Lately I have been getting very discouraged with my photography. I am in no way a professional, and most of the time I don't really know what I am doing (which is probably my biggest problem and setback), but I feel like I have to take so many pictures just to get one good one, which makes me just feel like giving up and not wasting my time (though I LOVE photography). I have this notion that most photographers, particularly professionals, will take a bunch of shots in one sitting and have the majority of those shots be good. So I am curious... Do you take a large number of shots in the hopes to get that one amazing shot, or is the challenge picking out the best one out of a bunch of great shots?
I, and most of my photographically inclined friends, can take hundreds of photographs in a day and only find a handful worth keeping. My friends and I have had this discussion so many times! I feel your pain. It's a common problem.
Do professional photographers go through the same thing? I have no idea. I will say this . . . the guy who photographed my wedding took more than 900 photos that day, and let me see all of them. It was not at all difficult to choose the 200 I wanted to print from those 900--they were the obvious keepers. Point being, even for a professional, the amazing to okay ratio skews heavily towards "okay".
As for those of us who are amateurs . . . that handful of great photos we get: Don't they make you feel, well, great?
I take TONS of shots of the same subject....and often I'm not satisfied with any of them, but that's when I move into cropping and editing, which can really make the picture.
I've been sick a lot lately, and had surgery last week, so, many of my shots are of ordinary items around the house. I might take 50 shots of one cherry, for instance...
but I take pictures from all angles, and position it in many different ways, with different backgrounds, and lighting...flash, no flash...and SOMEthing will end up jumping out at me when I'm looking through them afterwards.
Keep going, and don't give up.
Listen to your instincts, and remember that even the simplest subject matter can be interesting.
Keep up with the project. Shoot as many photos as you need to in order to get the one you want. I have found that I have days where I shoot just a few, then BAM, I got it. And I've had days when it seems like I'm shooting forever and never get one. Mostly, it gets better with more practice :-)
I take hundreds of shots to get a few good ones. I can also tell you that so do professional photographers!
For example, I took 471 photos the other day at some botanical gardens. I got 32 pictures that I thought were worth sharing. That is a lot since I'll usually take 200 and get two or three that I like.
I find that the more i take shots I do take alot of shots but try looking at a shot with your minds eye first. I kinda have an engineering brain so i rotate the object around in my head. Like if the light is better from the other side i check that out. I still take tons of photos but i find with each day that i need to take less and less. Off of a full 4 gig memory card i normally end up picking about 60 that are keepers. But that number is going up.
Cristina, I think everyone will agree, photography is an art, and in order to fine tune that art you must take many, many photographs. It can be frustrating at times because we all go through exactly what you described. What makes photography so exciting is that in the midst of those many photographs you take, you will find that one that really stands out. You look at it, listen to what others say about it, and then you build on that experience. You develop a knack, you begin to look at subjects with your eyes before looking through the camera. You begin to look at the subjects from different perspectives and you begin to put it all together in a frame in your mind, imagining what it will look like. Try different angles, different lighting and different subjects. Everyone is different. I look at some of these awesome photographs by friends on365 and I think, WOW! I will never be able to get that effect, but yet some of the simplest subjects turn out quite awesome. Do not get discouraged. Continue to take photos. Thank God for digital. When I began photography I used the 35mm film. That was frustrating and expensive. Take a bunch, down load them and start looking at them in different ways. Look at others to get ideas, but practice is the best way to get the results you want. You do some really nice work. You have talent. Keep at it.
I will go to a park or an event and take hundreds and hundreds of photos - (Probably around 400 or 500) and then will only keep maybe 20 or 30. I think this happens with everyone.
Some days I have 'the eye' and struggle to pick just one, other days I end up with a bunch of nothing. I have found through sticking to 365 though that I can see a good picture more often these days, I see a marked improvement in my shots from day 1 to now.
Persevere but above all enjoy!
i myself have hundreds of shots and kept only a few worth my taste. sometimes i used the continuous shot when i go handhold so i can pick which one has the sharpest image. it happens so don't get discouraged. one time i ended up with nothing at all so i have to get back to the place. even pros choose as what they say the magical shot and not all of them.
I have 1,800 photos in my "365 source images" folder. As I'm only 180 days in, I guess this averages out to nine failed photos to the one I upload. There have been a few times where I've taken well over 100 on a single day, though.
I definitely take lots and lots of pictures of the same things in the hope that one or two will be halfway okay - oddly, it quite often happens that the first one I took turns out to be the one I like best, with all the others - where I was trying to improve on things - not so good - but it doesn't stop me clicking away! Such is the the joy of digital cameras! Good luck with your project.
if i have a certain image in my mind that i want to photograph, it is often the last shot i have taken that i will choose, as i have finally got the image! if i am photographing something like a flower, then it could be from 1 to 100 frames that i take, but i often try not to take to many! a good way to practise is by looking at other pictures on this site, and working out how they took the photo by cliking on 'more details', and you can use similar settings to get your next photo! good luck.
I'm one of those people who do Scrapbooking or memory albums, so I rarely toss, there is always something I want it for, as I have a huge family. I'd also like to say Thank God for the Digital Cameras. How long " born with a camera in their hand," fortunately not many here have admitted to" silver spoon in their mouth" at birth, but I think you might get the idea. It's easy - it's just Practise, it's
practise, it's practise...... could even translate into the Real estate agents motto,
It's" Location, Location, Location. " I'm seeing so many beautiful talented people on here that even if I didn't taken a better picture one day than when I first came on here I could / would not stop, they are more supportive and helpful and care for each other. Go for it Cristina, and have lots of fun.
Now you know we will all be coming to your site to look at your photos. xx
Hey Cristina I've just had a buzz over to your page, what happened to that marvelous saying you have on your profile with your photo? I'm going to borrow that it is fabulous and go back and read it again.
Yeah, like everyone else said, I take hundreds of photos and only keep/am happy with a select few. Take today for instance, I took almost 200 shots and only had maybe 5-6 that I was happy with.
I am so thankful for digital photography BECAUSE I can take so many shots (and the immediate feedback, of course)! And, I can never really tell what I have until I get them up on my computer screen. With closer examination I see things that I didn't make note of when taking the shot (like straight horizons ... LOL!).
I'm finding the same problem. And I can take lots and still not use any that I took because I just don't like them. I am not a good photographer at all. Some of the good ones I have were all accidents.
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Do professional photographers go through the same thing? I have no idea. I will say this . . . the guy who photographed my wedding took more than 900 photos that day, and let me see all of them. It was not at all difficult to choose the 200 I wanted to print from those 900--they were the obvious keepers. Point being, even for a professional, the amazing to okay ratio skews heavily towards "okay".
As for those of us who are amateurs . . . that handful of great photos we get: Don't they make you feel, well, great?
I've been sick a lot lately, and had surgery last week, so, many of my shots are of ordinary items around the house. I might take 50 shots of one cherry, for instance...
but I take pictures from all angles, and position it in many different ways, with different backgrounds, and lighting...flash, no flash...and SOMEthing will end up jumping out at me when I'm looking through them afterwards.
Keep going, and don't give up.
Listen to your instincts, and remember that even the simplest subject matter can be interesting.
For example, I took 471 photos the other day at some botanical gardens. I got 32 pictures that I thought were worth sharing. That is a lot since I'll usually take 200 and get two or three that I like.
Persevere but above all enjoy!
practise, it's practise...... could even translate into the Real estate agents motto,
It's" Location, Location, Location. " I'm seeing so many beautiful talented people on here that even if I didn't taken a better picture one day than when I first came on here I could / would not stop, they are more supportive and helpful and care for each other. Go for it Cristina, and have lots of fun.
Now you know we will all be coming to your site to look at your photos. xx