Frustration issues with photograpy

[Marko]

Fine responses to this thread

I've been shooting for over 20 years and if i had to guess my (fussy) ratio of REAL keepers to trash bin I'd guess something like 35 : 1 (It used to be a bit lower when I had to pay for film)
darwin wiggett just blogged about this as well. He's an awesome landscape pro
"I probably shot over 10,000 photos but only kept 1300. These 1300 are use-able to sell in stock or for magazine articles etc. I probably only like really like about 20-40 though."

in terms of what to do with all the shots - one idea is self publishing
lulu.com
blurb.com
mpix.com etc.

Hope that helps - Marko

[Wicked Dark]

my year ended up similarly, Marko. I shot 10,000 frames give or take, and about 1000 of them are keepers that I shared online. Of those 1000 maybe 60 are outstanding.

[kat]

One can actually be satisfied with a photo? LMAO! I have yet to get that one photo that I look at and say yes! That is a lie..I've done it for a couple but as time goes by and I look back at them..they are no longer what I initially felt of them.

I think we are always growing. Our likes/dislikes and tastes refine with time and with that..so does our shots.

I too find this frustrating. Although more so for my husband who can glance at a photo and think it's just great but I tear it apart. He says I can take the fun right out of it. So, I try to enjoy the not so perfect too..because after all..those shots have a memory to go with them. Even if it's just for me.

[Bambi]

this thread reminds me of this graphic:

[casil403]

As far as self publishing...I did for Christmas this year photo calendars and a coffee table book for friends and family. I used Blurb for the book and Snapfish for the calendars...all good! I also use my shots for stationary and cards which I both give to friends and keep for myself. Kind of like a homemade Christmas.
I'd say so far the Keepers vs Tossers ratio is about bang on to those of the others here. My keep ratio is getting higher than it was initially though which comes with practice.... practice...and more practice.
I agree that the most fun about it all is the just getting out part. The most difficult is when you are "out" with people that do not share the same passion about photography as you do and would rather say "go and get a hotdog in town over staying and exploring an old abandoned ghost town"....which happened to me last year on a trip to Montana! Turned out the hotdog place was closed too which in my mind was a bit of Karma!
That graph pretty much says it all!

[Kawarthabob]

First off, You are your own worst critic, like the rest of us. What you think ahhh, someone else see's as great. Myself, I try to out do myself everytime i go out. Study your subject. You gave the seagull as a for instance. Learn it's behaviours, read more about it then read some more. Take pictures that tell a story. This is what i've tried to do in the past year and it has worked wonders for me at least.

[fsendel]

Thanks to all! I love this forum! I had never heard about self publishing your pictures, I'll look into it.