What is Photos Per Hour and Why Track It?
Whether you're a professional photographer, a hobbyist, or a project manager planning a photo shoot, understanding your photos per hour (PPH) rate is incredibly valuable. This simple metric tells you how many images you capture in a given time period, which helps with everything from project planning to workflow optimization.
Tracking your PPH can help you:
- Estimate project timelines: Know how long a 500-photo product shoot will actually take
- Set realistic expectations: Give clients accurate timeframes for deliverables
- Improve efficiency: Identify bottlenecks in your shooting process
- Compare shooting styles: Understand how different types of photography affect your pace
How to Calculate Photos Per Hour
The formula for photos per hour is straightforward:
[\text{PPH} = \frac{\text{Total Photos Taken}}{\text{Time in Hours}}]
Where:
- PPH is your photos per hour rate
- Total Photos Taken is the number of images captured during a session
- Time in Hours is the duration of the shooting session
This gives you a clear metric to track and compare across different shoots and projects.
Calculation Example
Let's walk through a real-world scenario.
You're shooting a wedding and over the course of a 6-hour day, you capture 720 photos.
Given:
- Total Photos = 720
- Time = 6 hours
Calculation:
[\text{PPH} = \frac{720}{6} = 120 \text{ photos/hr}]
Your shooting rate was 120 photos per hour, which is fairly typical for wedding photography where you're constantly capturing candid moments and posed shots.
Photos Per Hour by Photography Type
Different types of photography have vastly different PPH rates. Here's a general guide:
| Photography Type | Typical PPH Range |
|---|---|
| Event/Wedding | 100-300 |
| Sports | 200-500 |
| Portrait | 20-60 |
| Product | 5-30 |
| Real Estate | 30-80 |
| Street Photography | 50-150 |
| Wildlife | 10-200 (highly variable) |
These ranges reflect the nature of each type: event photography requires capturing many moments quickly, while product photography demands careful setup for each shot.
Factors That Affect Your PPH
Several factors influence your photos per hour rate:
Equipment Considerations
- Camera buffer speed: Faster buffers allow more continuous shooting
- Lens changes: Multiple lenses slow down your overall pace
- Lighting setup: Complex lighting takes time to adjust
Environmental Factors
- Location changes: Moving between spots reduces shooting time
- Weather conditions: Challenging conditions slow everything down
- Subject cooperation: Working with people takes patience
Creative Factors
- Composition complexity: Elaborate setups take longer
- Post-processing goals: Shooting for HDR or composites requires more frames
- Quality standards: Higher standards often mean fewer shots
Using PPH to Improve Your Workflow
Once you know your baseline PPH, you can work on improving it:
- Prep your gear: Have equipment ready before the shoot starts
- Scout locations: Know where you'll shoot before arriving
- Create shot lists: Plan your images in advance
- Optimize post-processing: Cull and edit more efficiently
- Review and learn: Analyze slow shoots to find improvement areas
Remember, faster isn't always better. The goal is to find the right balance between speed and quality for your specific type of photography.