Hit Rate Percentage

Hi Guys,

I was wandering about the "Hit Rate" of underwater photography, i.e. how many shots you take compared with how many you find acceptable enough to use/publish.

Thanks

Tristan

I'm sure everyone's a little different but I "keep" maybe 10% and consider 5% (if I'm lucky) good.

Thanks for the response, Rick, I am sure everyone is different. I shoot tournament golf 32 weeks a year and would consider 10-15 percent a pretty reasonable 60-70 shots published per 500 taken. (Bearing in mind that it is 8 -10 frames per second or per swing).

Maybe I should buy another 12L cylinder

Tristan

Thanks for the response, Rick, I am sure everyone is different. I shoot tournament golf 32 weeks a year and would consider 10-15 percent a pretty reasonable 60-70 shots published per 500 taken. (Bearing in mind that it is 8 -10 frames per second or per swing).

 

Maybe I should buy another 12L cylinder

Tristan

Hey Tristan ,

Good to see you here - sort of like having a busman's holiday........

I sort pretty hard in the first dump and usually end up with around 20 % that gets

whittled down to 2-5% depending on the subject and assignment.

Sometimes the clients just want the lot warts and all. In which case its pretty easy to surrender to the will of the DP or CD.

When I take a publishable picture, I'll let you know. The denominator of the ratio is large enough already I'd be in the sub tenth-of-a-percent range.

I guess it depends how you define hit rate. On the one hand one can consider technically adequate photographs, and then there are the more subjective issues of what makes a great image. When discussing the technically adequate aspect, of underwater photography, it is much more challenging than underwater. Topside probably 90% or more of my photographs will stand up to technical scrutiny like focus, exposure, color. Underwater my initial results were maybe 25% met such technical criteria. Now, my technical hit rate is maybe 75% and I expect this will continue to improve slowly with time, but unlikely to ever be the same as topside. I guess what's publishable depends on who you're shooting for, a trade magazine or an 'art' magazine.

As for great images, I'm always happy if I get back from a trip and I have 2 or 3 that I can frame.

I get a lot of pictures published - and I learned years ago never to throw away anything, It's amazing what I get asked for!

However, if I was taking pictures for myself. I'd have probably thrown them all away, the cameras too!

I learnt years ago never to throw away anything, It's amazing what I get asked for!

Yes, I can go along with that! I've also learnt to send photo researchers images that I don't particularly like - they are all too often those that are chosen to be used. So 'hit rate' is a temporal thing too......

I'm spending a bit less time shooting and more looking lately. So my daily rate for 3 dives is around 100-125 snaps total. I'm always more than pleased if I get just 1 great photo per trip. And hopefully, 15-20 keepers to put on my website. Guess that would put me around 4% for a 5 day dive trip...which isn't all that good. LOL!

Rand

Happy if I get 1 shot I am happy with per day. Never delete anything until I see it on my PC

Regards

Gary

Even though images may be technically correct, they have to pretty compelling (subject-, pose-, and composition-wise) to make the cut for me anymore. So, on a typical dive I may like 10%, and think 2 or 3 of those I'd be proud to print/hang.

Your perspective and judging criteria change over time. I recently had to go through boxes of prints and slides (from my old Nikonos III & V days) and was amused by the stuff I had saved from back then.

Digital has certainly made it easier (more affordable) to bracket and shoot multiple frames where possible, increasing the likelihood of getting a keeper shot. (Was I the only one that would always save a frame or two on the roll, just in case something extraordinary happened by before the dive was over??)

Mark

Idem... 10%

Thanks for the responses guys,

I think with any hobby/ subject, the more you do the more demanding you become of yourself especially if you compare your work with the leaders in your field and are striving to improve daily. I know that I look back over some of the stuff I was shooting 5 years ago and cringe a little to think that I put my name to it (actually I still do that over some of the rubbish I can shoot now), but as Mark said digital has made the learning curve a little shallower.

That's true... every year I take something that I like, then next year it just doesn't look as good.

I guess that I shoot about 200 frames on a dive, junk 50% in the camera (duplicates, blurs, blown highlights, trial shots etc), post-process 20 and use between 1 and 5: 1-3%, in round numbers.

After a trip I'll find a few dives that were much better, and generated most of the good stuff.

And in a year's time I'll be dissatisfied again.

Tim