moiz Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 So I have this problem....I just can't stop myself from shooting the same scene at least three times. Im pretty sure this is just a hang up from the old "bracket all your shots" but now im starting to annoy even myself with it (my wife is beyond being just mildly annoyed when the roll of 36 comes back with only 9-10 different pictures!). Even the most simple of shots, the kids doing something cute for example; I'll take an incident meter reading, take the picture, then take two or three more....just in case! Sometimes I don't even bracket...I just take lots of shots of the same thing. So can someone either help me, or at least tell me your little annoying habits that you cant get rid of to make me feel better. Cheers all, Moiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl_yik1 Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Moiz, if money is an issue, just think of how much money you are spending on processing! ;].. I would calm down a bit when taking a shot, explore all possibilities and take time to compose and shoot just one shot, then walk away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I know the feeling, I got into this habit when I was a press photographer. 9 times out of 10 the first shot was the one that got used! I find it helps to go to meetings of multishotters anonymous and when you turn comes round just stand up and admit it - "My name is Moiz and I'm a multishotter". With time and effort you'll get back to taking one shot of the scene. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry_rory Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Just relax and only bracket those shots that are utterly unrepeatable. I have learnt this lately. A problem with me was the "I must take everything I can cram in my bag just in case..." syndrome. (Commonly called... "my bloody shoulder aches like hell!") I forced myself recently to go out with one SLR ,one 45mm lightweight lens (Tessar) and one compact (GR1). 400 asa B&W and Colour film so therefore NO tripod. I allowed myself only a maximum of 3 filters. A UV and a Circ Pol and a Yellow for B&W. On top of this I also forbad myself from bracketing (so I carry less film) and made myself enjoy country walks for their own sake. (Previously they had been 'photography walks'.) The pictures actually improved! Weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henk Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Thats not that odd, most pros make several shots of the same thing even more than one roll at times of the same face, why? Perfectionalism, there is always some miniscule focussing error or camerashake blur or compositional error which can be prevented this way. Still i often wonder why fashion photogs waste that many rolls on scrawny chicks... ;)P Greetings, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manu_vermeiren Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Sometimes I shoot 36 pictures of the same "scene", nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I usually shoot a couple of shots of a scene if the candid nature of it doesn't suddenly disappear. Subtile changes of expression sometimes makes it worth the effort. One weird thing I've noticed is the disporportionate amount of time (70-80%) that a select for printing is the first frame on the strip of 6. What's that about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerry_szarek Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Moiz, their is a solution for your problem. I want you to go out and buy a canon 10d, with a good canon lenses probably 17~40L F4, 24~70L F2.8, a 50 F1.4, and if you do telephoto work a 70~200 F2.8 L with IS, along with this at least 4 1Gb flash cards, some battery's and the assorted computer equipment (which you may already have). You then can feel free to blast away at anything your heart desires, and it's all free (well their was that small upfront investment you need in the camera/lenses/etc). You will only show your wife the truly great pictures, so if you feel the need to take 100 shots of the same scene go right ahead. Best of luck with your wife, hey you also could trade her in for a new model, but it maybe cheaper to buy the canon setup. GS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis_nuttin Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Moiz, I know this feeling too. In 90% of the cases, i do NOT print a shot from a multi-same-shot session. Not really because I can not choose, I have often a prefered one. But because even the prefered is not OK. I think I felt it (more or less unconsciously) during the shooting session, and that's precisely why I took so many of the same view, hoping the number will improve the value. Which is almost never the case, logically. I'm not sure my frenchie english is clear enough to give such a psychological explanation :) alexis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abufletcher Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I think sometimes be get in the habit of just firing off a frame every few secords (or minutes) whether or not there is anything doing on. I think of this as "ichy finger syndrome." A nice cure for this is to go out with a role of 36 and force yourself to get 36 different photos of different subjects. ONE SHOT THEN MOVE ON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I've noticed the same thing. If I shoot 5 or 6 frames of a shot I really want to get, it's invariably the first one that gets printed, even if there's a slight technical flaw with it. Maybe second-guessing your instincts is a waste of film....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Back in the days of shooting 4x5 in a press camera it was still common practice to make a second shot "just in case". When motor drives/power winders became widely available at reasonable prices many pros would pop off a burst while turning the aperture ring to bracket exposure. Eventually a camera or two appeared with "auto bracket". Rare is the situation where you'll get such awful exposures with negative film, color or B&W, that bracketing exposures is worthwhile. And, yes, the first exposure of a series IS oft times the best. After all, that's what caught your attention to make the photo in the first place. Subjects then become aware of you and that changes the mood. In situations like kids playing, though, you can never predict what will happen next. You can keep costs down by buying quantities of film, or bulk loading B&W. If you process your own there's no need to print every frame; a contact sheet will show you what you have. 9 or 10 photo situations per roll is a high percentage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee_shively Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I don't think this is a problem. Nine or ten subjects or different views of the same subject on a single roll of 35 exposures is pretty conservative. I shoot a lot more conservatively now than I did when I did newspaper photography but I still shoot a number of frames of each subject. I know stuff happens. I've had whole rolls of film scratched because of some grit on the pressure plate. I've screwed up exposures. I used a 4x5 on a vacation once and the lab ruined about 25% of the transparencies I shot. I've had cameras malfunction and no photos were in focus. Stuff happens, so I try to have insurance, especially on one-of-a-kind photos or for photos I cannot easily redo. At least you're not like some people and have the first 5 Christmases of their kids life on one roll of film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 <<So I have this problem....I just can't stop myself from shooting the same scene at least three times>> You could always go digital. Then you can make as many shots as your CF card will hold, and then make thousands of different variations in Photoshop. What fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moiz Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 Man, I go to lunch and come back to find I've got a load of thread to read!! Thanks all for the replies. I know what you are all saying about the minor changes that happen that can sometimes improve the picture but thats not even the reason im doing it. I do it with everything....even those shots where your brother and his fiance grab you and say "take a shot of us in the blinding noon sunlight in front of this ugly background". Even though I know that whatever I try, the picture will not look great, but is just a memory for them, I'll take the first one and say "wait a minute...one more". I think it is partly a lack of confidence, where i'm still not experienced enough to know i'll get what im envisioning....but i'm getting there and I suppose once i'm happy that the lab gives me back what i expected i'll stop taking multiple shots. Anyway, thanks again for all for stopping by in this thread, especially those i have of you i have marked as interesting and influence my way of thinking about photography....its an honour. Moiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manu_vermeiren Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Luckily Eisenstaedt had an itchy finger, he shot about 36 frames and came up with <a href=http://www.gallerym.com/pixs/photogs/ea/pages/eisenstaedt_churchillliverpool.htm>this one </a> (and it wasn�t his first frame :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moiz Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 As much as I appreciate you trying to make me feel better by the reference to Eisenstaedt, I feel it necessary to decline the comparison on grounds of my lack of talent. Moiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau 1664876222 Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 When I was a teenager getting started in photography, I had this obsessive rule to never trip the shutter unless I knew was looking at a good print. I would take a month to use up a roll, and the contact sheet would look like a "greatest hits" kind of thing.<p>Gradually I realized that my pictures lacked a certain spontaneity, however, and if I was taking pictures of people, they would get annoyed that I kept looking through the viewfinder and saying, "nah" rather than shooting.<p>Nowadays I fire away and waste a lot of film, mainly because I have a lot more money and simply enjoy pushing the shutter. My contact sheets look a lot sloppier but there's occasionally one that has that loosy-goosy kind of magic.<p>Another thing is that I use a Leica more nowadays, and frankly with a rangefinder it's more of a guessing game as to what you're getting, so I shoot more variations and get less keepers. With my slr it's like looking at a light table -- I KNOW when I got what I wanted and can move on. Maybe you should experiment with an slr and get in the habit of carefully evaluating the picture while it's on the focussing screen rather than after the fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moiz Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 Thats a suprising answer Beau. Most people would disagree with you and say that because of the lack of mirror induced blackout you get with an slr, you are more likely to see what you snap with a rangefinder. Ive actually just done the opposite, moving from an slr to a rangefinder, though not a Leica, an Olympus RD. Im very much in the experimental stage with it, only putting my 5th or 6th roll through it but im enjoying it. i think I do need to free myself up a bit with it though, stop worrying so much about the composition and just be a little more expressive with it. When I go to take a random picture of something I always have a nagging feeling in the back of my head telling me i'm not being practical, and what am I going to do with a picture of the tops of trees and a load of sky. This weekend I may go out and see if I can take a roll of pictures that look like the ones Travis takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau 1664876222 Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Moiz, what I said is consistent with that -- my post indicated that I get more successful "spontaneous" shots with the Leica and more successful "static" shots with the slr. With the slr I tend to slow down and really nail a shot with one frame, whereas with the Leica I aim more to get those transient moments. But there's no way to repeat shots of the transient moments, so I assumed you were not talking about those in your initial question. If your shots "look the same" than you are not doing the kind of photography upon which "mirror black out" would have any effect whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moiz Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 Gotcha Beau. But actually its a problem I have with any picture I take. Take yesterday; I wanted a picture of a building, with the building quite dark, just visible detail and a good amount of detail in the sky which was filled with white clouds. So, I took an incident reading, closed down two stops and took the picture. But then I HAD to open up again and reshoot it......just in case. Now this building isnt going anywhere, its not even a picture I would hang on the wall, and if it hadn't come out well it really wouldn't have mattered....but I still had to shoot it twice. Thats what im trying to overcome. Sad huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralph_barker Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Moiz, don't beat yourself up over this. Compare the cost of that extra frame of film to the gas and time to reshoot. And, if the wife gets too cranky about it, just mention that you're thining of trading in your Leica for a Nikon with an 8 frame-per-second motor drive (that's 4.5 seconds per roll of 36). ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moiz Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 Unfortunatly Ralph, threats don't work with her.....she just threatens me back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henk Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Well Moiz you could ask your wife this(if your brave enough): If you take a dump on the toilet and you wiped your ass dont you wipe it another time just in case you had a case of gooeh crap? Take my word for it, IT WILL WORK ;)P Greetings, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob F. Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Moiz: Generally when I shoot a repeat frame, it's because I think I moved the camera during the exposure, or didn't have quite enough depth of field. In other words, there's some perceived technical flaw. When I get my slides back, I often can't figure out why I needed the extra shots. I can't see any difference in them. Why don't you just try a self-assignment of shooting only one frame, to see if it works for you. If it doesn't, then you can go back to making extra shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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