My father shot pictures his entire life. That was back in the day when you only had access to 36 frames on a roll of film and it cost a lot of money to develop and print those images.
When I was a boy and started to shoot pictures, my Dad told me, “If I get 1 good picture per roll, I’m happy.” I quickly learned that didn’t mean that he was a crappy photographer, he was quite good in fact. His point was, the trick to getting good pictures, is to shoot a lot of pictures.
Now that we’re in the digital era where it’s easier and cheaper to shoot (you don’t get much better than an unlimited roll that costs nothing) I find that I typically get 1 good picture for every 100 I shoot. That doesn’t make me a crappy photographer either, just one who embraces the digital medium and what my father told me decades ago.
One of the wonderful things about digital photography is it allows you to experiment and shoot freely. Exposure, aperture, focus, lenses, composition… it’s all there in the sandbox to play with.
And as for 99 less than perfect images, they are not just for the trash. Through the editing process where you find out what did work, you will also discover what didn’t work and can apply that knowledge to your next shoot. And on occasion, you’ll even find a “happy accident”. Sometimes that happy accident is your best pic of the day.
So next time you pick up your camera, have fun, experiment and don’t be shy with your shutter finger. It won’t cost a penny and you’ll never run out of film.
Happy shooting,
Rüdiger Poe