How many shots do you take on average per wedding?

So the story really was...

Photographer took photos at a event in a way that I would not.... and then delivered the goods to the clients as they were expecting.

Bit of a non story really.

Probably. Just struck me as odd. Only reason it caught my attention was because he was using my backdrop to do couples shots. Before you ask, using my backdrop was a non issue. The client asked when she booked me.

I've seen in my lifetime wedding deliverables go from an album of a hundred or so prints to a few hundred digitals and a photo book. The sad part is there have been weddings where my photo booth pics were the only thing delivered. And you can't always tell who is going to come through. I was at one wedding where the photographer didn't even show up.

From my experience it doesn't really matter how many shots you take so long as the quality is there. I would say that most people only really care about the couple of dozen key shots. The rest is just gravy.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #17960961
I don't know a ton about video mode but I don't think you capture nearly the resolution as with still frames.

I happen to be one of those guys who blasts 3-6 shots in the manner Vinnie described.

I have observed such 'habitual' shooting and I understand one motivation is increasing the probabililty that ONE photo has everyone with a nice expression and without blinking/closed eyes. So a couple of questions for you...

1. What have you to found to be representative of the actual advantages of multi-exposure bursts...that is, what fraction of the time is the FIRST photo not a good one, but you have to rely upon shot 2,3,4, or 5 to capture a good expression on everyone?
   
2. Are there other advantages to your approach which I have not considered?
   
3. What fraction of the additional shots taken are merely 'duplicates' of a previous shot, with no useful changes of expression in the group?
   

Wilt wrote in post #17962669
So when I hear about 1500 shots in a wedding, I wonder about the benefit derived vs. the 'cost' of burdening the client in the selection process! (My youngest daughter's photographer delivered 1800 shots from 2 or 3 photographers...and she STILL has not chosen the ones for her album 2.5 YEARS later!)

The problem there is not how many pics were delivered. The problem is that the photographer isn't pre-designing the album choosing the photos to go in it. I.e. giving the bride and groom a starting point at which to make changes.

I've cut down how many shots I supply over the years. It used to be around 1000 now it is nearer 700. However consistently over the years I have pre-designed albums for couples (mainly 70 or 80 pages albums). I've kept a common stat that 85% of clients make no changes at all and about 13-14% change up to 20 images.

It is not uncommon for couples who want to make their own album up (not from a photographer) to want quantity to choose from. Often in those cases they wouldn't hire a photographer who only supplied 300 pics. Why? Because the files is all they are getting and it is harder for them to get their head around spending say $2000 for 300 pics versus $2000 for 1500. The value proposition just isn't as good.

As for shooting a burst it is beneficial. When you have the shots to select from you can ensure that you have that just right smile or look in every picture. Some may consider it a small difference in just one picture but when it is scaled up over an entire wedding. Lots of small differences add up to make a big difference over all. E.g. the difference in stride when someone is walking... between looking like John Cleese in Monty Python and a film star striding down the red carpet.

I've seen a lot of galleries from some togs whose FB pages would lead one to believe everything they shot was great. But then when seeing entire weddings from them it is remarkable how many not quite right shots there were.

Amadauss wrote in post #17881891

My youngest daughter got 1800 photos and wanted them all, after two years she still has not chosen the photos for the album! She has all the digital files (which makes not having the album totally acceptable!). She has neither inclination nor ability to transfer heads from one shot to another, she has her oldest sister to do that for her if she needs.
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Have to ask, where they all post processed in some way or just given to you as is?

I think that is also a big issue. If I deliver 1800 images, I am editing 1800 images... exporting 1800.. transferring 1800.. It's a lot of extra work IMO.

Tomi Hawk wrote in post #17921069
LOL! Ya think? Back in the day, shooting 6x7 Pentax's (3 of them) ALL day and night I shot upwards of 2 Pro-Pacs of 220 !!!!!!!

I'ma be a optometrist in my next life!

HAH !!! That camera was a BEAST.. What about the Koni Omega...?

Seeing about all the weddings I get are very fast paced and I am given very tight schedules to get certain things done, it is a miracle if I can get over 500 images, I deliver between 250-300 most of the time.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17963085
It is not uncommon for couples who want to make their own album up (not from a photographer) to want quantity to choose from..

Given the fact that YOU do not know who, among all the guests, are very important relatives or very close friends from college, etc., just how do your clients deal with the 'I choose the photos to put into your wedding album' ?!

Wilt wrote in post #17964038
Given the fact that YOU do not know who, among all the guests, are very important relatives or very close friends from college, etc., just how do your clients deal with the 'I choose the photos to put into your wedding album' ?!

You make sure you have photos of everyone. We make it a point at each wedding to go around getting photos of all the families / groups in attendance. Since my wife and I both shoot and we both make this point there has not yet come a point where we do not have photos of someone in attendance. When delivering photos (we would do the same for an album) we make sure those photos are included.

Wilt wrote in post #17964038
Given the fact that YOU do not know who, among all the guests, are very important relatives or very close friends from college, etc., just how do your clients deal with the 'I choose the photos to put into your wedding album' ?!

For your benefit as you didn't read this the first time...

"I have pre-designed albums for couples (mainly 70 or 80 pages albums). I've kept a common stat that 85% of clients make no changes at all and about 13-14% change up to 20 images."

The remaining 1-2% make more than 20 image changes.

I've been doing this for early 9 years and well over 200 weddings. It isn't difficult to get it very close to what the couple want straight off the bat... after all that is part of what I'm being paid to do.

I would say you've been lucky up to this point in not having more people who want to pick and choose their own photos for their albums. You also come off a bit pushy, so I could see you simply overpowering them into it. And your 85 percent stat is iffy. You have no idea if they actually like the pics you chose, don't really care or just want the whole thing done for them and don't want to bother with going through and picking each individual photo to be included. Who has that kind of time? But then again, I'm just the guy who thinks it's irresponsible... LOL

I would have no problem putting together an album for my clients. I already narrow it down from during our culling. That's part of why they choose to work with us. Unless your doing an album with 10 images your probably doing a good job telling the story of the day and getting images with most people in them.

I go by my reviews and the feedback I get from clients. Given I have well over a third of my clients having left reviews on the website I do actually have a good idea. I suggest you have a good read of them. It pays not to assume... you do that a lot.

As always though you apparently know more about my business and my clients than I do... sigh.

elrey2375 wrote in post #17964265
I would say you've been lucky up to this point in not having more people who want to pick and choose their own photos for their albums. You also come off a bit pushy, so I could see you simply overpowering them into it. And your 85 percent stat is iffy. You have no idea if they actually like the pics you chose, don't really care or just want the whole thing done for them and don't want to bother with going through and picking each individual photo to be included. Who has that kind of time? But then again, I'm just the guy who thinks it's irresponsible... LOL

I guess it's like buying a bouquet of flowers from a flower store. Some might be specific about what flowers they want. Other people just say, "make me a bouquet for $60" and just fork over the money because this flower store may be well known for creating a great final product.

And that's what most people hire photographers for - a final product. Is this final product "a set of images ready to be culled for placement in an album" or is it "a well-designed album ready to view"? I think it's the latter.

From my way too many years of experience I can tell you there is no such thing as an average client. Not even average groups of clients.

What people want varies by region, age, and even professions. When it comes to weddings there are so many variables that it is impossible to have a one size fits all mentality.

I meet a lot of wedding shooters in my business. The ones that I see repeatedly are working the same venues and the same size and style weddings. It's good to have a niche.