Good Photography Diet
How many shots of the same scene do I need to make? I took around 50 shots at this spot on the bridge connecting Commercial Bay with the office block across the road. Each shot was individually composed as single shot images. Of the lot, I was only truly comfortable with 4 or 5.
In a digital environment, there is no additional cost to making more shots apart from a longer review time and a larger hard drive. While my editing process is super quick, it still takes time to consider, evaluate and tag each image. Which image is worth keeping and which should be deleted?
The benefit to taking more images is that I might capture something better as the scene evolves. At this particular shoot, I was removed from the scene, elevated on a bridge a couple of metres away. My subjects do not notice me due to the height disparity and dark early morning setting. However, in a more exposed environment where subjects can see me, this approach of shooting multiple images from the same spot might not work out. It is not about being seen photographing, but it is about how subjects feel and react when a camera is pointed steadily at them. Initial surprise and willingness to be photographed can quickly fade, turning into annoyance.
How do I balance capturing the right image as the scene progresses and not being a greedy photography hog, pointing the camera at people repeatedly and interrupting the natural flow of events? Even if people are happy, it feels overly excessive and wasteful to make more than I need. Feels like a hunter who hunts more than is necessary to feed their family.
Part of the solution I suspect is being willing to let some images pass me by. I do not have to make a photograph of every good scene. The bonus of not overly focusing on making images is that I can be present in the moment and take things in. I can think of it as good photography diet, leaving a meal only 80% full so that I can fully digest and absorb the goodness of what I’ve consumed.