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What made you miss more potential keepers?

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jaggedhorizon

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1. You didn't have the right focal length on you

2. You had the right focal length but the lens did not offer the right rendering / quality / aperture

I'm pretty sure that we all miss more strong images because of other factors. But between the ones above, which one do you regret most often?
 
0. You didn’t have your camera on you
 
Difficult conditions leading to missed focus.
 
For me a "keeper" does not exist in the mind's eye. You either keep a photo or you throw it in the "recycle bin" , or a real bin if it is a slide (used to do a lot of this). So not having the right lens is not going to affect whether I keep an image made with another lens. Similarly if I take a photo with a specific lens, I am going to keep it or not based on it's merits alone. Not whether a different lens with a different maximum aperture, rendering or colour etc, would make a more appealing photo.

What truly affects "keepers" are the things you are excluding primarily, focus, exposure, and subject matter.

It is when you simply cannot get a photo that you can picture in your mind's eye that you realize something is missing from your equipment. It is hard to get a keeper when you don't even have the equipment to take the photo in the first place.
 
1) laziness

2) slow reaction time.

I like taking bird photos but insist on taking one at a time instead of 6 or whatever per second. (I can't be bothered sorting them out afterwards)

As for the second part possibly my reaction time is getting worse.

In other words , my delay is improving.
 
Impatience
 
Whilst out on a walk with my wife I am sometimes rushed in taking a shot which I then regret and wished I had taken more time. When I am on my own, this is not a problem 😂
 
1. Timing: missing the moment while fiddling around the settings to get the perfect shot

2. Trying to get the perfect composition/crop. I actually dont mind cropping ex-post. Again this is similar to 1, e.g. you try to get the perfect composition and subject moves out of your sight
 
... which led me to add a Fuji x100v to my line-up. With the DoF preselected in MF, I hardly miss a shot (the perfect flash/ambient light balance helps, too). Hard to understand why Sony is not adding such a feature to their cameras and AF lenses. It does work allright with the Voigtländer MF lenses, though.
 
After the quickie, the man says: "If I'd known you were a virgin, I'd have taken more time."

The woman answers: "If I'd known we had more time, I'd have taken off my panty hose."

Sorry, I have the privilege of a dirty mind.
 
peter826 said:
JustUs7 said:
peter826 said:
Difficult conditions leading to missed focus.
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Lousy technique leading to missed focus. 😂
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I am guilty of that as well! I always seem to be trying to use a 600mm lens in the dark, on a windy day, to take a long exposure. Rarely goes my way....
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Rebel days using full auto focus. Looks okay when chimping, but get home and realize you nailed that low hanging branch just above and in front of your family.
 
Like several others said, just plain timing -- seeing the opportunity too late and/or not being able to get the camera into action fast enough. Or getting the camera up but my reflexes are not quick enough.

jaggedhorizon said:
1. You didn't have the right focal length on you

2. You had the right focal length but the lens did not offer the right rendering / quality / aperture

I'm pretty sure that we all miss more strong images because of other factors. But between the ones above, which one do you regret most often?
Click to expand...
Neither of the above affect me very often. I've become pretty much a one lens photographer. One moderate zoom covers about 90% of everything I want to shoot and it's pretty much always on the camera. Usually I can anticipate situations where I want something else and be prepared with the right lens on the camera or a second body.

Seems like the longer I do photography the simpler my gear becomes. I know the kinds of things I like to photograph and what I need to make the picture. And I know how much gear I'm willing to carry.

Gato
 
The most important reason to miss keepers is not being at the right time at the right place. Staying at home or making walk without camera is a guarantee for ne keepers at all.
 
WiltshireMoonraker59 said:
Whilst out on a walk with my wife I am sometimes rushed in taking a shot which I then regret and wished I had taken more time. When I am on my own, this is not a problem 😂
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It is the opposite for me. My wife is a fellow of the royal photography society and an excellent photographer. I usually get more keepers when we are out shooting together as she is a great source for inspiration.

moti
 
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