Quote Originally Posted by Bob Williams
There is a lot of talk about keepers and keeper rates from many of you----but what I rarely hear is what defines a keeper for you?------

Bob


Its a good question, but the answers would be so varied I doubt there could be a definite answer.


First you would have to define keeers. Are they pictures that camera did its job as it should and they are sharp or acceptably sharp, but may be lacking in composition or in the skill of the photographer. Are they the pictures that are good enough to do a little processing on and keep, but not really show anyone. Are they the ones that have all the elements and your willing to show someone.


Then you would have to narrow it down to the keeper rate for different types of photography. For Instance:
  • Wildlife my keeper rate would be much lower than other types of photography, mainly because wild things for the most part do not pose.
  • Macro hand held, would be a very low rate.
  • Macro off my tripod my keeper rate jumps up fairly high.
  • Landscape off a tripod with live view, extremely high.
  • Landscapehand heldhigh.
  • Candid and portraits inside without flash, very low.
  • Candid and portraits inside with flash, a bit higher.



For comparison though, if I go out with 500mm I normally come back with 500 to 1000 pics. Of those pics maybe 20 make it good enough to get printed and filed away. There might be 1 or 2 that I look at and think it is really good. (Not birds next to the feeder pictures, this is the rate for actually going to the woods looking for wildlife. Bird feeder rate is much higher).


But its all subjective, because what I keep someone else might throw away. And what I throw away there are people who would keep.


Rick