1. Equipment wear. Cameras have a shutter cycle rating for a reason. If you shoot more shots than necessary, you needlessly accelerate your camera’s inevitable failure. That’s OK, though, if you’re making enough money to replace or service your camera body(s) on a regular basis.

2. The real killer is the extra time required to sort the photos. If you have nothing else to do, that’s OK. But in the time it takes you to sift through 1000 photos, you could have done some more useful things. Like go out and shoot a fresh subject. Or recharge some batteries. Or clean your lenses. Or talk to your kids.

I really despise the message that digital photography frees shooters from the tryanny of darkroom costs. I did a job last week for a client who just needed a headshot for a promo poster. Simple stuff. Less than 36 frames later, we had the headshot and three variations. Before I left the location, I had four image selections (more than the client needed) ready to go, enhanced and burned to disc. The client was amazed. He told me how the last time a photographer did this job he shot about 200 frames. I explained I used to shoot film and it remains a habit to take more time setting the shot up and less time clicking the shutter.

I’m not saying everyone should work this way. I’m not trying to paint myself as a model of efficiency. It just irks me no end that the message that shooting quantity to deliver quality is worth pursuing. I believe it is helping turn noob photographers into monkeys.