What is your keeper rate?

Ariston · Sep 28, 2019

If keepers are the images you print, then what is your keeper rate?

mshchem · Sep 28, 2019

I am way behind on printing. I don't scan my own work. Sometimes it takes me weeks to finalize a black and white fiber print. About a year back I shot a roll of Acros with my Hasselblad, I printed all 12 shots 5x5 on RC paper. Took me a couple sessions as I had to adjust exposure and I toned each print.,I was very pleased, later I came back and tossed several, no particular reason other than that they bored me. I would guess if I had someone to matt prints for me 10% would get printed to a really nice RC stage and maybe 3 to 4% would be matted. I like to think I'm a good printer. I think I get a little entranced by textures and tones. My wife was a museum curator for 30 years, she's impressed, but I'm too nuts to put together a real show.

wyofilm · Sep 28, 2019

I'm now working in a similar way as mshchem. I print 60-80%, then decide which I will go back to and make better prints. The percentage drops drastically in the second step. Maybe 10% overall, probably less. Most of the straight prints go into a box - essentially a time capsule.

Sirius Glass · Sep 28, 2019

wyofilm said:
I'm now working in a similar way as mshchem. I print 60-80%, then decide which I will go back to and make better prints. The percentage drops drastically in the second step. Maybe 10% overall, probably less. Most of the straight prints go into a box - essentially a time capsule.

Similar but overall is around 20%.

RalphLambrecht · Sep 29, 2019

Ariston said:
If keepers are the images you print, then what is your keeper rate?

I print about 10% but when it comes to mounted, framed and hung,I'm happy with 1/year.

Paul Howell · Sep 29, 2019

I print between 5 and 10% depending on where and why I am shooting. Of those maybe 1 or 2 month become exhibition prints.

moto-uno · Sep 29, 2019

You guys are printing monsters . I'm lucky if I print 1% of my overwhelming number of negatives . And they're certainly not overwhelmingly great pictures to begin with . Although when I get in the dark room I'm pleased if I get 2 or 3 satisfactory prints , lotsa time burning and dodging . Is it just me , or does it seem most negs I want to print are not an ideal exposure !
Maybe I just spend too much time on my motorcycle . Peter

faberryman · Sep 29, 2019

It varies.

Maris · Sep 29, 2019

I aim for 100% keepers and achieve maybe 95%. This follows a pact I made with myself decades ago to take every exposure and every negative through to a fully realised gelatin-silver "print".
Faced with potential subject matter I ask myself if I am willing to consume expensive film and photographic paper and invest, at minimum, an hour's worth of darkroom time to culminate the exposure I'm about to make.
Mostly the answer is no. But when it is yes the original commitment holds. Shooting large format film helps to sharpen the decision.

jvo · Sep 29, 2019

i never have enough time for photography - either taking pictures or in the darkroom. i have a cork board wall, i print a lot of 7x7 prints up there. some i like and they stay there for a coupla months; some come down in a week. some i like and i give away, or, someone likes it and i give away. some i reprint in a different way; some i really like and print larger for me, to sell, or exhibit, (not a lot).

any print that stays up for a month is a "keeper". i have a lot of negatives that i've intended to "get back to". i'll have to do that in my next life. if i print 6 out of 12 exposures, i'd be satisified.

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 29, 2019

I'm still with my second wife. She a keeper.

one90guy · Sep 30, 2019

For me with film it would be around 70%, I toss a lot due to my poor composing. If it is something that really catches my eye I shot a lot of different angles looking for that special shot. Since I had to give up darkroom and we stay usually away from large city's its hard to get film developed.

David

macfred · Sep 30, 2019

I achive 95% of my negatives (and scan them from time to time). Printing is around 5-10 % (sometimes more, sometimes less ...).

Sirius Glass · Sep 30, 2019

Alan Edward Klein said:
I'm still with my second wife. She a keeper.

I traded in my ex and then found my girlfriend. In almost twenty years we have not had a fight, so we are not sure how stable the relationship will be.

What is your keeper rate?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency