I’m new to the hobby and I thought this would be an interesting discussion question. Greatness is subjective, of course, so I’m not talking greatness in terms of being ranked against all photos taken in the world (unless that’s personally the benchmark you choose to rate yourself on). What I’m really asking is how often do you personally feel fulfilled with your photography? Whether you go out daily on photography walks, take your camera everywhere all the time, or just do a ton of professional gigs, what I want to know is how often do you think “Wow, I got a great shot there. I’m really proud of this one.”? Do you have several every time do take photographs, maybe one a day, or is it few and far between for you? How do you feel about coming home from a photo session and feeling that you didn’t really get anything good? For those that do professional client work, how do you feel if you finish a pro gig and don’t feel like you got anything all that special (even though it may be good enough to warrant your professional standards)? On a second note, if you do professional gigs like weddings and such, do you ever aim to get something unique and original or are you more focused on making sure you get everything on your standard checklist of photos your clients expect to have?
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for me i obviously get the great photo each shoot but i can only name 4 photos over my three years of photography that truly deserve greatness.
I got one this year and was helped to it by the Olympus 12-40 pro. In 2021 I had more, being helped by opportunity, the weather and the Samyang 7.5mm. I got a very nice portrait shot this year. In 2022 I didn’t get any. In 2021 I had more opportunity and I got more. The weather was fab.
Like maybe 3 great shots from nearly a decade of shooting including 5 years of it full time.
Thousands of good shots, but ones I see as truly great are rare.
Maybe one in every 3-4 months.
Back when I started shooting and digital wasn’t a thing yet, it was considered pretty normal to have one good/usable shot per roll of film. So I’d say that if around 5% of your photos are decent, you’re doing just fine.
If we’re talking about actual great photos, 10 to 12 a year/one a month. Is doing pretty damn good.
Regularly. It is usually the first one I take too. I try to shoot about 10 and if I can’t get it by then I move on.
1 in… 1000 maybe?
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On my normal work camera shooting for clients, I always get several good shots and 1 or 2 great shots. More than enough to complete the project. I’ve been photographing my niche for over 10 years and using my current camera for about 5 years.
But I recently bought a new camera for personal use and I am not getting great shots. I guess the frustration comes knowing I have the ability and the camera has the ability but we’re not compatible yet. It takes practice to get your groove with a new camera so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself.
I do occasional professional work and a lot of photo walks. And a photo trip somewhere a couple of times per year when possible. I’m rather addicted to photography. It depends on how good “great” is…I’ll get a few shots that make me really happy each week as I shoot quite a lot. That might be a shot I post on social media or share with friends, like a great street portrait. But something truly great for the portfolio?..Probably 10-20 per year? Less? I haven’t counted but it’s not super high.
I do feel very fulfilled with my photography, though I also have so much more to learn. I can see my style even in my oldest images and I see it becoming more refined with each year. Because I snap every time I go out. Sometimes I just snap because I’m curious to see how my camera renders a patch of light or I want to play with a different aspect ratio. Each snap helps me better understand what compositions and subjects best match the feeling of inspiration that first caught my attention. It really is about just shooting more and more and more. Like any other skill.
I shoot a lot of college sports. 1500-2000 shots for volleyball. 1000 for basketball. 500-1000 for soccer.
In any of those there are 75-200 that are good enough to edit and give to the team. Of those, 2, maybe 3 make me say “wow.”
Back in the film days (of 24 shots per roll) there was a saying: “If you have one good shot on a roll, then it was a good roll”.
I recently had three weeks in Japan, I took 10,000+ photos and lots of them are good, but only a handful came out as great and worth sharing: https://flic.kr/p/2p8NTpb
When this question comes up, I always remember the teacher from my photography class in high school. She always told us that if we get one shot that we consider amazing on a single roll of film, we should feel very blessed and that more realistic expectations would be to expect one amazing one from the class. It’s something I still keep in mind years later.
maybe like this
- 5% great shots
- 10% messing up settings (aperture, SS, focus etc)
- 15% standing on the wrong spot, having blocked view or being too slow to capture the action
- 70% bad lightning or being in mediocre environments, like friends places. Not a bad thing, but rarely do epic shots come out.
Only been doing it for a few years…I have maybe 5 or 6 I’d consider printing.
My aim next year is to get 12 awesome ones for an end of year calendar for 2025