High frame rates can be a curse in modern digital cameras. Being able to keep the shutter button depressed at over 10 frames per second can mean you end up with literally hundreds of pictures of a sighting – most of which will look almost identical – and you end up having to sort through and delete 90% of them, a process which takes up far too much time and can be quite tricky as you decide which to keep and which to get rid of.
If what you’re photographing isn’t moving much, learn to recognise when you’ve got the shot you need, and put the camera down. Continuing to take photos of the same thing wastes memory on your card and detracts from your appreciation of the sighting itself.
I often find it so tedious going through all the photos I don’t want to keep, that I simply leave them on my hard drive. I can guarantee that by far the majority of photographs I have saved I could discard and I’d never miss them. What ends up happening with what is essentially junk media, is when I scroll back through my archives, I end up skipping past sightings in which I can see massive repetition. I can’t bring myself to stop and slowly work through which image (if any) is a keeper; which has both the leopard’s ears facing forward? which one has a sparkle in the eye? which one has the least grass? etc.Thankfully, living out here, we can afford to be a bit more picky.
Invariably in digital photography you end up taking far more photos than you should. The trick is to recognise the moments when you should press the shutter vs. when you shouldn’t. Both ears facing forward? Click. One facing back? Not so much. The devil’s in the details…
Anyway, what generally catches my eye these days – in any archive – is when there are only a few photos of a sighting; I’m talking less than 10. Then I’m interested. Then I can go through them quickly and pick and choose, or just get a better idea of what was happening. If a picture really can tell a thousand words, it’s not necessary to be repeating chapters, if that makes sense.
I came across a few photos recently of a sighting of a giraffe drinking at a small pan. Anyone who has seen a giraffe drink will know what an awkward action it is, and it’s always fun to try and convey it in a photo.
I tend to get greedy in photography, and I keep taking the same shot in a sighting even though I know I’ve already captured it, but for some reason I had limited it to four simple shots this time, taken from three different angles, each of which told the story in its own way:
Long-distance sets the scene. In this case, the vehicle at the back is every much as part of the action as the giraffe itself. We had parked far away so as not to disturb the sighting; if we had approached too close the giraffe might have spooked which would have ruined the experience for the guests in the other vehicle. The fact that they all have cameras up adds dramatically to the intensity of the drinking.
Once the giraffe had come up from one drink (they can’t keep their heads down for extended periods as the blood pressure builds up to unmanageable levels in their heads), we moved further around for an angle that kept the other vehicle out of it (we also tried to avoid being in their shot), and one that included some other giraffes in the background. The giraffe then bent down to drink again. This photo tells an entirely different story to the first, mainly because it suggests a social side to the species.
And then the drinking itself. The funny bent knees show just how tricky it is for a giraffe to get down low to drink, which is essentially what the close-up is trying to convey.
The best moment to capture is the head-flick, that always comes when the giraffe’s feedback mechanisms tell it that its cranial blood pressure is spiking and it needs to get vertical again. The neck whips up and a big flick of water often accompanies this rapid movement. This particular photo isn’t the best example of this as the water gets a bit lost against the pale background, but is ultimately the shot you want to wait for when the giraffe has its head down. Have a high shutter speed and a slightly narrower aperture in order to increase your depth of field (my aperture was probably too wide, but I managed to get away with it).
These were literally the only four photos of the sighting. Ok there were one or two more of the head-flick, but the one that came out best was the one I used above, and I deleted the other three.
For some reason I was being a bit more sparing with my photos (I was probably running out of space on my card!), but when I came across the series, it was a great reminder of how totally different stories can be told of the same scene, simply by changing the angle and changing the zoom. Elements can be included or excluded depending on what you want to convey to the viewer, so I guess the take-away message is to pay far more emphasis on looking to see what shot you want to get and then executing, rather than just keeping your shutter button depressed and then picking the best shot that came out!
I am just as guilty of taking hundreds of photos of the same animal in the same position.
James, Most impressive pictures. Loved the headliner of the giraffe drinking with legs spread out. Very clear and defined selections. I think sometimes we are so willing to capture as many photos as possible we miss some of the action around the subject. Thanks for the tips
James, what you state is so true. Wait for the “money “ shot!📷. I’ve been quite guilty in the past, shooting with reckless abandon, hoping for a focused and interesting image. Back in film days, I’d take 25 rolls of film, have them developed, only to keep 100-200 pictures. When on safari or in a magical setting at a rocky beach, the temptation is to point and shoot because you never know when the perfect wave hits or a leopard decides to race down from its tree tower…..but I’m improving, observing first, settings applied and wait. We’ll see what happens on my next trip😘📷📷
Hi Denise,
The best photographers out there say if they capture 5 or 6 great photos a year, they’re happy!
Food for thought…
I captured my 5 or 6 last year during my sixteen days on safari while shooting half the number of images as the previous year which was 13 days. Big improvement, but I’m still editing- looking at five of the same shot, eyes peeled to find the perfect one, is difficult. So no more shooting on Ch!!! I stop for a few days to refresh my view. 😘
The joy of slide was that it forced you to consider the shots as I found you could only see one roll per drive as the last thing to do is change the film whilst all the dust was flying about.
Hi Ian,
I couldn’t agree more. Each shot cost money so you thought long and hard about what you wanted to capture!
And what is more, each shot gave about 50 million of pixels and a wider , more subtle colour palette with Ektachrome and a more vivid palette with Velvia. I preferred Ektachrome Pro, but the results could be enlarged easily . But digital is a lot handier, especially for airshows where I will shoot 700-1000 shots in a day.
James you hit the nail on the head! The temptation to take photos for the sake of taking photos is a powerful one. I don’t believe anybody needs some of the functions touted in modern ‘upgrades’ today. In any event if you shoot in RAW it’s going to slow your continuous shooting function down considerably as the larger files take up more space in the buffer memory. Added to this, some cameras have a tendency to ‘walk’ if you don’t have them on a tripod and they can walk your subject right out off the viewfinder/screen. What I find particularly frustrating if I’m trying to take a picture of a bird taking off is taking a whole scad of photos and then waiting for the buffer memory to clear. Then taking ANOTHER lot of photos and waiting for the buffer memory to clear (my Canon Powershot SX60HS can take almost 70 photos before it starts to drag it’s feet). And still the confounded bird doesn’t take off. So you stop shooting to let the buffer memory take a breath – and the bird flies off! I try to limit how many shots I take as well because I always feel that the continuous scrutiny can stress a bird. Still – we are all grateful for continuous shooting I am sure.
Excellent advice if only one can control their impulse. I think the subconscious urge occurs because one knows that the guest has a limited opportunity since the Safari has a time frame; whereas Londolozi staff have ongoing opportunities. Nevertheless, one can at least try not to press that button repeatedly! Good luck with that! Lol….
Absolutely can relate! Sometimes, less is more…
I know I’m a slow learner but it’s taken me 8 trips to Africa to learn the lesson you’ve explained so well! I don’t even use the ‘fast’ option/continual shots on my Canon – slow keeps the repeats down to a more manageable level!
James, We are always hoping for the perfect shot, and our motto has always been “pixels are free”. Unfortunately our editing time afterwards is not! 😉
Haha Michael you couldn’t have said it better!
Paradox of choice is a very real phenomenon and it’s no different when trying to select the BEST of a series of photographs. I don’t hold my shutter down and still get too many images to sort through, but when I finally sit down to organize them there is so much satisfaction in deleting the bad ones right away. I hate clutter – real or digital – so purging photo files always makes me feel better so long as I can decide. 🙂
Hi Chelsea.
Haha I feel better when I’ve purged a folder but I can agonise for so long over the decision of which ones to get rid of 🙁
James, love the blog!!! We sometimes get carried away with the moment and hold the shutter release down far too long. And your advice is heart felt. I hope we get the opportunity to witness the head-flick on our next trip to Londolozi!
I’ve definitely become a lot more picky when it comes to selecting my photos, especially when it comes to Kirstenbosch’s birds.