Amount of Keepers

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MarkoKovacevic

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When I get a roll of prints or slides from the lab, and I have a low amount of keepers, I feel like I've wasted a roll, and look on how to improve. One such way is 'don't take the shot unless you know it's good.' Which can lead to more keepers, but less creative freedom. What's your take?
 
I shoot on instinct. The times I've thought twice, I lost the shot. I'm happy if I get 1 photo uploaded/month (1 frame every 3-4 rolls)
 
Most professionals only get a few shots on a roll. The reason depends on the type of photography. Sports and street and journalism and wildlife work you're shooting fast moving hard to capture things..luck is important there. For landscapes and architecture and such, pros often bracket or shoot each pic a couple times to ensure one doesn't get messed up in processing by a scratch or whatever...especially if its something you cannot easily reshoot.
 
When I get one or two real good images in a roll, that's big success to me... Of course I get 90% of well exposed and composed frames or "good images" in a roll, but keepers have a special meaning... I have few keepers every year in thousands of shots... And when I get none of those in a roll, that's for me a normal thing too. I even enjoy it because I remember what I felt when shooting and I compare it to the results and learn. This if we talk about street shooting... For jobs, as things are usually more controlled, I often get what I plan to get..

Cheers,

Juan
 
I myself am happy with a handful of keepers per year.

WRT how to shoot, as Chris said, it very much depends on what you shoot.

However, I find it's important that when I go out in the morning, I know roughly what I want to get that day. I sometimes spend the entire week thinking about it.

Roland.
 
In the last 15 years, I had once where I shot two rolls and ALL were keepers. That was last week, I'm tickled pretty pink now
 
I had exactely the same feeling. It went away when I started developing film myself.

Before it cost me +- 14€ for one roll ( 4€ film, 3€ developing, 7€ scanning).

I invested in an epson v500 scanner (220€), Chemicals and a Paterson tank (80€). Since these are all "sunk costs" I feels like a roll costs me only 4€.

Besides the money-factor, I can see what's wrong with a pictures. When pictures came back from the lab sometimes they would look over- or underexposed. I could only guess if I made a mistake when I shot the picture or the scanning/printing didn't go well. Now I can correct over/under exposure with the scanner and 'save' shots that otherwise wouldn't have been worth looking at.
 
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