BadFish
Guest
When you dive and take photos,
how many fo the shots you take are keepers???
Just wondering?
how many fo the shots you take are keepers???
Just wondering?
How many good shots
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rab
Contributor
Well, I've not done any UW photography, but the rule of thumb that I learned many years ago was:
If you get one good "keeper" out of a roll, you're doing well.
This was in the context of a class/course for taking candid shots for high school yearbook and school newspapers.
Obviously, posed shots should be more likely "keepers", but do you really get a "pose" from an underwater organism? (Maybe with coral...)
-Rob
If you get one good "keeper" out of a roll, you're doing well.
This was in the context of a class/course for taking candid shots for high school yearbook and school newspapers.
Obviously, posed shots should be more likely "keepers", but do you really get a "pose" from an underwater organism? (Maybe with coral...)
-Rob
Alot depends on what you call keepers. I have 4 levels of keepers...
1) Good enough that little to no tweaking is needed, focus is excellent, exposure is perfect, suitable for large wall prints...1-2%
2) Composition isn't exactly right but can be fixed with a tiny bit of cropping, minimal tweaking required, suitable for med/lg prints....10-15%
3) Decent shot with some manipulation needed (backscatter removal, brightness/contrast adjustment), suitable for small prints....30-40%
4) Snapshot quality, usually kept for sentimental reasons or it's the only shot of something and is kept until a better one is taken (usually fish portraits), rarely printed and kept on file....10%
The rest is junk, fish butts, out of focus, over/underexposed, etc.
I seldom, if ever, adjust the color of my photos, although I know lots of folks do it. I like the colors to be natural to what I saw, not what I think they should be or what I think might make the photo better. It is what it is sort of thing. If a photo is properly exposed you shouldn't need to change the colors. At some point, with all the different ways a photo can be manipulated, it ceases to be a photo and becomes artwork. That doesn't make it bad/wrong, that's just where I, personally, draw the line.
Probably more than you wanted to know, right?
1) Good enough that little to no tweaking is needed, focus is excellent, exposure is perfect, suitable for large wall prints...1-2%
2) Composition isn't exactly right but can be fixed with a tiny bit of cropping, minimal tweaking required, suitable for med/lg prints....10-15%
3) Decent shot with some manipulation needed (backscatter removal, brightness/contrast adjustment), suitable for small prints....30-40%
4) Snapshot quality, usually kept for sentimental reasons or it's the only shot of something and is kept until a better one is taken (usually fish portraits), rarely printed and kept on file....10%
The rest is junk, fish butts, out of focus, over/underexposed, etc.
I seldom, if ever, adjust the color of my photos, although I know lots of folks do it. I like the colors to be natural to what I saw, not what I think they should be or what I think might make the photo better. It is what it is sort of thing. If a photo is properly exposed you shouldn't need to change the colors. At some point, with all the different ways a photo can be manipulated, it ceases to be a photo and becomes artwork. That doesn't make it bad/wrong, that's just where I, personally, draw the line.
Probably more than you wanted to know, right?
H2Andy
Contributor
i got a digital camera a few dives ago, and if i get 8 pictures out of about 80 maximum (well, more like 78 but close enough) that i like, that's really good.
of those 8, there's only 2 or 3 that i REALLY like.
but then, those are my standards. most people who looked at my pics would
think they were all throwaways. and i am sure some great photographers on here
throw away stuff i would kill for.
of those 8, there's only 2 or 3 that i REALLY like.
but then, those are my standards. most people who looked at my pics would
think they were all throwaways. and i am sure some great photographers on here
throw away stuff i would kill for.
rab has it pretty much on for non planned shots, if your just shooting what you like that you see.
for me its a little different in that im selective in what i shoot, and bracket(+1, 0, -1) everything so i have enough choice for a good print (this is for film).
with digital its about the same execpt for that my bracket is different in that digital doesnt respond to well to overexposure so i have to underexpose, so my bracket(no strobe, since i dont have one) is the following (-1, -.5, 0, +.5).
but on average here are my keeper rates.
B&W 9-12 (per 36 roll this is what i use in my college classes, and most shots)
color neg 8-10 (per 36 roll)
color slide 10-15 (per 36 roll, this is one i cant understand)
Digital around 30% keeper rate and around another 30-40% that are salvageable in photoshop, but keep in mind that every image i take underwater automatically gets the mandrake procees before sorting happens.
keep in mind the keeper rates are for images i dont have to do very little editting outside of photoshop(or darkroom ie dodging and burning) before i print them(the good ones). with that being said on average i have a throwout rate of around 20-25% due to the images just cant be saved for various reasons
i hope this helps
tooth
for me its a little different in that im selective in what i shoot, and bracket(+1, 0, -1) everything so i have enough choice for a good print (this is for film).
with digital its about the same execpt for that my bracket is different in that digital doesnt respond to well to overexposure so i have to underexpose, so my bracket(no strobe, since i dont have one) is the following (-1, -.5, 0, +.5).
but on average here are my keeper rates.
B&W 9-12 (per 36 roll this is what i use in my college classes, and most shots)
color neg 8-10 (per 36 roll)
color slide 10-15 (per 36 roll, this is one i cant understand)
Digital around 30% keeper rate and around another 30-40% that are salvageable in photoshop, but keep in mind that every image i take underwater automatically gets the mandrake procees before sorting happens.
keep in mind the keeper rates are for images i dont have to do very little editting outside of photoshop(or darkroom ie dodging and burning) before i print them(the good ones). with that being said on average i have a throwout rate of around 20-25% due to the images just cant be saved for various reasons
i hope this helps
tooth
boney
Contributor
Keepers is so subjective between each person. I'm a real newbie at this and so far I have had one entire roll junked - too much backscatter...DOH! Sometimes I take pics just for the textures for use later in 3D rendering apps, image manipulation programs, etc...
As for "real" keepers that require no editing... I'd say anywhere from 2-5 in a 24exp roll... some days are better than others though depending on who else is at the same site. At the moment I'm still learning plenty so I expect a lot of touching up and throw aways...
As for "real" keepers that require no editing... I'd say anywhere from 2-5 in a 24exp roll... some days are better than others though depending on who else is at the same site. At the moment I'm still learning plenty so I expect a lot of touching up and throw aways...
Cecil
Contributor
I'm right around Dee's percentances. Although I am a little more liberal on the low end shots and will sometime do a lot of manipulation to get what I want.
One trueism is that you know on the great shots and they seldom need any manipulations
One trueism is that you know on the great shots and they seldom need any manipulations
10X
Guest
I used to tell my wife that about 1 in 100 shots is spectacular, when speaking of photos above the water. Underwater, I'm finding that that's not a joke, but reality. I'm a newbie so I hope I can eek out 1-2 more shots per 100 in the coming months with continued work.
For me - 3/4 (all technical aspects 100% plus appealing shot) shots out of 37 I would scan and keep BUT for images I am REALLY pleased with I think I would think about 1 in 100++.
Its a very difficult question and everyones "keeper" criteria keeps on getting higher the more shots you take. I look back on stuff I took a year ago and thought was absolutely great back then but now think them suitable only for the bin.
I agree with Dee's comments on manipulation also - if its a good shot (technically) then manipulation is not going to make any difference ('cept for a bit of sharpening).
Its a very difficult question and everyones "keeper" criteria keeps on getting higher the more shots you take. I look back on stuff I took a year ago and thought was absolutely great back then but now think them suitable only for the bin.
I agree with Dee's comments on manipulation also - if its a good shot (technically) then manipulation is not going to make any difference ('cept for a bit of sharpening).
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