Machine gunning

realspeed

realspeed

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Is machine gunning a camera to get one picture the sign of a poor photographer?
 
Depends what you mean by "machine gunning" ... many sports/wildlife photographers will shoot in 'bursts' to get multiple shots in a sequence of action, thereby choosing the best one. :)
 
Depends if the subject is moving at a faster speed than you could keep up with.
 
No.
 
It's part of the job to get a sharp image ,even today's super duper sensor cameras are still not that accurate as there often used by shaky flaky humans
 
Not sure if it makes you a poor photographer, but at times it really "Grates my Cheese" I have come across many "ATGANI" types, with 20K worth of kit, blasting away at 13fps until the card is full, trying to photograph a static wader.

Each to their own I guess.
 
realspeed said:
Is machine gunning a camera to get one picture the sign of a poor photographer?
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Not wrong, but using the viewfinder is better.
 
Phil V said:
Is it not just a 'technique' ?

I'd say it's equal (in cheating terms) to bracketing exposure.
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But do you think either of these are cheating Phil?

My view is they are not cheating, more using good advantage of the available technology. You might as well say flash, Av mode, Tv mode etc are cheating.
 
Paule23 said:
But do you think either of these are cheating Phil?

My view is they are not cheating, more using good advantage of the available technology. You might as well say flash, Av mode, Tv mode etc are cheating.
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I wouldn't say any of them are.
 
Paule23 said:
But do you think either of these are cheating Phil?

My view is they are not cheating, more using good advantage of the available technology. You might as well say flash, Av mode, Tv mode etc are cheating.
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Paul, this is a well worn discussion round here, where some people seem to think any other mode than manual is 'cheating' or makes one a lesser photographer.
I use whichever mode/technique to achieve the desired outcome. So that would be a no from me on shooting bursts is cheating.
 
blakester said:
Paul, this is a well worn discussion round here, where some people seem to think any other mode than manual is 'cheating' or makes one a lesser photographer.
I use whichever mode/technique to achieve the desired outcome. So that would be a no from me on shooting bursts is cheating.
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Blimey, if anything other than manual is cheating I'm in need of being sent off, constantly!

Even with all the tricks in the camera I'm still rubbish, so goodness knows what I'd produce if I had to go fully manual.
 
Paule23 said:
Blimey, if anything other than manual is cheating I'm in need of being sent off, constantly!

Even with all the tricks in the camera I'm still rubbish, so goodness knows what I'd produce if I had to go fully manual.
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probably no different ;) The photographer matters far more then the camera
 
Not easy to get a good shot of a diving kingfisher even using bursts, little chance with single shot.
Same with birds in flight, a burst can get you the wing position you want.
Bursts are also useful in sport.
 
It's just annoying...

I hate having to sort thru 100 images of the same thing. And no matter how fast the frame rate is, it always seems the *ideal* moment occurs between frames (or it never happens at all). But I don't care if it is cheating... I'll take every advantage I can get.
 
'Cheating' would imply there are a certain set of rules that must be rigidly adhered to, in order to get a photograph. And that's clearly not the case, photography isn't a competitive sport with a set of codified rules.

That said, in the last camera club talk I ever attended, the speaker insisted that there should be something on a third, he was more or less insisting that the rule of thirds was mandatory. I left at the interval.......
 
The question....

How fast can you press that shutter button and do you really want repetitive strain injury on your index finger?

But's it's not cheating, otherwise you would have to say using the different shutter speeds, Aperture and ISO settings to gain the picture on a single shot landscape would be cheating...

But if it is, I'm an happy cheater :)
 
viewfromthenorth said:
That said, in the last camera club talk I ever attended, the speaker insisted that there should be something on a third, he was more or less insisting that the rule of thirds was mandatory. I left at the interval.......
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You have more tolerance than me.

Don't think I would have made it to the interval.
 
Ellie Jones said:
How fast can you press that shutter button and do you really want repetitive strain injury on your index finger?
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You don't have to keep pressing individually for each shot, just keep your trigger finger depressed. ;)
 
Ellie Jones said:
How fast can you press that shutter button and do you really want repetitive strain injury on your index finger?
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OldCarlos said:
You don't have to keep pressing individually for each shot, just keep your trigger finger depressed. ;)
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I was actually referring to single shot mode and somehow me got the feeling, that you have to release before repressing to get the next shot :exit:

Mind you saying that, even in continuous mode, you've still got to get your timing right............ Nothing worse than hitting the button at the wrong time, once took a burst of a duck repeatedly diving... Err, problem was I was using my 1200d which has a slow frame rate, I'd hit the button at the wrong moment, and every time the shutter fired, the flipping duck was totally under the water :mad:
 
Cheating, as opposed to presumably a good photographer who gets the decisive moment in a single frame. Some of the time luck and experience will get you the image, but not all the time. Experienced and lucky photographers, many of them pro's were glad of the motor drive and then the gripped battery pack to make their cameras even faster. Even for a pro, anything to make the job easier and getting the image more reliably put food on the table through sales. Just another tool to do the job.
 
it is a good way to test your AF and focus points - and how fast the camera can "obtain" focus and how focus can move to different parts of the image when using group, usually showing some front focus
 
realspeed said:
Is machine gunning a camera to get one picture the sign of a poor photographer?
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It depends what you're shooting. Sports or press... possibly wildlife, especially fast moving objects, then no, not really.

If you come out of a studio portrait session with 800 images though, then yes.. you're s**t :) Pre digital, you'd perhaps use no more than 3 rolls of 120 film on a studio portrait session... so at 6x7.. that's 30 shots. If you needed more than that, it's a sign that you have no idea what you want, or how to get it.
 
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Interesting replies and so varied thank you all for your thoughts on machine gunning a camera
 
For airshows I machine gun, hopefully in a pass of 12 - 15 pics you will get a couple worth working on.

The only other time is action shots - like if my son is facing a penalty and want a pic of him saving it.
 
Often watching a game of football you can hear them going in short bursts.
I have used it for motorsport especially if I'm at a choke point .
 
Pookeyhead said:
... that's 30 shots. If you needed more than that, it's a sign that you have no idea what you want, or how to get it.
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You see that's the type of elitism that I fundamentally disagree with, even for studio shooting.

The human face changes expression multiple times in one second - even with a fully trained professional model. With a 'personality', it'll vary wildly.
That's why fashion studios and editorial portrait photographers take so many shots.

You're absolutely spot on in the other genres, but please, as a teacher, drop the elitist 'proper photographer' BS and teach people how to get the best possible image.
 
I'd go with depends on the subject too. Action, yes probably fire away. Still need to think about what you're doing obviously, I don't think anyone is suggesting shooting from the hip and praying for a result.
 
essential with types of bird photography to get the "best" image
 
realspeed said:
Is machine gunning a camera to get one picture the sign of a poor photographer?
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Jebus this sounds like a trollbait question!
Now, if you're serious : on Saturday I was using plenty of burst on a group of six faces at a wedding : I got one where they all looked good,
so for me burst is sometimes mighty useful.
 
I think my camera would be classed as more like a semi automatic than a machine gun, such is it's slow burst rate.
 
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