How many shots per subject? Am I crazy?

[jdavis]

Reality check needed here - I am finding that I consistently have to take 4-5 shots of any given setup in the field to get one usable, with adequate exposure levels. Is this common?

For instance, I was out at Mount St. Helens on Monday taking some landscape shots (by the way - what a wonderful place to hike - try the Norway Pass trail along Spirit Lake - fantastic!!) and had enough uncertainty over exposure levels and/or filter factors that I would take 6 shots of a scene. Needless to say I ran out of film way too soon!

How much bracketing do you use to ensure a good take home shot?

[Gordon Moat]

Normally one shot, but on rare occaissions two. A more common approach I might use would be one shot in landscape orientation, and a second at the same exposure done in portrait orientation. I normally use E-6 films, so exposure accuracy is important.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Michael Gordon]

Sounds like you may need to hit the books, Jack. I don't bracket at all and get what I need from the one and only exposure.

[Kevin Crisp]

You should not need to do this. Learn how to expose and take one, or two at the most. The Zone VI Workshop book is a good way to start. Take the time and do the testing and stop wasting film; the exposure is the easy part, figuring out where to place and aim the camera is the hard part. (I am assuming you are using B&W materials in my book suggestion.) Kodak also has a publication on line about how to meter that covers basic use of reflecting and incidents light meters and if you follow that (even with no spot meter on hand) you can get good negatives. If you tell us how you meter a scene I am sure you can get suggestions on how to improve what you're doing now.

[Bill_1856]

Shooting B&W, Color negative, or color trannies?

[Ron Marshall]

For b/w and C41 only one shot. For E6 I have sometimes braketed for important shots, 1/2 stop in each direction.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I normally only bracket with color transparencies, just because there can be a range where two or three exposures, 1/3 stop apart, are all "correct" in some sense, but the emphasis may be different. I don't bracket B&W.

If you process your own film, you might take two shots, process one and keep one in reserve if the first one doesn't work.

[jdavis]

Okay - more details because it seems obviously I am screwing up. For instance, take a scene ath Mount St. Helens - mountain in the background, lake in the middle, with stump of a tree in the foreground. Using Velvia 100.

I usually meter the tree, then the mountain and compare. Most likely they are 1-2 stops different, especially if the sky around the mountain is bright. What I will often due is one of two things, split the difference and bracket each way - or expose one shot for the tree, one for the mountain, then hope for the best.

[Randy Redford]

Based on your last comment, it seems that a graduated ND may be the answer. With that, meter for the tree and use the ND to equal out the brighter sky. Works for me. With chromes, I would suggest a 2 and 3 stop soft ND.

[Eric Leppanen]

For B&W, I shoot two shots at the same calculated exposure. I then process the first shot at my calculated development time; based on how this shot turns out, I process the second shot, possibly increasing or decreasing development time to produce a better result.

For color chrome, I also shoot two shots, or I may bracket if the lighting is especially tricky and I want leeway for interpreting the final result. Usually I will bracket plus and minus a half stop; rarely do I need to bracket more than that.

For color neg, I shoot two shots, one at my calculated exposure, and the other at plus one stop. Color neg has far more leeway in overexposure than underexposure, so I like to see how far I can open up the shadows without blowing the highlights.

If you need six shots to nail a scene, then you need to brush up on your exposure calculation skills. Here are some books and resources that I found to be quite helpful:

B&W:
Zone System: Step-by-Step Guide for Photographers (by Brian Lav)
Zone System for 35mm Photographers (by Carson Graves)

Color:
Perfect Exposure: Jim Zuckerman's Secrets to Great Photographs (by Jim Zuckerman)
http://www.photonaturalist.com/chromazone/index.html