How much do you shoot, and what factors determine the success and failure of your images? A look at the “hit rate” for concert photography.
Hi Todd,
I was just wondering on how many shots, on average, you take at a show? And out of the total set, how many are keepers?
Thanks,
Rob
Hi Rob,
Thanks for your question. For my concert photography, I’d say my percentage of “keepers” averages between 10% and 30%. In terms of total images made for a given band, this number may range from a few dozen to several hundred. I generally shoot a minimum of 100 images for a headlining band with a three-song limit, with 200-250 images as the average raw output.
Hit Rate
What you’re asking about is what’s sometimes called a “hit rate” – essentially, a rough figure for how many “good” shots one produces for a given shoot relative to the total number of images made. For me, this is the set of images that best tells the story of the event with a minimum of redundancy.
Shooting Factors
There are various factors that will indirectly influence my shooting habits in terms of quantity, all of which also exert some effect creating conditions for success in the images themselves.
These variables include:
In addition, the general mood and energy of the band can have a tremendous effect on one’s output. I know that I personally shoot more and shoot better when I can feed of the energy of a band having the time of their lives on stage.
For large shows with a veteran band and a great vibe, it’s not uncommon for me to blast through upwards of 500 frames. One recent instance of this was on Metallica‘s recent tour, which created fantastic conditions for concert photography.
The Editor
One other important thing to note is that one’s hit rate when self-editing may be very different in final images than if another photographer edited the same set of images, as the threshold for an event’s key images may vary from one individual to another. More than anything else, a photographer’s hit rate is more of a reflection on their own preferences and taste.
In a later Q&A segment, we’ll take a look at the qualities of compelling concert photography, as well as the importance of the editing process.
What’s Your Hit Rate?
Concert photographers: What’s your hit rate? How much do you shoot? What factors are most important to you in the success or failure of your images?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Letters, Photography Tutorials and tagged with advice, concert photography, exposure, frames, hit rate, how much, number, shooting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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All depends – lighting, band, access, vibe, limits.
Invariably for standard 3 songs 100-300 shots.
As for keepers, invariably it depends on the above too. I’d generally say that your 10-30% applies to me – though I’ll generally take half a dozen to a dozen as personal showcase shots.
Hey Joel,
Thanks for adding your experience here. I generally aim be able to deliver 10 compelling shots of the headliner at the bare minimum.
I also make it my personal goal is to make one portfolio shot per show.
Converse to determining one’s hit rate out of the number of total shots made, one piece of advice I always give to beginners is simply to shoot more. To shoot as much as it takes.
While shooting smarter is all well and good, quantity does count for something in a genre ruled by serendipity and luck on stage. Or simply put, being in the right place at the right time. If you’re not shooting when that magic happens, you’re not going to make the image.
I shoot anywhere from 200-300 a band so I usually end up with several gb of pictures at the end. Depending on how lights were and whether I had to use flash or not I can end up wasting most of those or hardly any at all. If I had 200 shots. I’d probably end up with under 100 good ones.
Hey Ashley, thanks for adding your thoughts. From replies here and on Twitter, it seems like around 200 is the average for many shooters for a three-song gig.
I’m fortunate that I don’t have a three song limit to abide by, unfortunate in that it’s a very small scene here and we almost never get touring bands (although Oasis will be here soon, I’m hopeful of getting a photo pass). Not having 3 songs means I can shoot more if I want but I still find that 200-300 is about normal. I try to start off the set with a fresh CF card – using 8GB at the moment – and that’ll be close to full by the end of the set. When 16GB UDMA cards are available locally at a decent price (now, 1x 16GB costs more than 2x 8GB), I may end up shooting more. We’ll see.
Hey Craig, thanks for sharing your experiences here. One thing I’ve found is that when I have the luxury of shooting a full set, I will shoot more, but not at a rate that’s directly proportionate to the extended time.
With two CF slots in the D3, I find that even for shows like Metallica, two 4GB cards is almost always more than enough. However, there are those rare shows where I’ve gone through two whole cards with the D3 in the first three songs and needed to reach for a third.
Hmmm…thats a very tough question…I feel that my hit rate has definitely gotten better since I started. I like how you emphasized all the factors that come into play. Tonight I shot a rap act using flash and had about 15 keepers out of just under 100 shots in that 3-song-limit.
At the same time, other shows just let you rip off the shots.
One factor I think is subject. Are they moving around a lot? Is there a main person to key on? Shooting an act like Jack’s Mannequin would be a lot different than Dragonforce (one of your faves!)…
at my last show, i shot the entire set for five bands and wound up taking 1800 pics in total. i think after each show i learn something new and i generally get one or two more keepers per band. its a matter of being familiar with knowing what to do to produce good shots
My hit rate is usually around 10-25%, I hate redundant pics, and these days I am super picky now. Has to be tack sharp, show great emotion, good composition, interesting lighting for me to actually show the pic. Yeah and it all depends on the performer too, if the guy/gal is actually doing something cool, then yeah, your hit rate should go up.
Q&A: How much do you shoot, concert photogs? And what’s your hit rate? http://is.gd/nXLd
i would say that about 200 is my average but when shooting a 3-day festival where i need edit and send each night, i shoot a lot less of the earlier non-headliner bands. that way i don’t have to stay up all night going through photos, instead it’s more like 5 AM :)
I am new to this, but so far it seems I take 100-300 per band in the 1st 3. But as Todd says, it depends on how much action/charisma is on the stage, plus what the LD is up to with the lights…
When I go through them, I probably completely throw away 1/3rd on first pass (wrong exposure, objects in the way, etc), then aim to pick 20 – 30 ‘good’ shots from the rest that I can work with. So I guess I am somewhere in the 10% – 30% ballpark as well :-)
So far I have managed fine with 8Mb in my 1D as the main body, and 4Mb in the 20D with a long zoom for closer (and fewer) shots. This worked OK even when I shot 10 newcomer bands in one evening!
Oops, of course I mean 8GB and 4GB CF cards, not Mb ;-)
I usually photograph smaller bands where I don’t have a song limit and am able to shoot the whole show. Even though I have all that time, I usually end up at around 300 as well. I find that I could indeed shoot the entire time, but there would be so many redundancies that I would be wasting my time then and later when editing. I just keep the camera ready for any moments that might come up and try to the enjoy the show at the same time. My hit rate is usually about the same (10-30%) and that definitely depends on the lighting, since I’m usually at smaller venues or random bars, and the band’s energy as well.
I shoot about 150-200 for a 30-40 min set. I am pretty new to the whole show thing, so I am sure I am shooting a ton just to get a few.
I manage to try for at least 20-40 images that I think are good for a web slideshow or myspace etc.
I am sure once I get more shows in the rates will change.
I don’t have much experience with time limits but in the gigs I do, I have an average of 60-80 photos, from which I have 10-20 keepers depending on a wide number of factors.
I recall a situation where only one photo was a keeper…
before, i shot a lot … about 200 / 300 per 3 songs.
But now, I shot less than 50 (more of course if I have the whole set), and on 50, I have … 40.
Shooting with D3 or 5d Mark II is become too easy when you have had during several years a 350d with 18-55 kit lense.
Hey all, thanks so much for adding your own experiences here, it’s really interesting to read about the ranges.
Hey Todd,
I think the idea of one shot per show for the portfolio is exactly right.
Generally I shoot between 100-300 shots per headlining band, although thankfully a lot of shows I shoot are either small, or security isn’t tight about a 3 shot rule, so things can go to the extreme…
For instance, a few months ago I shot Bleeding Through’s entire set for the promoter, and had an AAA pass so I ended up with over 2000 frames at the end of it. Over 400 of those were trying to line up a shot of Marta doing head whips with two strobes going off. It took a lot to get the shot (focusing was painful) but it sort of turned out.
Concert photographers shoot ~200 shots for a three-song limit with an average 20% hit rate. What about you? http://is.gd/nXLd
My average for a 3 song-limit shoot is around 200-270 shots.
Then at home I first get rid of those who are technically unusable.
After that I make a selection of the ons that show the energy of the concert at best and finally end up with a selection between 15 and 30 keepers.
But as said from others this all can vary depending on the conditions of the show.
Its a though one really, in 3 songs for say DragonForce or Airbourne I ripped through 300/400 shots with maybe 10-15% keepers. Last time I shot a singer song writer I shot maybe 30 shots with 25 keepers, I really think the lighting and energy of the band dictate how I shoot. However I always remember my old tutors words that out of a roll of 36 you should aim to keep 3….simpler times!
It depends on the band. For a 3-song shoot of a stationary band, I shoot maybe 100 shots or so (if that…I’ve walked out of the pit after 1 song, in some cases). For a much livelier band, it can be anywhere between 150-400. In regards to hit rate, it depends…I’m incredibly picky about not showing similar shots, so I typically make my final edit between 5-15 shots.
[...] those with less time behind the camera. If one photographer has a “keeper” or “hit rate” of 25% and another only 5%, the process of editing is one means of leveling the judgment of [...]
Depends on the conditions, the energy of the band, the lighting… until recently when I bought the D90, it’s been hard to know how many I’ve shot one night. I usually avoid stationary bands, I’m not good enough to get interesting pictures out of a boring pose :))
If there is no limit to shooting (small club), I’d probably shoot around 50-60 per band, delete about half of them right away, return home and have about 20-30% keepers (so the hit rate is still around 10-15%).
If shooting 3 songs, the hit rate is generally worse, especially if the lighting is bad and the pit is small and crowded; I’d probably get 150-200 shots per band (when I shot In Flames on Monday, I probably took around 200, came back with 150, sorted out about 7 keepers for the agency and 5 for myself). Of course, it did happen to me to come back with 25 shots from a 3-song shoot (The Rasmus, no pit), and get about 10 keepers.
I am still quite a newbie (been doing this more seriously for less than a year), and find that I am getting pickier about what I keep with every event I shoot…
Todd, it has been a while since I have had time to stop in… great work as always!
I love this post and it touches on something I find myself talking with other photographers about quite often.
In three songs and out.. I normally shoot anywhere from 350-500 raw, working with two camera’s (Nikon d300 and Nikon D3).
My hit rate is up to about 80% (but that is only because I have been doing this for about 15 years lol)
The best tool any photographer can have is the light meter inside your brain. Train yourself to constantly be able to adjust your camera manually to the ever changing lighting and your hit rate will go through the roof.
Hey Janet,
Thanks for contributing your thoughts here, glad you could grab some time to chime in.
I agree about your point with the light meter and internalizing that. Responsive action to changing conditions is a very valuable skill for the concert photographer, and certainly a huge advantage in the pit.
I’m down to about 30-45 per set or three songs. I prefer to set myself up, predict and wait for the right moment. . and have gotten better at reading light. Makes editing a LOT easier!
I’m pretty new at music photography, but having been a muso for most of my life and with my love for photography, they’ve just sort of fallen together and I’m lovin’ it! …I shoot about 200-300 in a three song set at the minute. I’m at about 10% hit rate wise… Slowly getting better. As I don’t shoot for anyone, it’s pretty hard to get gigs – but I do what I can, when I can (As often as PR will allow I guess)
Todd – thanks for the link via twitter!
Sime ( @gtvone )
I used to go mad when I was in the pit and took several hundred of each band in the 3 songs, but it was too much editing time, so now I usually only take 50-100 of a band and concentrate on the technical aspect.
When I do get to sort through the photos, its more composition that I have to concentrate on.
I am still new as well, in it for about a year. I tend to shoot on the heavy side, about 300-500 per set(3-4 songs). Today I have a festival and I’m going to practice taking shots that count and timing the lighting. I appreciate this site and all of the feedback and advice within!
[...] and those with less time behind the camera. If one photographer has a “keeper” or “hit rate” of 25% and another only 5%, the process of editing is one means of leveling the judgment of [...]