How many exposures to get the shot?

[Pieter12]

This is intriguing. I'm sure, as a teacher, you could see the value of instructing young photographers to try to expose once. It would implement a more conscious and sturdy approach. This is all I mean to get at when I say I prefer one exposure. It just trains the muscle in a whole new way.

But does it just train to think inside the box, maybe considering but not shooting alternatives or responding intuitively, unconsciously to a scene or scenario?

 

[cliveh]

I don't think there is any correct answer to this question, as it depends on what you are photographing. A landscape maybe one shot when the light is right. Movement that is unfolding may take several until you feel you have the best image. An advertising table top shot may take hours to prepare and compose and then record in two or three shots. It all depends on the subject, photographer and their personal technique.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

This is intriguing. I'm sure, as a teacher, you could see the value of instructing young photographers to try to expose once. It would implement a more conscious and sturdy approach. This is all I mean to get at when I say I prefer one exposure. It just trains the muscle in a whole new way.

But does it just train to think inside the box, maybe considering but not shooting alternatives or responding intuitively, unconsciously to a scene or scenario?

A good teacher would have the student try and apply both in depth, then either let him choose which suits him best or encourage him to find a third alternative that suits him even better.

 

[Steve Anchell]

But does it just train to think inside the box, maybe considering but not shooting alternatives or responding intuitively, unconsciously to a scene or scenario?

Real good question, Pieter12. One to which I don't have an answer.

 

[Steve Anchell]

I don't think there is any correct answer to this question, as it depends on what you are photographing. A landscape maybe one shot when the light is right. Movement that is unfolding may take several until you feel you have the best image. An advertising table top shot may take hours to prepare and compose and then record in two or three shots. It all depends on the subject, photographer and their personal technique.

A really good answer, cliveh. When I was a commercial photographer in Los Angeles, working for Max Factor Cosmetics, IBM, and Catalina Swimwear, this is exactly how it was done. I can tell you have been there, too.

 

[Steve Anchell]

A good teacher would have the student try and apply both in depth, then either let him choose which suits him best or encourage him to find a third alternative that suits him even better.

Like everything else, there are all different kinds of good teachers. Some will say do it my way, others will encourage the student to experiment. I've known both and have benefited in each situation.

BTW, Bill Brandt was Ansel's favorite photographer (referring to your quote). Ansel's home was filled with his own photos. But the first photo on the wall when you entered was an 8x10 by Brandt. This is my favorite quote of Brandt's.

“Surely, it is the result that counts, no matter how it is achieved. A photographer can even become a prisoner of his own rules. Unless he invents new ones, he will soon copy himself, and his work will become sterile and repetitive.” –Bill Brandt

This probably applies to how many images you take of the same subject - one or one hundred.

 

[eli griggs]

While documentary action photography is my favorite approach to photography, static still lifes, product photography, and landscape type photographs do often present the opportunity to bracket the lens or shutterspeed.

The simplest, complete bracketing sequence I know of, and have used is to shoot five frames/sheets.

The first one is metered settings, however I normally over expose, by one stop, with B&W film.

Second, one stop under exposed.

Third, a half stop over

Forth, a full stop over

Fifth, a second "normal" metered speed, as the first was done.

Color slides, just metered settings, plus a 1/3rd over exposed.

Colour Negatives, same as above.

Most shots are one of a kind situation, and if you've gone through the trouble at setting up a Still-life or Product shot, the shooting of five frames comes closest to bullet proof that a good shot gets.

 

[John Bragg]

I shoot HP5+ in 35mm format and very often shoot a mere one or two frames per subject. Maybe more for a portrait, but capturing personality can be very chimerical and illusive so that's wise. A portrait session this week with a neighbor of mine, a lady of 83 years old, took precisely 3 shots because I knew I had the look I needed.

 

[Pieter12]

I am always amazed that some can stop when they seem to know they have the shot they want. Not that I haven't been guilty of the same. But, given the opportunity why not experiment or see if other expressions or angles, unexpected juxtapositions, or anything serendipitous might lead to a shot that was not in one's mind beforehand? Is it better to walk away knowing the shot is in the bag but not knowing if a better one was missed? For me, shaking things up occasionally revitalizes my work, even if I might come back to what I hd been doing all along.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

When shooting landscapes in fast-changing light like before sunset, it often pays to wait around after the first shot. You can often get even better lighting. Often, just when you think the light is the best, it isn't. Wait longer and get subsequent shots. Also, bracketing then is often helpful to get the right exposure because it's harder to determine the "correct" one during these times.

 

[BrianShaw]

Editing is as much a part of photography as is exposure determination, composition, cropping, printing, and presentation. So there’s not much to fear about taking “one too many” images.

My regrets are never aboot taking several exposures but more when looking at a scene and walking away having taken none… for whatever reason.

 

[BrianShaw]

I am always amazed that some can stop when they seem to know they have the shot they want. Not that I haven't been guilty of the same. But, given the opportunity why not experiment or see if other expressions or angles, unexpected juxtapositions, or anything serendipitous might lead to a shot that was not in one's mind beforehand? Is it better to walk away knowing the shot is in the bag but not knowing if a better one was missed? For me, shaking things up occasionally revitalizes my work, even if I might come back to what I hd been doing all along.

Ironically, just the other day I was at a botanical garden, exposed a roll of film (the only one I had with me), and while walking out captured 3 images with my iPhone: Two images of one scene and one of another. Those 2 images defined the day, the best being the image with only 1 exposure. I call that my “Drew Wiley” moment”: everything was exactly right and I was there to memorialize it and I could do it in one shot and I’d never see that scene again and I could capitalize on all of my skills and all those ancestral skills flowing through my vains. Too bad I ran out of film. LOL

 

[Don_ih]

I call that my “Drew Wiley” moment”

You mean your DREW WILEY moment.

My regrets are never aboot taking several exposures but more when looking at a scene and walking away having taken none… for whatever reason.

I have a lot of similar regrets. Probably everyone who commented in this thread has. The reasons can range from "don't have a camera" to "too much trouble" - but those reasons only serve to further irritate you after the fact....

 

[Pieter12]

Sometimes the pace of life is such that we (OK, I can't speak for everyone or even a handful of people) don't or can't take the time to stop by the side of the road and take a photo of something that catches our eye. Or make a little detour that could present us with some nice images. On the other hand, there have been times when the image in my mind when I trip the shutter is not at all what gets recorded on film. So it goes.

 

[eli griggs]

Editing is as much a part of photography as is exposure determination, composition, cropping, printing, and presentation. So there’s not much to fear about taking “one too many” images.

My regrets are never aboot taking several exposures but more when looking at a scene and walking away having taken none… for whatever reason.

Ditto!

 

[eli griggs]

When shooting landscapes in fast-changing light like before sunset, it often pays to wait around after the first shot. You can often get even better lighting. Often, just when you think the light is the best, it isn't. Wait longer and get subsequent shots. Also, bracketing then is often helpful to get the right exposure because it's harder to determine the "correct" one during these times.

When the clouds are out, sunrises and sunsets especially can suddenly blaze into wonderful light, through the seemingly impossibly thin horizontal opening between heaven and earth, or through those holes in the heavens that flash down or across from nowhere, so having the sunset and time of day on your GPS or cell, can really come in handy, especially when you have trouble with when to leave a scene, IMO.

 

[snusmumriken]

It would be entertaining to know the proportion of keepers (by ones own standards) among photographers who say (1) 'stop when you think you've done your best', versus (2) 'keep on shooting to increase your chances'. I'd hazard a guess there's not much difference.

Personally, I have few opportunities to take the kind of photos I like, so I often have difficulty finishing a 36-exp roll. There's one in the camera now that has been there for 3 months. FWIW, in the hope of provoking others to join in, I get approximately 1 photo I like ('keeper') per 35mm roll (average over 230 rolls in 40 years), and I'm in category (1) above.

(PS - I should really count the number of frames, because I'm impatient and often develop an unfinished film.)

 

[Don_ih]

I often have difficulty finishing a 36-exp roll.

I bulk roll and like roughly 20 shots per roll. It feels endless when I have a 36-exposure roll. I end up having the film in the camera so long, I forget what film it was.
I'm in your category 1. I don't really know how many shots per roll I like in the end - it depends what I'm taking pictures of. I run out of steam making prints and also don't know what I'm supposed to do with hundreds of 8x10s, anyway....

 

[VinceInMT]

I bulk roll and like roughly 20 shots per roll. It feels endless when I have a 36-exposure roll. I end up having the film in the camera so long, I forget what film it was.
I'm in your category 1. I don't really know how many shots per roll I like in the end - it depends what I'm taking pictures of. I run out of steam making prints and also don't know what I'm supposed to do with hundreds of 8x10s, anyway....

I’m with you and snusmumriken in that I have a hard time finishing a roll of 36 as I usually load the camera and go out with a specific task in mind. While I sometimes bulk load a shorter roll, I’m more apt to cut the exposed portion out of the camera in the dark, leaving a short roll that I use for testing for one thing or another.

As for the percentage of “keepers” maybe one every three rolls or so.

 

[Pieter12]

It would be entertaining to know the proportion of keepers (by ones own standards) among photographers who say (1) 'stop when you think you've done your best', versus (2) 'keep on shooting to increase your chances'. I'd hazard a guess there's not much difference.

Personally, I have few opportunities to take the kind of photos I like, so I often have difficulty finishing a 36-exp roll. There's one in the camera now that has been there for 3 months. FWIW, in the hope of provoking others to join in, I get approximately 1 photo I like ('keeper') per 35mm roll (average over 230 rolls in 40 years), and I'm in category (1) above.

(PS - I should really count the number of frames, because I'm impatient and often develop an unfinished film.)

Have you given any thought to the possibility that if you made more shots, you might have more"keepers"?

 

[Pieter12]

I bulk roll and like roughly 20 shots per roll. It feels endless when I have a 36-exposure roll. I end up having the film in the camera so long, I forget what film it was.
I'm in your category 1. I don't really know how many shots per roll I like in the end - it depends what I'm taking pictures of. I run out of steam making prints and also don't know what I'm supposed to do with hundreds of 8x10s, anyway....

I don't make prints of every frame, maybe 2-3 out of a 12-frame roll, maybe none. If a print doesn't fit in with a body of work or project, it goes in a maybe/miscellaneous box. And if I don't know what to do with prints, sometimes I'll keep them to cut up for collage. Otherwise, the trash can.

 

[eli griggs]

(PS - I should really count the number of frames, because I'm impatient and often develop an unfinished film.)

Better yet, take a roll of 36 and unroll half plus two frames (half the four start frames) and add/tape a developed four frame tail to the roll you've just unspoiled and place it into an empty case with good lips.

Call it roll xxxa and go on to make a four frame tongue for the still rolled film, roll xxxb.

That's about 19 - 20 good frames a roll, but you can also do 12 roll canisters (xxxa, xxxb, xxxc) for three rolls of easy to shoot and development, without wasting many frames, if any, from the same 36 (+4) roll.

I'm bad about leaving long rolls in cameras, too, so I spent some time taking the decision on doing this myself, just to take the decision to get back into the darkroom more often.

Cheers and good luck!

 

[ace_666]

But does it just train to think inside the box, maybe considering but not shooting alternatives or responding intuitively, unconsciously to a scene or scenario?

I wouldn't say intuition precludes multiple exposures. As far as 'inside the box,' most people on this thread seem to agree with multiple exposures, so ironically shooting once would be considered radical in practice!

 

[Don_ih]

I don't make prints of every frame, maybe 2-3 out of a 12-frame roll, maybe none. If a print doesn't fit in with a body of work or project, it goes in a maybe/miscellaneous box. And if I don't know what to do with prints, sometimes I'll keep them to cut up for collage. Otherwise, the trash can.

Yeah, but what about the prints that fit in with a project or your miscellaneous box? Is there something that makes them so much more purposeful than the ones that end up in the trash can? So you have a project that generates a stack of prints, Where do they go if not just another box?

 

[Pieter12]

Yeah, but what about the prints that fit in with a project or your miscellaneous box? Is there something that makes them so much more purposeful than the ones that end up in the trash can? So you have a project that generates a stack of prints, Where do they go if not just another box?

Of course there is something that distinguishes them from the ones in the trash. Otherwise they'd be there too. And that stack of prints that belong to a project do go in a box. A nice one, too if they're matted.