The Vetting Process

It seems that the more I shoot in various capacities, the fewer shots I take in any given scenario, primarily because I am thinking “yeah, the light’s not right”, or “I don’t have the right lens”, or some other obstacle is preventing me from getting the shot I really want. Whether it’s me being more selective in the shots I take, or something else, is entirely open…case in point, at a recent sports event, I captured less than 500 photos. Of those 500, only 24 got pulled for client delivery, and of those 24, I was really only particularly happy with 2-3 of those shots. Is that being too picky?

The Whole Schmear

The Whole Schmear

The Choices

The Choices

The Selects

The Selects

The Hero

The Hero

So, (and I know this will be specific to the type of photography), the question comes to mind for me: What is a good pull rate? Should I be keeping half my shots? 25%? 10? What percentage should I be pulling from a shoot to deliver to a client?

Clearly, many of the images are thrown in the digital dumpster, but I am wondering whether I should be keeping more for delivery, or for “recovery” at a later date when software improves even further? Is it even worth keeping those? What are the odds I’ll come back in five years saying “If only I had a shot of a hockey player in a white-and-blue jersey center-framed against a white and yellow wall”? My guess is slim to none, so why bother keeping those shots?

Hence the question – what is the average pull rate for photography work? Only client pulls? Client pulls + 10%? +25%? Would really be interested in hearing what others deem to be “acceptable” pull percentages, so please – sound off in the comments and let me know your thoughts…

In the meantime, keep on shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

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