{"id":32882,"date":"2016-10-24T09:42:17","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T16:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?page_id=32882"},"modified":"2016-10-24T09:46:44","modified_gmt":"2016-10-24T16:46:44","slug":"less-better","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/less-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoot Less, Better"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hanoi,
Hanoi, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About a year ago, I attended a Magnum workshop with David Alan Harvey<\/a>. The #1 take-away I got from his workshop was this: be more selective of your scenes, but when you find a good scene, shoot the sh*t out of it.<\/p>\n

To explain, imagine you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re walking around all day for 8 hours. In those 8 hours, you might only see 1-2 scenes or potentially good photos.<\/p>\n

However when you identify each of those scenes, try to take as many photos as possible (50-100 photos). Do this instead of taking 1-2 photos of 50-100 scenes.<\/p>\n

Shoot less, better<\/h2>\n
\"Mumbai,
Mumbai, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think the common mistake we make as street photographers is that we over-shoot boring things. But we under-shoot potentially interesting scenes.<\/p>\n

So as an assignment, try this out: be more selective what you decide to photograph. But when you find a scene that you find good, try to aim to take 50-100 photos of the scene<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To me, this is a better strategy than just taking 1-2 photos of everything you see.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Because if you see a potentially good scene, you will never see that scene again. You want to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153work the scene\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and get the best possible version of the scene possible. Sometimes even a subtle blink of an eye can change the whole scene. Sometimes a random happening in the background can transform a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153so-so\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photograph to a great photograph.<\/p>\n

There is a lot we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t anticipate. We often discover \u00e2\u20ac\u0153decisive moments\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in our photos after<\/em> we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shot them.<\/p>\n

Just take a few photos, intentionally.<\/h2>\n
\"Mumbai,
Mumbai, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Or you can take the opposite approach, take as few photos in a day as possible. But only take what you consider the best photos.<\/p>\n

William Eggleston<\/a> is famous for only taking 1 photo of each scene he finds interesting. So for every \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tip\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and suggestion \u00e2\u20ac\u201d there is always an opposite that works.<\/p>\n

What works for me might not work for you<\/h2>\n
\"Mumbai,
Mumbai, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately you want to find which method works best for you. I know that for me, very rarely is the first photo of a scene I take is the best. For me, my best photos often occur in the middle of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153working the scene\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or towards the end.<\/p>\n

A lot of the time, the last photograph is the best shot. And I would have never gotten that shot if I only took 1-2 photos and ran away.<\/p>\n

Study contact sheets<\/h2>\n