I was thinking about some recent images posted here for critique, and started thinking about how people end up with a lot of near misses, and a few GREAT shots. Then I started thinking how I myself shoot. I see something, out in the vast reaches of the world, that interests me, and is what I think looks nice. So, I try to get all sorts of angles and lighting and perspective in hopes of getting a real winner. Many times, I get the chromes back, and the images are technically ok, but the resultant images dont shout to me - KEEPER! On occasion, I've tried to go back, retake and try again - often with better success, but this is only possible on things that are permanent, or situations that are recurrent. Other times, I think emotionalism of the moment clouds the visual esthetic and the resultant images are just bad, or at best snapshot momento's (case in point is everyones shots of thier dog or girl/boyfriend).

So.. the whole line of interspective got me thinking about a system or a checklist or some method that would promote more images of "wow" quality. Of course, then all spontaniousness is lost.

About the only method I can think of that works for me is SLOW DOWN. Not just to work slower, but to think slower and spend more time with the subject matter (often a problem for lots of people it seems).

Maybe I'm just going nuts here... but I'd like to hear what y'all do, maybe when you're in a slump, or something you apply all the time when you're out and about with camera in hand.

-- Charles (cbarcellona@telocity.com), April 02, 2002

Answers

I'm extremely happy when I get 4-5 good shots on a roll to be honest. There are times when you shoot in spurts or rarely, it all depends on the Spirit and inspiration from artistic motives.

I think that to impose an overarching methodology on Leica photography is to break the spontaneous nature of it. I think that there isn't any emotional value to our photography, then our activity become meaningless.

I do think about which photographs to take and then I frame and shoot 1-4 frames depending on how much bracketing for tricky lighting conditions are needed. Most of the time I shoot consciously, with lots of care but with a certain element of deliberate carelessness too as to not become too formalist in my approach. In fact, I just have a photographic diary just devoted to Leica only shots.

My recommendation is to shoot more deliberately and not necessarily slower. Of course, even the great masters like Cartier-Bresson had tons of bad shots which explains why his fame is overrated. His books are full of mediocre shots but the shots which are good are exceptional and very memorable. But the technical brilliance is consistent no matter what.

Which is why I like Ralph Gibson and Huger Foote. They shoot abstract and brilliantly. They don't suck... no way I would give up their books any time soon.

-- Alfie Wang (leica_phile@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

there are two questions here. the first is what do you do to increase the number of wow pictures, the second is what do you do when you are in a slump. whenever i get in a slump i try shooting something i dont normally shoot such as night shots, or lately birds (thank you doug herr). since my expectations are low and am not usually disapointed and that gets me going. the other thing i try to do is shoot my own or a neighborhood childrens sporting event. i get duplicates made and hand them out to the parents at the next game. the parent are always appreciative, since they can never have too many pictures of there children. most parents do not have the proper equipment to shoot a sporting event, so in their mind the photos will stand out.

increasing the number of wow shots is simply a matter of practice, seeing what works, what doesn't, what can be improved upon, and what is headed for the garbage. for myself i have gotten used to looking at scenes whith out a camera and thinking if they would make a good photo, or if not what could be done to improve them. maybe i would think about what to add to the forground, or which angle i would shoot from, or what i would crop out. i also scour magazines and photo galleries looking for photos i like and thinking if i could borrow something from the style. if you are traveling and see something that is a great one time photograph, keep shooting it in different manners with exposure, cropping, perspective, adding and subtracting until you run out of film or you know you have got it right. later you can decide which of the shots works for you.

-- greg mason (gmason1661@aol.com), April 02, 2002.

Learning to see is the art of photography. It takes time, practice and concentration to get there. Once you get there, you rarely shoot a hundred frames, you might shoot a few and throw away all but one, or all.

How to get there? I find that I don't carry the camera except when I'm willing to put in the energy. Then I load it up with film and go for my walk, concentrating on seeing. I rarely shoot more than one or two rolls, sometimes only a few frames per walk. I try to complete the rolls and process them IMMEDIATELY so that I can examine the negatives and see what I did, right or wrong. It's all useful and helps the learning experience.

Lately I've been shooting a lot with a digital camera. What a superb tool to learn to see with! You can shoot a lot, examine immediately and see what worked or didn't, return to the subject and go again in quick succession. Nothing helps so much as practice and feedback...

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), April 02, 2002.

Different people work differently to generate the "seeing" needed to make great pictures.

Godfrey walks around and shoots few frames.

Gary Winogrand walks around and shoots dozens of rolls of film.

Exactly how you do this depends on how you want to work and the kinds of pictures you take.

I tend to carry a camera a lot, especially on trips, but I shoot in spurts. When I find something that interests me, I'll shoot a whole roll on it, esp. if the light is really good and changing.

I often find that I shoot many seemingly duplicate frames, but one or two that stand out.

In ON BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER, David Hurn describes an approach to documentary photography that is similar to this. He claims that photojournalists tend to shoot in spurts around the right situations.

Interestingly, if you read Galen Rowell's books on his landscape photography, he describes a very similar working style.

What you have to decide is what subjects you want to explore, and that will dictate the right way to work with them. IMHO.

-- Pete Su (psu_13@yahoo.com), April 02, 2002.

when you got to edit you got to edit, when squezzing the leica you better concentrate on whatīs around you (photographly).

I better see or guess what I want to frame, and aproach it, instintively (from instinct), fast resolve (technicaly), and image can be yours, we want pictures to talk to us, you better see it talk at the moment it sssiiiiilkss, I have leave it to time, how many per roll, who cares as long as they are there, and donīt mind finding it after twenty rolls, as long as they are there...

Alfie friend, donīt read too much, go uot and take a picture. ;))

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

didnīt mean to be rude or sarcasm Alfie.best regards

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

I think that either consciously or sub-consciously I tend to think about how I am going to PRINT the shot during the process of taking the shot. I find this is especially true when shooting BW.

A lot of times I find myself shooting color FOR the color. So that is what I try to imagine and plan for on chromes.

I try to limit myself sometimes, because I know that if I go out shooting at noon on a perfectly sunny day, more than likely I am going to be disappointed with the results. I guess it's just a flaw in my technique. I don't think I have ever shot a "sunny day" picture that I have felt great about. So I try to limit my disappointments. It's hard because I really like to shoot with the M. I guess it also depends on what your subject is. As a general guideline: if I am doing scenics, its dawn or dusk for color, overcast or stormy (or weather dependent) for BW. I don't get a chance at much "street" photography where I live, so my options are limited. People shots I base around mood and light.

I also often find myself shooting something NOT because it is interesting, but because the light is right. I will often stop the car and shoot a few frames just because I like the quality of the light. Maybe this is kind of bass ackwards and maybe not....who knows. I hate using a tripod, even though it invariably yields a better image. (this is another reason I like the M.....absence of mirror bounce and that smooth shutter)

I think the idea of shooting something you are not familiar or comfortable with shooting is a good exercise to dispel "slumps". Here is a technique I like for portraits that forces you to think "outside the box": (If you have heard or tried this before, please forgive the ramble)

-Technique works best at night or inside a room that can be shut off from outside stray light.

-Mount camera on tripod with a cable release. Subject can be doing anything as long as they have a position that they feel comfortable with and can hold for an extended period of time.

-I usually shoot this with chrome, but you can do it with BW as well. Exposure I use is F/16 with shutter set at B.

-Pre focus on subject. Now take a handheld flash with an auto cell (I often use a Vivitar 283, or a Metz unit). I will set the exposure on the flash for low (F2.8/ or 4).

-Tell subject to remain still. Turn out lights so that the room is black. Open shutter on camera and use a cable release lock to keep shutter open.

- Now with the handheld flash unit.....expose multiple "pops" around your subject to expose individual "pieces" of their body by "painting them". You can experiment witht the distance from subject but I usually get pretty close (12 inches or so). You can use colored gels to enhance the effect.

It takes some hit or miss...but when done properly, the effect is outstanding, and different.

Again....if this is a common technique to you guys, then please forgive the diatribe.

Cheers

-- Rich Green (kamurah@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

Ernst Haas once said that when he looked at HC-B's contact sheets, he could clearly visualize a sequence of photographs leading up to the final, perfect, composition. My own experience is that when I make a series of pictures of a scene, it is almost always the very first shot which is the best image.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@comcast.net), April 02, 2002.

I also often find myself shooting something NOT because it is interesting, but because the light is right. I will often stop the car and shoot a few frames just because I like the quality of the light.

The light is what I take pictures of. When the light is magical, I find a subject that will show the light at its best.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), April 02, 2002.

Great shot Douglas!

-- Rich Green (kamurah@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

Wonderful shot Douglas, and thank you for not detracting us from the shot by giving us any boring technical details. I shall now down load it so that I can show it to my wife as well. All and all quite an enjoyable thread really, without any references to "domke bags" or the "bokeh of Noctilus" or " I have this very expensive outfit, what is the most expensive other gadgets I add to it" stuff.

-- sait (akkirman@clear.net.nz), April 02, 2002.

I agree that devoting more energy to each frame will help you improve significantly. When I started shooting medium format (15 shots per roll rather than 36), I started exercising more care. Before, I'd ask myself, "Why not?" and take the shot without devoting much thought to answering that question. Now I've gotten much better at answering that question quickly, and simply not taking the shot when I recognize that it won't work. Of course, I still don't hesitate to experiment, but I don't waste resources on experiments that I know will fail.

When it's time to edit, I approach things from the other direction. I assume that it all sucks, and ask myself why I should keep the image--that is, what is right about it. It's a useful approach because I don't get distracted by stupid "rules" that way. Of course, I still go through periods where I look through my workbooks (the images that managed to make it to an 8x10 enlargement) and think "most of this stuff sucks!!" (I don't actually throw away the film, but I don't proof or scan the ones that don't make the cut.)

-- Mike Dixon (mike@mikedixonphotography.com), April 02, 2002.

I'm about to ruin it with techo detail! It seems to me that of successful photography depends on the ability of the photographer not only to see and compose a good picture but also to make the best possible use of his/her equipment to make it happen. Misuse of gear or inferior gear can result in failure to capture faithfully what the gifted photographer intends.

I remember seeing Doug's wonderful barley field picture on his Leica SLR review web site, at http://www.wildlightphoto.com/leica/http://www.wildlightphoto.com/leic a/, in the section on the 60mm macro lens, and thinking to myself that it was either a very still day or the shutter speed must have been high. I suspect the latter, seeing the limitied DoF. The bokeh of that lens is nice and it seems to me that Doug made excellent use of it. Sorry to be a techo-nerd, I'll try no to let it happen again. :-)

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), April 02, 2002.

I too came to the conclusion to slow down. I sometimes sit at a site for 15min or longer just waiting for the insight on how to deal with the situation or location. If you just walk by shot, you just might miss it. Recent expirence: I was shooting in a crowded street in Istanbul. I wasn't exaclty thrilled by the situation but it was just some expirimenting. I was shooting for at least half an hour or so when I suddenly notices this dummy outside the store I was sitting next to. It was a nice contrast with the busy street with all moving people. Then an old lady came up, looking at the dummy. There it was! Click. (I currently scanning the Istanbul pictures that are worthwhile (say 10-20 out of 600) and put them on the web soon. Still need to expiriment with my film scanner a bit

Reinier

-- ReinierV (rvlaam@xs4all.nl), April 03, 2002.

Besides other things the lighthint is indeed most important IMO. If you concentrate your photography on the first two hours in the morning and the two last hours in the evening you might get more keepers than you would expect. The example shown here by Douglas Herr is a wonderful one for an evening shot. Thanks for showing.

Best wishes

-- K. G. Wolf (k.g.wofl@webd.e), April 03, 2002.

I have a lot of near-succesful shots that I used to put away in a box and forget about. More recently I've been going through some of them and been quite surprised that I ever nearly threw them away.

The moral of the story: Everyone's photographic techniques improve/change all the time, and with this so do our expectations and results. What looks like a keeper now maybe a "thrower" latter. And what looks like a "thrower" now maybe a keepr later.

My advice, keep all photos (unless obviously bad, ie. not viewable- totally black) for at least a few months and look back later. You may be surprised.

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.

How to take better pictures and get more keepers. Hmmmm. Tough one.

I'll discuss phloisophy here. I asume that you already know about how to set up your exposure and hold the camera steady.

1) If it looks good, shoot it. I try to expose mumbling the mantra "Film is cheap... Film is cheap". Good shots can get away as you stare through the viewfinder wondering if it's worth the shot.

2) Every scene has a best view. Look for it. Change lenses. Walk around. Find the best angle and get a good shot. Remember to bracket.

3) Practice. If you missed it this time, next time, when shooting similar scenes, your sense of timing will be better honed. This is especially true when shooting events, from soccer games to theater.

4) Practice. If your leica is not faster than a P&S, you need more practice.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Enjoy.

-- Tom Bryant (boffin@gis.net), April 03, 2002.

Kristian makes a very good point. Unfortuantely, on a daily basis, I have to make snap decisions on which is the best frame to scan and give to an editor. I am much better at this than when I started in this business, but I still find that about 25 percent of the time I find a better frame the next day long after the paper is lining someone's bird cage. You will get better at taking the keepers and skipping the sleepers, but it takes lots of film and practice, and lots of film doesn't necessarily mean burning it all up at once. The great thing about Leica M or non-automated photography is it makes you slow down and think. So-o-o-o, think and shoot.

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-- Dayton P. Strickland (daytonst@bellsouth.net), April 03, 2002.