----- Original Message ----- From: "Tanya Mayer Photography" Subject: Re: Just one tip
> What do you (and others) think IS a realistic goal to aim > for? > If we are talking weddings, your hit % is a lottery. There are just too many factors at work. I have had perfect shots ruined by things that are completely unpredictable, and uncontrolable. Don't beat yourself up if some bald head causes a flash flare to ruin a shot of the bride walking up the aisle. It happens, and you probably didn't see the jerk kneel down right in front of you because you had the camera to your eye. It's happened to me. Look at the factors you can control, and minimize the potential for failure. Keep your equipment simple to operate. Be aware of how much film you have left, and change it out when you have to, not when it runs out. Become a student of human behaviour, and learn to anticipate what people are going to do based on their body language. Don't repeat your mistakes. I shot half a dozen wedding in the same church one year. There was an incredible shot of the couple from a certain spot behind the alter. I shot the same damned shot at every one of those six weddings, and every time, the shot was ruined because I was shooting over top of lit candles, and the heat from them caused weird optical things to happen. I suppose I should have figured it out after the first time. So it goes. I think a hit rate of 30 shots per 36 exposure roll is pretty good for weddings. Not every one is going to be a masterpiece, but they at least shouldn't be embarrasing. There does need to be a couple of masterpieces per album, and the bride had better figure big in them. I recall a wedding I shot where the bride was quite a homely lass and nervous in front of the camera, but the Maid of Honour was a real beauty, and had done some photographic modelling. Guess what? I didn't make any friends in that brides household. So it goes. If you are shooting tabletop, everything changes. You have pretty much full control, but you will still shoot excessive amounts of film, becuase you have to be sure that you have left enough bleed room for the layout, and you have to bracket your exposures, and you have to shoot enough film to cover processor damage, and the client may just have a gut feeling that for what they are paying you, they want to see 72 chromes, even though you know you nailed the shot in the first 12. Thats life. If you are trying something new, that you haven't tried before, your hit ratio might well be zero. But thats how we learn. Look at what didn't work, figure out why it didn't work, and don't do it again. Do something else instead, and see if that works. A realistic goal is to not feel the need to have a quota system when you go out shooting. Just do the best you can, and try to learn something from every job. William Robb
