A friend of mine recently asked me:
How many “clicks” do you recommend in a shoot/moment? There are times when I have 500 photos from a visit to the fair or something, and it can overwhelm me. But i just start clicking and can’t stop!
Taking hundreds of pictures in one afternoon can be extremely overwhelming when you have to go through all those pictures afterward (a process known as “culling.”) For that reason, I generally try to avoid getting to snap-happy. I don’t know that I have a number that I recommend (though I’ve found I generally take around 100-150 in an hour if I’m doing a professional shoot and generally show my favorite 20-35 of those to the client). But, I’m going to share something that my mentor taught me that has always stuck. Before you click, ask yourself “Am I making this person look better or worse than they do in real life?” Even though we moms think our babies are the cutest thing to ever grace the planet, the truth is, it is absolutely possible to take a bad photo of a cute baby. For example, shooting a close up from lower than eye level or having the light come from underneath. I’ve found that if I slow down and ask myself how I’m making my subject look, I don’t shoot as much.
Also, you’ll find the better you get, the fewer shots you need to take. You’ll know not to even bother with a shot because the lighting is bad, it’s an unflattering angle, etc.
Hope this helps some of you out there too! Happy Shooting!
