Quantity Vs. Quality: The Photographers Edit
As portrait and wedding photographers we work with people who may not be accustomed to the professional workflow from the shoot to the presentation. So when we show just under 30 images for a portrait/engagement session we sometimes hear the question, “What happened to the rest of the pictures?” The short of it is that professional photographers are extremely selective of the images they show their clients and I’ve listed some reasons below:
- Any commissioned photographer wants to WOW their clients, so only the best of the best make it to the presentation; any weak images in the collection take away from the stronger ones.
- Any unflattering pose, facial expression or angle may be seen by the photographer only in post-production and will be immediately discarded.
- During a session the photographer will take multiple variations of a single pose but may only show the absolute most stunning image. Any repetitive images in the presentation tend to clutter the group. Variety is key to an overall strong collection.
- There are times when a photographer is trying a new technique or having fun with the subjects to keep them engaged in the shoot. These images may not turn out but they are still a productive part of the photographic experience, for the artist and the subject.
So when preparing for your photography session ask your photographer how many images to expect and you’ll most definitely get a ballpark figure. This may positively affect your immediate reaction to your images.
Photographers: How many images do you show for an average portrait or engagement session?
Comments are welcome and encouraged… thanks
~R & A
Very well-said you two! For any given portrait session, I might shoot up to 700-900 images, and usually only show 50-75! It’s not because most of the 700 photos are not good, but because of the repetition. Only the best get seen, as you have noted above. In effect, the photographers’ edit is one of the most important things clients pay “more” for a skilled photographer… the beginner photographers tend to hand over everything without being able to discriminate between good and great.
That’s one of the reasons I think it’s a mistake for all of those wedding sites to tell couples to ask the photographer how many photos they take, or how many photos they will get. It’s subjective per photographer… and if a client likes my work and what they see on my website, they can expect to get equivalent work for their portraits or wedding. Hiring based on quantity of images delivered is a huge mistake.
Crikey 700-900 images wow…I tend to shoot about 80 – 100 images on each portrait session, with the client viewing maybe 60 shots. I imagine if you have only started to shoot with a digital camera and not used a film camera you will always take more images as there is no need to worry about wastage. Can you imagine shooting that many frames if you had to use film, think of the cost! I always advise photographers to take their time when shooting, think about each image as you take it try to get it right in the camera. If you condition yourself and pretend tat you are using film you will start to cut down on the amount of frames you shoot, not only that but think of the time you will save and the extra storage space you will gain, so complete your files sit down and have a beer! you now have more time:))
Bam, nail on head! Mike and I find ourselves falling into grooves…so while there is some room for variation, we’re often shooting about 400-500 images at an engagement session and deliver about 75-100 images after we get home and sort through them all…at weddings we find ourselves shooting about 2000+ images and deliver about 700-900 images…we ALWAYS give a ball park, though, because even though this is our current trend it doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen on any given day…there are so many variables!
When I started shooting portraits, I worked at a studio where we were only allowed to show our clients somewhere between 20 and 30 images. The structure seemed restrictive until I started overshooting on my own sessions. It is important for photographers to narrow down as much as possible, I think. I try to give my clients a ballpark figure and I also explain my process to them. I definitely agree with what everyone else has said. Of course, we’re all photographers. I have certainly had clients want to know where the rest of their images are, which can be frustrating. I would be interested to know what our clients thought about this subject. Are people just excited for the “more is more” philosophy?