Ratio of good images?????

[kimspics]

This is more of an opinion than a fact question....What is the ratio of pics that should be considered good..For example....I took a shoot with a total of 178 images.....out of these I processed 15 that I really like for the mom to view....I was once told that if a photographer has one really great shot out of 100 he has had a good day.......What is the ratio of what my DPS family thinks????????

It's a myth.

There's no such thing as a "Ratio" or "keeper rate".

Don't fool yourself.

~Eric

[dcclark]

Yes, what maxharvard said!

Every now and then, you'll make a photo that makes you go "holy crap, I'm good!". For me, it's highly irregular, but when I do manage to pull it off, it feels great.

HAHAHA I just thought of something funny...


The old saying, "Kill'em all and let god sort'em out"...?

How about....

"fill up da'card and let god sort'em out"

.... Anyone.... anyone..?? Beuller?

Beuller?

*looks around the room with hand in the air*

High five?

~Eric

[Benji]

Originally Posted by kimspics

This is more of an opinion than a fact question....What is the ratio of pics that should be considered good..For example....I took a shoot with a total of 178 images.....out of these I processed 15 that I really like for the mom to view....I was once told that if a photographer has one really great shot out of 100 he has had a good day.......What is the ratio of what my DPS family thinks????????

I think that "one great shot out of 100" was a [supposed] quote by Ansel Adams. If he actually said that it was either tongue in cheek, or he said it to his fellow photographers who also used 8 x 10 view cameras that severly limited how many images could be taken out on location.

Personally I feel depends totally on what you are shooting and how long you have been shooting. When I first started out almost 30 years ago if I got one good portrait out of 36 exposures I was happy. After shooting for several years I began getting three to five out of 36 that both the client and I liked. Of course I never told them I was shooting 36, and would throw away the bad proofs and only show those that were in focus, properly exposed and looked "good." Now with digital imaging, and LOTS of experience under my belt I get about 40 "good" portraits out of about 45 captures.

Benji

[ressalg]

*leaves Max hangin' on the high five*

I think a slightly better way to put it would be:

"Fill up da' card and let Adobe Bridge sort 'em out."

@ Kimspics: I don't know that I've come up with a ratio (yet) but out of the 350 or so pictures I took for one event (Belly Dance Christmas Celebration) I got a little over 70 that I thought were decent enough to pass on to the client. One of the things I try to avoid is a method I heard described in one of the threads here: "Spray and pray." Take a crap load of pictures and hope a few turn out. I'd rather try and get my camera settings down before starting to shoot. In this way, hopefully I have a ratio of 1:5 (one good picture for every five taken). But sometimes the location (or lack of photographic knowledge) conspire to make it more like 1:10.

[Jim Poor]

Assuming a level of skill that is constant, the percentage of "keeper" images will vary depending on the subject, the conditions and the intended use of the final photos.

I agree there really is no sense in worrying about others' keeper rates, but paying a bit of attention to one's own can be one of many ways to track progress provided one doesn't obsess over it too much.


For my nature work which I consider to be primarily fine art, I'm lucky if I keep 10% once all is said and done.

For pet portraiture with a well-behaved pet, my keeper rate often approaches 90-100%, but throw in an excited or timid subject and the rate drops fast.

For dog sport action photos I'm thrilled to hover around 80% for outdoor work and 50% for indoor work in crappy lighting conditions.

I recently had an indoor shoot that only resulted in about a 25% keeper rate. I kicked myself a bit after that one, but not for long.


Then there is the definition of a "keeper." For my purposes, I have a different set of criteria for each type of work I do. If I were to judge my dog sport action work (especially indoors) by the same criteria as I judge my portraiture or nature work, I'd be close to 0% pretty quickly.

[kirbinster]

I think it depends on what and where you are shooting. At times I will take 50 to 100 shots and think they are all crap, while at other times I will take 10 and keep nine. If you are in the studio I think your keeper rate will be much higher than if you are just out around town taking random shots.

[Dennismc]

I would have to say its based on experience. For my ratio is around -1.5 to 1

Out of the 1200 or so clicks since I got the camera, I had two that I thought were worth keeping, then going back to look at them two decided that only half of one of them was worth looking at..

[RustySterling]

I've too often been guilty of shooting 300-400 shots in a session and getting may 10-15% decent.

Lately I've been taking a different approach. I'm starting to use a 512MB (yes, 1/2GB) card in my camera on walkabouts. I also force myself to NOT delete anything. It's more like shooting with film to me this way since I have a very limited number of pics I can capture on my 5D (65 or so).

This is forcing me to seriously look at a scene and consider if I want to take it or not. It also forces me to very closely examine what is in my viewfinder before clicking on the shutter button. I look at many aspects of a potential shot before taking it: texture, pattern, lines, color, and light -- especially light.

It's just a new way of challenging myself. But I find the ratio of decent images I capture is going up.