough to get the timing down to capture a good photo or to nail focus and the keeper rate may be very low.

[DStanic]

This is why I like to nail off 2-3 shots in high speed continuous, very good chance of getting one with everybody having their eyes open. So if you wanted 100 photos and took 300 total shots you could expect to have a much higher keeper rate. This I would do especially for weddings where you only have one chance...

This like low light conditions, action (if you shoot sports), tricky mid-day sunlight and shadows, or if you have a headache that day can effect your keeper rate.

And it depends what you are shooting, if it is a wedding you can expect to have X amount of photos. They might not be perfect, but they will document the occasion which is what it is all about. If you were shooting portraits for a model, that number would probably be much lower given the same amount of time.

[PhotosGuy]

I usually shoot until I know I have "it", & then will usually shoot some more. Along the way, sometimes happy accidents happen.
This is based on one I popped off as I was walking to the car after the show was over:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=91393

[Taurance]

Thanks for all of the helpful insight. This is what I thought as well, just shoot shoot and shoot some more. I was going for potraits and it just seemed that with all of the shots and poses I took it just didn't amount to an accurate portion of images. Well I was also trying some with my son on a swing and with the back and forth motion keeping him in focus and everything out I must of took 40 pictures and some in continuos mode and i just got 5 or so usable images. Well thanks again.

[bjyoder]

In the beginning, God crea...... Wait, wrong direction.. ;)

Anyway, when I started with photography, I got into shooting a lot of concerts for local bands. There was one show in particular where I shot nearly 2,400 shots for one 3 hr show. 2,400!! After that night, I knew I was out of my mind shooting that much. This also just so happened to fall along the lines of my first quarter of an undergrad degree of Digital Photography. Since that night, I'll normally take 1,200 or fewer shots (still getting the same number of keepers); what gives, you might ask?

Basically, you can be a "shotgun" shooter (or spray-and-pray, if you will) and shoot a whole bunch in the hopes of getting those few images that are "it," however, the more images you take, the more of a feel you'll get for this whole thing.

A few things that helped me:
A) Using film. They still make beginning photogs use film for a reason: it's expensive! You learn to slow down a bit and make sure you have everything right before you squeeze that shutter button when you have $0.50 riding on the frame!
B) One of the greatest pieces of advice I've gotten, look to each corner of the frame before you shoot. This comes to me from a guy (actually more than one) who has gone digital from film, and has often gotten tunnel vision because the finders (and imaging surface itself) have become so small with digital (APS-C) versus a film SLR's (FF) finder. If you slow down enough to check each corner of the viewfinder, you'll start to notice little things that need attention before you fire the shot, and therefore get more keepers per.
C) You hear all the time to practice, practice, practice (shoot, shoot, shoot). Well, there's a reason for that. The more often you have that camera up to your eye taking pictures, the more shots you take. The more shots you have to look back onto to find mistakes, the faster you'll learn what not to do, and increase your keeper rate.

Hope that helps a bit! :)

[LynC]

In the beginning, God crea...... Wait, wrong direction.. ;)

Anyway, when I started with photography, I got into shooting a lot of concerts for local bands. There was one show in particular where I shot nearly 2,400 shots for one 3 hr show. 2,400!! After that night, I knew I was out of my mind shooting that much. This also just so happened to fall along the lines of my first quarter of an undergrad degree of Digital Photography. Since that night, I'll normally take 1,200 or fewer shots (still getting the same number of keepers); what gives, you might ask?

Basically, you can be a "shotgun" shooter (or spray-and-pray, if you will) and shoot a whole bunch in the hopes of getting those few images that are "it," however, the more images you take, the more of a feel you'll get for this whole thing.

A few things that helped me:
A) Using film. They still make beginning photogs use film for a reason: it's expensive! You learn to slow down a bit and make sure you have everything right before you squeeze that shutter button when you have $0.50 riding on the frame!
B) One of the greatest pieces of advice I've gotten, look to each corner of the frame before you shoot. This comes to me from a guy (actually more than one) who has gone digital from film, and has often gotten tunnel vision because the finders (and imaging surface itself) have become so small with digital (APS-C) versus a film SLR's (FF) finder. If you slow down enough to check each corner of the viewfinder, you'll start to notice little things that need attention before you fire the shot, and therefore get more keepers per.
C) You hear all the time to practice, practice, practice (shoot, shoot, shoot). Well, there's a reason for that. The more often you have that camera up to your eye taking pictures, the more shots you take. The more shots you have to look back onto to find mistakes, the faster you'll learn what not to do, and increase your keeper rate.

Hope that helps a bit! :)

I believe you have offered very sound advice! Often times there is a tendency to "spray and pray" as you said. With experience one learns to take ones time and even anticipate a shot. Also as you mentioned; shooting with film makes one think about everything first! ;)

[PhotosGuy]

Well I was also trying some with my son on a swing and with the back and forth motion keeping him in focus and everything out I must of took 40 pictures and some in continuos mode and i just got 5 or so usable images. Let's see, continuous mode & 40 shots... you must have spent a whole two minutes on it?
Just as a reference, here's my workflow for something like that. First, check the light & background. Does he need to swing facing the other direction? Is the background better head-on, or from a bit to the side?
Going by your "5 or so usable images", what shutter speed & point of the swing gave better images? Start with that shutter speed & shoot single shots on manual of the best situation at that point of the swing.
Shoot some to keep him sharp. Lower the shutter speed to get some blur, keeping his face sharp. Lower the shutter speed even more to get some more blur, keeping his eyes sharp.
Change my angle a bit & do it again. As long as he's having fun swinging, I'm still shooting. Maybe I'll have 300 not-so-hot shots. Who cares? I'd expect 5-10 that I like. I will have one kick-a$$ shot from the process, & that's what I'm out there for. ;)

[Taurance]

Hey Frank,

Thanks that was a great idea. It did take more than 2 minutes but you do make many good points, I didn't even bother to think about him swinging the opposite direction to possible get a different perspective. I think my problem was when to shoot. I had it on manual at a proper exposure setting. AF was turned off so I had a point where he should be for me to snap an picture. Just I might have been a second to soon or a second too late. When he was close but then I would change my focal point to catch him when he was farest from me and I seemed to be able to catch those better.

Just a side note I have a newly turned 3 yr old and pumping on a swing is just a little too advanced for him so it was a little tricky. I will post a few of my attempts shortly.

[PhotosGuy]

AF was turned off so I had a point where he should be for me to snap an picture. Try your equivalent of AI Servo & see if that doesn't work better. I have a newly turned 3 yr old and pumping on a swing is just a little too advanced for him Get someone involved as an assistant pusher? ;)