The 36:1 Ratio
I’ve been taking pictures for years. I wouldn’t call myself a photographer, more like a dude with a camera. I’ve also been posting my pictures on my website in that time. I do very little editing: I remove pictures that are totally black or totally washed out, I remove pictures that are way too blurry, I remove pictures that make my close friends look like retards (sometimes)… but that’s about it. Everything else goes online.
The problem with an approach like this is that it’s tedious for people who aren’t my close friends (or weren’t at that specific party) to wade through pages and pages of photos.
A few years ago, my friend Mike suggested that I get a flickr account and use it to host only my best shots.
Honestly…I felt guilty about this for a long time. If I’m good at taking pictures, shouldn’t every one I take be a keeper? Why should I need to edit my pics?
Turns out, pros probably erase more photos in a year then I’ll take in my entire life. I mean, just watch these videos of Gerry Winogrand, dude goes through film like I go through PBR.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Mike’s advice was further validated today when I saw this blog today from 37 Signals. Matt talks about how he was once taught that if you get one good shot from a roll (for those younguns, you used to buy this stuff called “film” that came on “rolls”. You would pull out a little bit and put it into your camera and…. forget it. Go ask your parents).
To quote Matt from 37 signals:
What if these people picked out the five best shots instead? The five photos that are the cream of the crop. The five that undeniably kick ass. Then the whole thing shifts. Instead of it being a chore to see how their vacation went, it becomes a pleasure.
It’s true! I can post a link to my picture galleries on 100 different blogs and nobody gives a shit, but I pick out that one picture out of 100 that isn’t boring as hell and all of a sudden people pay attention.
And on that note, I think I’m going to go through my flickr account and remove the least interesting images. This way, when I send someone a link to my site it makes me look like a total badass. Though, to be honest, I really like some of those images. Screw those assholes if they don’t like my photo.