What is your 'Ratio'?

[THXGEEK]

I had some spare time today and wandered down to my local wildlife watering hole (aka the 'suburban water retention pond').

After a vast expenditure of photons and electrons, I have a few pics that I deemed 'worthy' of processing and potential sharing with family, friends and community. Most of my pics basically really 'suck' for all of the reasons we all experience. Out of focus. Too much noise. Can't be cropped properly. It just isn't 'right'. And so on...

So. My question is: What is your ratio of pics taken to pics that you are willing to process/share?

After very careful consideration, my average ratio is at least 100:1. (That ratio is considerable higher for my newer platforms - still getting to know my Fuji camera)

What about you?

 

[Richard A]

I have never really bothered working out anything like that. I don’t really see the point. A well known YouTuber who shoots birds (both in flight and not) recently said on his channel that he’s happy if he gets one “keeper” from a day’s shooting. I’m sure he does lots of stuff other than birds though.

The other night, during the eclipse, between midnight and 6:00 am, I took 188 shots. I was very happy that I got the nine decent ones that are in the composite. Bear in mind that I was shooting a basically static object although the conditions were a bit trying.

 

[Unframed Dave]

With wildlife, it's around 1%.

My ratio went up when I stopped taking absolute no hopers, barn owls at 250yds etc.

 

[spudhead]

I had some spare time today and wandered down to my local wildlife watering hole (aka the 'suburban water retention pond').

After a vast expenditure of photons and electrons, I have a few pics that I deemed 'worthy' of processing and potential sharing with family, friends and community. Most of my pics basically really 'suck' for all of the reasons we all experience. Out of focus. Too much noise. Can't be cropped properly. It just isn't 'right'. And so on...

So. My question is: What is your ratio of pics taken to pics that you are willing to process/share?

After very careful consideration, my average ratio is at least 100:1. (That ratio is considerable higher for my newer platforms - still getting to know my Fuji camera)

What about you?

Well I am sure your keeper rate is higher than you think it is, It is has always been the case that simply buying the best and newest gear doe`s not equal great results, it is a learning curve for us all and every system is different. For every great shot you see on any site anywhere that shooter will had many misses as well, I guess sometimes it better not to shoot if conditions do not allow as you state , heat haze, distance low light all eat into your odds of good shots. The one thing I keep hearing from shooters now is I don`t worry about noise any more on shots we have great noise reducing software now, true to some extent but on the a1 it kicks in quite low and I try to keep it way down. As for my hit rate I don`t really know, I do know that for birds in flight it lower than static birds or wildlife. Bird photography is not easy

 

[THXGEEK]

I do know that for birds in flight it lower than static birds or wildlife. Bird photography is not easy

So very true.

 

[Unframed Dave]

Thinking further, there's a difference between keepers and just good shots.

I've just been shooting bee eaters in flight and when it comes to agility, they're up there with the best.

The first to get culled are the ones without a bird in the frame, maybe 10%.

Next are the technical failures, out of focus, blurred etc, bad exposure, another 50%.

That leaves around 40% with a bird in them that is reasonably sharp. Of these, at least half will be poorly posed, these lovely little birds care not for our efforts.

Then, when all done, you remove the dupes, it's bound to happen, we're not mentally sharp enough to stop pressing the button when the bird repeats a previous pose. What if it closes it's eye or looks away from us. We're now getting into tens maybe of good shots.

But, here's the clinch......

How many do you want or need? Personally, if I have three good shots from this morning, that's plenty. In fact, I'll consider that a success. I don't want fifty, who would? You have to store them, sort them etc and at the end of the day, it gets boring. Add to that, this isn't the first time I've shot bee eaters, so one for a record, but if the rest aren't better than the previous shots I've taken, poof, in the bin they go.

The fact that I don't denoise nor do I sharpen, means that my cull rate is higher than most. Some days, I just watch, knowing I won't get a good shot.

This to me is both the misery and the majesty of wildlife photography. I might get nothing, but I've been outside and enjoyed seeing marvellous sights.

Good enough.