----- Original Message ----- From: "Kenneth Waller"
Subject: Re: Who has an istDS?
On 12/29, Shel caused the following to appear on my CRT -"No, pros didn't throw away the bad ones. They were saved on contactsheetsand negatives, and became valuable tools in both the editing process and
helping the photographer understand the shooting process."
Not the practice of the several pro outdoor photogs I know. They long ago
stopped shooting things they know wouldn't sell & they have shot enough,
under most conditions, that there are very few situations they aren't
photographically familiar with.
If what you say were true then the current digital pro would most likely be
saving all digital images shot to learn the shooting process.
Ken, you are talking about a very specific niche of the industry, and actually making a bit of a strawman argument as well.
It doesn't surprise me that a pro won't do what doesn't make money for him. To do otherwise is bad business.
The rest of your statement relates to experience, which some people think they have enough of, and most of us feel we could use more of.
One of my past ventures was an attempt at being a pro landscape photographer. Never got enough sales to quit my day job, but I have work hanging all over the world now, for my efforts.
One thing I found was that it was kind of hard to predict sometimes just what would sell, and what would languish, and as far as shooting "enough", I always feared (and was often correct) that if i stopped when I had shot enough, i would come away with one nice image which would then have a processing mark on it, or a dust mote imbedded at time of exposure, or some other disaster.
Lets carry your example to another part of the business; the portrait photographer.
Using your logic, he would only shoot one frame of a subject, since he is only going to sell one picture.
Even the Sears Portrait Studio knows better than that.
William Robb
