Anyone who has worked in the photo industry for very long (and many who haven’t) has heard some variation on the phrase, “The reason pros get good shots is that they take so many pictures of the subject/scene.”  It’s a half-truth.

The implication that the good shots are random luck, chosen from the larger batch of less successful ones, is what’s wrong with that idea.  There are many good reasons for shooting many frames, and in today’s digital world, where there is no per picture cost as there was with film, few reasons not to shoot freely.  Of course, in this, like all things in life, some balance must be found.  Volume shooting means more time sorting through the take and more storage capacity necessary for archiving files.

In film days (waaaaay back 10-12 years ago) a photographer needed to cover him/herself against film getting lost or damaged at the processing lab or in transit.  

© Bill Durrence

The nearly vertical grey line on the bottom right, under the brown fan, is from a tear in the slide which happened when the lab was taking it out of the mount for printing.

I once had 25 rolls of a 40 roll project lost when the power went out at the lab while the film was in the developer.

© Bill Durrence

The red coloring is from the film being damaged in the processor when the lab had a power failure.

(Making a very honest and generous response to the problem, the lab tracked me down immediately to tell me what happened in the hope I might still be on location and could reshoot, at their expense. They replaced the 25 rolls with 50, provided free processing for those 50, and explained they had instituted a new policy of spreading out individual clients’ processing so no more than a few rolls were ever at risk in case of another power outage.  The film was from a personal project that, unfortunately, could not be reshot, but their response kept me as a customer for as long as I continued to shoot film.)

Another reason to shoot a lot then was, sometimes, to bracket exposures to be sure of getting one exactly right (no histograms then) and if you needed multiple originals of slides, you had to shoot them at the time because no dupe was ever quite as good.

While those issues are no longer of much concern for anyone shooting digitally, there are still good reasons for making sure you cover the shot by taking several.  In a portrait sitting any number of frames may have the subject’s eyes closed or mouth twisted in an awkward way.  Slight variations of head tilt can completely change the way the light is hitting the face.  In photographing groups of people those problems can be magnified exponentially.  The more frames you shoot, the better the chances of getting everyone looking good in a single frame, or at the least getting a good shot of each person so the best individuals from several frames can be composited into one shot in image processing.

© Bill Durrence

The first shot had nice expressions, but his eyes are closed and the young woman has a strand of hair in her face.  By shooting several frames I was able to avoid that.  It’s not a big, dramatic change, but an important one.

In a similar situation on safari recently, photographing a herd of Buffalo, the constantly moving members of the group made it nearly impossible for me to watch each of them to be sure I had the best “heads up” poses, with the fewest butt shots, and avoided awkwardly “amputating” body parts at the edge of the frame.  Shooting away gave me choices to later find the best grouping.  

© Bill Durrence

A Buffalo herd in constant motion.

Also on the same Botswana safari we found a pride of lions with several cubs on a kill.  As they moved around, shooting against a bright ground, I had to be concerned about mergers where one body might appear to have two heads or three tails.  I put the camera in High Speed Continuous advance and held the shutter release down for several frames, repeatedly.  

© Bill Durrence

© Bill Durrence

In the first shot of lion cubs feeding, merger of the juxtaposed bodies creates a whole new species.  Watching for clear separation between the various components of the shot, I was able to get clear definition in the second photo.

And when the cubs started roughhousing, I never took my finger off the button as long as they were still in the frame.  I can edit later for the best composition and interaction, as well as for focus and movement blur issues. 

© Bill Durrence

Still hanging around the kill, the cubs started playing.

Another reason for shooting a lot, and maybe the best reason, is to really work a subject.

© Bill Durrence

© Bill Durrence

© Bill Durrence

We were afloat on the Chobe River (Botswana) and had been seeing a number of Crocodiles, but then I spotted one with something large in his mouth.  I took the first shot to cover myself, not knowing if the Croc might submerge, or if we would be able to get any closer.  It’s not very effective because he’s almost lost in the grasses and the out of focus white egrets in the background are a big distraction.  There’s an old adage, “If it looks good, shoot it.  If it looks better, shoot it again.”  As the boat driver maneuvered closer I kept shooting, getting better photos as we got closer.  In the last shot we were close enough to practically touch him (only in theory) and I was able to get the strongest shot of all.

In workshops my colleagues and I teach we routinely see the beginning of an idea that has not been fully explored. When you find an interesting subject, spend some time on it.  Try different angles, wait for different light, maybe use flash or a filter, shoot wide, shoot tight.  Instead of making a couple of quick snaps and moving on, commit some time, and frames, to it.  No telling when or if you will ever see it again.  Shoot the hell out of it!

Bill Durrence is a photographer, teacher, and consultant who leads a variety of domestic and international photography classes and workshops.  Listings of his upcoming programs and contact information are at www.billdurrence.com.