How often do you shoot?

I'm shooting every day from 10 to 30 exposures, but it's for different types of styles like street, documentary, architecture and anything else that interests me so this makes it easier to shoot daily. I shoot a lot of film but like Roger pointed out the corollary to this is a lot of time developing, scanning, filing and storing images too. Plus there's the process of investigating upcoming shows, submission processes and printing and framing for the shows when selected. How do I do it? I don't do it well on the back end of the process I just described. I am currently about 40 rolls of 120 and 135 backed up and more coming thru the pipe. Meantime I keep shooting.

I don't think what I'm doing is meritorius so I suggest you stick to your game plan. It sounds like a well thought out one and probably very productive of your limited time.

Like you I'm working week days and do the cooking, shopping etc with my wife taking on the rest of the daily maintainence. Time's limited for me too. I'm just not as organized as you. Stick to your plan.
 
I don't leave the house without my camera. I shoot mainly street and a little freelance reportage here and there, yadda yadda, thus I shoot more or less every day, although I work full time. How do I pay it? I have no idea. I develop myself. and I spend almost no money on other things than photography and what I need to live (food, appartment, phone etc.)... and maybe a little pc hardware every once in a while.

I shoot way more than 50 35mm rolls per year, so it's usually more than 1 roll per week, plus the medium format stuff.

=)
 
I basically shoot every day. Usually a roll of 35mm or less or the equivalent in digital frames when I'm working during the week, but when I'm going out to specifically make photographs or work on a particular project, I may shoot 10-12 rolls of 35mm or 120 in a day. If I had a bigger budget and a lab tech, I'd shoot a lot more...
 
The obvious answer would be 'it depends'. It does really. I try to take a camera everywhere, cause when I don't I always see stuff that I want to shoot :) But some days I'm just out of inspiration, so there can be weeks without shooting too, and then there are days I shoot 5 rolls or more. Yeah it's expensive, but I don't have any other serious expenses or hobbies, and I make enough to not worry about it.
 
Ming The Merciless said:
Now that I'm retired, I shoot every blessed day. Since August, I think I've only missed 3 days. I'ts a wonderful life.
Click to expand...

I envy you.

Since I work from home, I don't get out to hunt for images (street photography) any more than once or twice a week, which costs me from three to four 35mm films a month. Add to that the time for developing, scanning and post-processing, and you have a hobby with a major share of my spare time budget.

Oh, and I shoot some digital too - on some of my weekends...
 
Almost every day... Some days a few shots, some days a few rolls... Sometimes I walk for a long time but I find nothing, and those days are a pleasure too... I enjoy being there in the mood, no matter what I see or what I get.

Cheers,

Juan
 
Just like most of the others in here I carry a camera or two with me at all times...
I don't always have something planned to shoot but if I happen to come across a scene that's screaming to be photographed...well I do have a camera so I can...
As far as cost...I never got into all this to make money so I know up front it's going to cost me something...I can save by rolling my own film, developing film and prints at home, buying equipment used (ebay) or swap meets...

"Smoke" is a great movie...it will get you thinking...differently

As far as family and all that stuff goes...for the last six years we've been involved with our two kids and their Band activities in high school...this weekend we'll be in Reno for the Jazz Festival...just another reason to shoot without taking time away from the family...
 
Last edited:
About six months ago, I decided to focus strongly on portraits and some beauty/glamour photography. So I started tapping into the local theater scene. And then started working with some aspiring models, burlesque dancers, etc.
In any given week, I'll have 2-3 portrait sessions planned - with most on the weekends.
I also do some documentary work - life behind the scenes in local theater.
So I would say I shoot 2-3 days a week on average. And that's pretty much all I have time for - factoring in editing, post-processing, burning CDs, scheduling shoots, etc.

It's funny, though. The more I shoot, the less time I spend buying and selling gear. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. My wife thinks it is.;)
 
I rarely leave the house without a camera in tow. I've only been shooting film since last Sept. It has taught me to think a lot more before hitting the shutter instead of just gunning the shutter on my dslr and ending up with a whole lot of nuthin'. That said, I'll go days and days without a single shot now. If it doesn't scream at me to shoot it I don't.
 
There's only one way to be good at anything. Practice, practice, practice.

I shoot every day. I try to make each frame worthwhile in some way. Even the bad frames are worthwhile. Try to take something in life that is uninteresting and make an interesting photograph of it, for instance. Remember, failure is always an option and everyone who was ever successful at something failed at it enough times to learn how to succeed at it.
 
tbarker13 said:
About six months ago, I decided to focus strongly on portraits and some beauty/glamour photography. So I started tapping into the local theater scene. And then started working with some aspiring models, burlesque dancers, etc.
In any given week, I'll have 2-3 portrait sessions planned - with most on the weekends.
I also do some documentary work - life behind the scenes in local theater.
So I would say I shoot 2-3 days a week on average. And that's pretty much all I have time for - factoring in editing, post-processing, burning CDs, scheduling shoots, etc.

It's funny, though. The more I shoot, the less time I spend buying and selling gear. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. My wife thinks it is.;)
Click to expand...

Dear Tim,

Now THERE'S a coincidence.

But I admire your diligence: two or three sessions a week.

Cheers,

R.
 
maggieo said:
There's only one way to be good at anything. Practice, practice, practice.

I shoot every day. I try to make each frame worthwhile in some way. Even the bad frames are worthwhile. Try to take something in life that is uninteresting and make an interesting photograph of it, for instance. Remember, failure is always an option and everyone who was ever successful at something failed at it enough times to learn how to succeed at it.
Click to expand...

True, but there are always plenty who just went right on failing.

This must be very much a matter of personal temperament. Trying to force myself to take pictures is a real damper on creativity as far as I am concerned, and for me it is rarely a good idea to try to shoot on days when (a) I don't feel like shooting or (b) doing something else creative (usually, writing) or (c) trying to finish another job, even if it's as mundane as servicing the Land Rover.

I don't know what my longest continuous gap without shooting has been in the last 40+ years: probably no more than a couple of weeks (especially when I was in hospital last year) and rarely more than a week. But I shot about 15 pics on Sunday; 40 on Monday; none for the last couple of days (though I processed some yesterday); and I doubt I'll shoot today, unless I go out this afternoon.

Nor do I carry a camera all the time, any more. I used to. Now I don't feel the need. Sure, there are pictures I miss. But there are always plenty more where they came from, and (for example) loading groceries into the trolley with a Leica around my neck is just plain inconvenient. On the other hand, the lead pic from my M9 review -- http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/m9 review.html -- is indeed of my usual supermarket, and http://www.rogerandfrances.com/images/equipment/m8-2/plastic bowls.jpg was taken with the M8.2 in a 'heap for cheap' shop selling cheap (mostly Chinese) goods.

Cheers,

R.
 
Since i have two little kids @home, I'm usually shooting once a week or two
But now, when my wife went abroad with kids (to visit her parents) , i'm doing it 2-3 times a week
 
I probably shoot too much. So far this year, I have shot 24 rolls of 35mm film, 17 Polaroids (yup - real ones at that) and over 100 digital exposures (like, who keeps count of those?)

On the other hand I have only printed 60 11x14 prints, a couple dozen 8x10s and about half that many 5x7s. I seem to be wasting 9 out of ten pushes of the button.

It gets hot here in the summer, and I'm sure I'll slow down, so don't extrapolate this to a year!

By the way, I usually keep my M4-P close by, and I have the FG in the car should I need that.
 
I get through a roll a day minimum (35mm x 36 exp), except Fridays when I am in the darkroom processing/printing.

I am lucky I took planned early retirement at 55 (in 2006) and have the time to do it. The only problem is there are not enough hours in the day - they fly by. :eek:

As well as the shooting film, in the late spring through to early autumn I tend to just process film and sleeve. Late autumn to early spring I am reviewing, printing, cataloguing and scanning.

Looking at my totals last year I got through 1,026 rolls.
 
Roger Hicks said:
True, but there are always plenty who just went right on failing.

This must be very much a matter of personal temperament. Trying to force myself to take pictures is a real damper on creativity as far as I am concerned, and for me it is rarely a good idea to try to shoot on days when (a) I don't feel like shooting or (b) doing something else creative (usually, writing) or (c) trying to finish another job, even if it's as mundane as servicing the Land Rover.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. Perhaps I am comfortable enough with my own photography skills at this point that I don't feel daily shooting is necessary to keep me in practice. Not that I'm near one of the greats like HCB or Diane Arbus, but like I said at the beginning of this discussion, I'm not trying to make my living from doing photography.

Roger Hicks said:
I don't know what my longest continuous gap without shooting has been in the last 40+ years: probably no more than a couple of weeks (especially when I was in hospital last year) and rarely more than a week. But I shot about 15 pics on Sunday; 40 on Monday; none for the last couple of days (though I processed some yesterday); and I doubt I'll shoot today, unless I go out this afternoon.

Nor do I carry a camera all the time, any more. I used to. Now I don't feel the need. Sure, there are pictures I miss. But there are always plenty more where they came from, and (for example) loading groceries into the trolley with a Leica around my neck is just plain inconvenient. On the other hand, the lead pic from my M9 review -- http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/m9 review.html -- is indeed of my usual supermarket, and http://www.rogerandfrances.com/images/equipment/m8-2/plastic bowls.jpg was taken with the M8.2 in a 'heap for cheap' shop selling cheap (mostly Chinese) goods.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

I love the shot of the front of your supermarket! Kind of makes me think of what I would see in a Romero film right before the zombie invasion...
 
Chris101 said:
I probably shoot too much. So far this year, I have shot 24 rolls of 35mm film, 17 Polaroids (yup - real ones at that) and over 100 digital exposures (like, who keeps count of those?)

On the other hand I have only printed 60 11x14 prints, a couple dozen 8x10s and about half that many 5x7s. I seem to be wasting 9 out of ten pushes of the button.

It gets hot here in the summer, and I'm sure I'll slow down, so don't extrapolate this to a year!

By the way, I usually keep my M4-P close by, and I have the FG in the car should I need that.
Click to expand...

You know, that's not too much more than what I've shot this year; the only difference is I've probably shot about half of the 35mm rolls and twice the digital frames. When I do shoot, it's a binge in a big way. I guess if I average out my exposures, I probably am over more than one a day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom