# the number of pictures



## officersdr (Sep 8, 2007)

What is he average number of pictures you give the client after the wedding.

The 3 weddings I have done have only had 135 to 190 edited pics. I shot about 450 but most were doubles & triples. I shot about 3 frames per picture.

Do you include all pictures or edit the best of each shot and give them just the one???


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## LittleMan (Sep 8, 2007)

I throw out all the out of focus, or duplicates.
the rest, I leave and edit.

the best of them, I make duplicates and edit the duplicate further.(just in case they want the original photo)

it ends up to be around 600 photos.  No one has complained yet!


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## elsaspet (Sep 8, 2007)

I run about the same as Littleman.  I actually go through my photos very quickly, and either like it, and keep it, or it's just soso or sucky, and I delete it.
I usually end up tossing about another 50-100 while editing, because I only want to show the best stuff.  My normal final number is usually between 500-850.  
However, between my husband and I, we come home with between 2-3,000 photos or 20-25 Gigs on a wedding.  (We are using full sensor, so you mileage may vary).
My question is, why are you only shooting 450 photos?  I'm not saying to rapidfire, but there are zillions of different things, and angles to shoot at a wedding.  Is it a card limitation issue?
Hugs,
Cindy


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## Big Mike (Sep 8, 2007)

I moved this from the Gallery to the 'Shop Talk' section.

It depends on what & how long you shot.  If you only covered the ceremony & formals, then there are only so many shots that you will end up with.  If you shoot everything from the morning to the end of the reception...you will obviously have a lot more shots to choose from.

It's a personal preference, but I like to cull the shots so that only the best ones are given to the client when it's a shorter coverage.  But if they hire me all day, I like to document everything that I can...which will mean a lot more photos...even if they aren't the most artistic.

So there is no correct answer here...just different styles.  It might be a good idea to have something in your contract about the number of shots you will provide for them.  You probably want to avoid committing to a higher number but you could put something in that says that it's your prerogative to select as many shots as you want.  Some clients hear that you shot 2000 images, and then are upset when you only give them 300.


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## officersdr (Sep 8, 2007)

elsaspet said:


> I run about the same as Littleman. I actually go through my photos very quickly, and either like it, and keep it, or it's just soso or sucky, and I delete it.
> I usually end up tossing about another 50-100 while editing, because I only want to show the best stuff. My normal final number is usually between 500-850.
> However, between my husband and I, we come home with between 2-3,000 photos or 20-25 Gigs on a wedding. (We are using full sensor, so you mileage may vary).
> My question is, why are you only shooting 450 photos? I'm not saying to rapidfire, but there are zillions of different things, and angles to shoot at a wedding. Is it a card limitation issue?
> ...


 
I have no clue how you're getting that many pictures.....I feel like I'm shooting everything and only leaving with 450 pics. I only have 1 2gb card and plan on getting a couple more before next season, but that's a ton of pics.

I have a clause in my contract that I have editing rights over all pics and will only give good ones to the couple. Plus I have a line that states that they will get a minimum of 130 pics.

Most of my experience has been with another photographer and I haven't taken many formal shots, so that would bump up the number of pics.

Maybe I'm not shooting enough. I shoot anything that catched my eye and not just what will sell prints as I'm giving the client all printing rights ( except commercial ). Any suggestions??


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## elsaspet (Sep 9, 2007)

Well part of the answer might be that I always do table shots at the reception.  That right there can end up being a lot of shots.  It's nice though, as they usually sell pretty good.
Hope that helps.


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## justanotherdriftwood (Sep 10, 2007)

Yeah, the number of pics has been a question on my mind as well.  Say I take 1000 photos, by the time I dump the not-so-good ones I'm left with 600-800 or so, but a bunch of those are duplicates or very very similar to another one.  If I were to choose the best ones I would probably be left with 300-400.

The question is, can/should you consider table shots and random/candid stuff as being equal to shots taken at the photo shoot?  If that's the case, my numbers would certainly be higher, but usually indoor table shots are far less artistic than the photo shoot so I don't like to count them as a professional grade shot.

Thoughts?


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## Big Mike (Sep 10, 2007)

There really isn't a correct way to go about this...it's all up to your style and what the client wants.

Obviously, you toss the ones that didn't come out.  Then you can toss the duplicates of the formals.  Then, it's up to you as for how many random/candid shots you include.  I find that it comes down to how much editing you want to do on them vs how much time you want to spend etc.  If you edit them lightly or even in a batch...then why not give them all to the client?  If you are going to spend 5 minutes or more, editing each shot...then I would significantly cut down on the number of shots given.

It wasn't that long ago that everyone shot film and 1000 shots would have been a crazy about of photos.


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## justanotherdriftwood (Sep 10, 2007)

That's true, but do you think the bride and groom's expectations have changed now that digital photography is practically without boundaries in terms of number of pictures?

I guess you just need to make sure you explain very clearly to your client what you will be giving them in the end - if they're happy with 200 great photos, you can take 1000 and pick the very best.  If they expect 400, you had better take enough photos to accommodate that number.  Personally, I think I need to reduce the number of photos in my packages.  If I wind up taking more great photos than promised, that's fine, but if I fall short (even a little bit), it could be problematic.


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## Big Mike (Sep 10, 2007)

That sounds like a good plan to me...and that's what I hear most photographers doing.  Try not to promise them a number...but give them an estimate if they ask...and estimate low.  That way, you can exceed their expectations by giving them more that you said you would.

The tricky part is not letting them know exactly how many shots you took.  When they find out that you took 1000 shots, and only received 200...they will want to see the rest of them...and if you don't want to show them unedited shots, you would need to edit those shot, at least a little.

I've even know a photographer to have a photo handy for just this occasion.  They would find one where the bride was making a stupid face or at least has her eyes closed.  Then if she asks to see the rest of the shots, he shows that one to her and says 'This is what all the other ones look like'.


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