How many takes do you do during portrait photosession?

[SadChi]

Hello,

During photoshooting with small formats (i.e MF and 35mm) people tend to do many takes and choose the best one after. But it seems that LF photography needs other aproach: fewer number of takes. But when i look at Avedons photogs i see emotions, composition. Does it mean that Avedon make good photo from the first attempt? Or he shot many takes as MF photographers do?

How many takes do you do during portrait photosession with 4x5, 8x10 ?

Thanks.

[eddie]

i shoot 2-6 with my 8x10.

i made a mistake the other day. i thought i had it all worked out. i shot 4 sheets. 2 at f8 and two at f11 with my 11.5 verito. we it turns out i was blind that day! i seemed to have focused behind them a bit so it is soft! yeah yeah! i know the verito is soft already but the hay wagon behind them is nice and "crisp" so some parts of the photo are "crisp" enough to be distracting. i should have teken a bit more time between shots on this particular shoot. i was very rushed. most of the other shoots work out a bit better. i am usually more concerned with my "hat shutter" than the focus.....i guess i need to be much more careful.

i plan to try and print it with a piece of this tissue paper or scratched up clear substrate to try and diffuse the sharper parts.

eddie

[Walter Calahan]

Who counts, as many as needed, or until I fire the person whose posing. HA!

[Jan Nieuwenhuysen]

If interested in Avedon's working methods see Laura Wilson's book Avedon at work.
An on-line introduction here: http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0406/wilson.html

Avedon worked fast, intense, 'like 35 mm' according to Wilson

I myself shoot between 1 and 2 grafmatics/subject in 4x5 for portraits on average. Could be as much as 4 grafmatics or as little as just one exposure in rare cases.

[Matt_Bigwood]

I read somewhere that Avedon shot something like 19,000 sheets of 10x8 film for that 'In the American West' project.

Matt

[Frank Petronio]

Yeah they showed a photo of his workroom once and he had at least 100 8x10 holders, I guess a couple of assistants just fed the camera and Dick stood in front with the cable release.

With 4x5 I would do between 2-6 sheets per pose/situation, and maybe find 4 to 6 situations in the course of a shoot. I'd also shoot quite a bit of digitial to warm up, and sometimes some 35mm.

With the 8x10 I am more cost conservative but will still do 18-20 sheets in a session.

[SadChi]

Thanks to everyone. Your answers are apreciated.

[Miguel Curbelo]

I shoot portraits with an 11x14 camera. I limit myself to 2 shots -because of the expense and in order to force myself to pay attention to what I am doing. For some reason, it is always the first shot that works out OK.

[David A. Goldfarb]

4-10 usually.

[Ash]

16 on 5x4 yesterday. Halfway through processing the sheets.

[Eric Woodbury]

6 has always been a good number. More as the number of people or animals in the pic increases.

[stehei]

8*10: 4 sheets
4*5 inch with kodak ektar aero: 4-10 sheets
digital: 40-60 shots

[IanMazursky]

Usually 2-4 color sheets of 4x5 and 2 of B&W.
But sometimes more.

Some of my clients can shoot 1-2 full 50 sheet box of Portra 160nc & a 50 sheet box of Tri X on a portrait job.

[jnantz]

it depends ... i usually shoot as many as it takes ...
i have shelves of film so i don't really pay attention to
how much i shoot ( 4x5, 5x7 )
i just load all my holders and shoot until i think i am done ...
usually it is a handful of holders and i am good ...
8x10 + 11x14 is a little different, i shoot paper not film and
don't shoot more than a few sheets.
i have normal holders for the 8x10
but the 11x14 one is hand made and only takes
one sheet at a time so i have to
reload after each one... and the exposures can be pretty long
(sometimes a few seconds outdoors, sometimes 30+ indoors)

[xmishx]

I'm working out numbers as I started shooting 4x5 recently. At the moment, I'm going around 6 to 10 sheets. If I find that the one is closer to the beginning of the shoot, I'll probably stick to 6. If I'm finding the hero is towards the back end of the shoot, I'll stay at 10.

Ted

[Vaughn]

8x10 -- 4 sheets (but I have only shot a portrait of someone else besides my boys once in the past several years).

Field (enviromental) portraits of my boys w/8x10 -- usually two...exposure times up to one minute. After two, my boys are done posing...whether I like it or not!

Vaughn

[Toyon]

I read somewhere that Avedon shot something like 19,000 sheets of 10x8 film for that 'In the American West' project.

Matt

Yeah, and he had several assistants and scouts.

[adrian tyler]

maximum 2, on extraordinary occasions i may do 3.

[Geert]

4 to 6 on 8x10".
I have a fixed price for a portrait session, including 2 prints, so I'm always counting on selling some extra prints outside the package I offer.

G

[Dany]

I shoot:

8x10" 4-10 sheet all as is doublers
4x5" 10-16 sheet +-half as is doublers
6x4.5 3-5 rolls

[archivue]

as an artist : one
as a pro : 5... just in case, but most of time the good one is the first or the last one...

but it all depends on the use of the picture... years ago, i've shoot fashion with a friend, more than 60 pics by cloth !

[cjbroadbent]

I pretend to shoot 10 sheets but in fact only shoot about 2. Cinematographers call it french film and use it to warm up the sitter.

[SadChi]

I pretend to shoot 10 sheets but in fact only shoot about 2. Cinematographers call it french film and use it to warm up the sitter.

Christopher, really nice trick!

[BrianShaw]

Cinematographers call it french film and use it to warm up the sitter.

I wonder why "french" versus "dutch". Seems like the dutch have more of a reptuation in old expressions like this -- dutch uncle, dutch treat...

[Jan Nieuwenhuysen]

I wonder why "french" versus "dutch". Seems like the dutch have more of a reptuation in old expressions like this -- dutch uncle, dutch treat...

Well, we know of the trick, but prefer to call it French...
Greetings from Holland :cool: