Mi630

Just to start a discussion possibly... what are some personal guidelines people use when deciding to keep or delete photos from a shoot. In my personal situation I love taking eagle pictures, air shows, and concerts among other things. I use hi speed continuous shooting for these. As a result I can come home with 1000-2000 pictures since my camera can shoot at 10 frames per second. It is easy to delete the out of focus shots but, some photos, especially the eagle photos, can be almost perfect but just a bit off. And if you really nail a photo, well I probably have 5 or 6 almost just like it. I like having them on the computer to look at when I realize I only need one. I have read that the hardest thing to do is really be your own harshest critic. Sometimes I ask myself "would you print this?" when analyzing a photo. That might be too harsh as I can take 50 great photos but know that I would not print 50 pictures.
Anyway, I feel like I am rambling a bit. Just interested what thinking process goes into deciding to keep, and then edit, your photos.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

A better question might be “would you be proud to sell this image to someone you know and respect?”

tomad Loc: North Carolina

I have the same problem. I shoot wildlife on auto a lot and will end up with 50 similar shots. Disk space is cheap so I usually keep all the ones that are in focus in case I decide a different one is better later. Also cards are pretty cheap now so if I travel and get photos at a place I am not likely to go again, I keep the original card as a backup as well.

cmc65

When I was shooting with just my 7dmk2 I also came home with way too many frames. It was too easy with the high frame rate and only 20 mp. Then I changed to the 50 mp 5ds r and it was a whole different ball game. It didnt take long to bring my 3t fushion drive iMac to a screeching halt. In camera I delete any clipped wings as well as any that are flying away from me rather than toward me. Then I go through again and pay attention to composition. Only then do I upload to the Mac. I've been using the same criteria for sports shots. After getting them up on screen I usually can eliminate more. It took me a long time to nix files. But after awhile my eye was more adept and it was easier to hit that delete button. I like to show action and interaction so that's what I focus on now.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You've said it exactly. You have to be firm and aggressive in culling. It will make you a better photographer where only the best results make it to the finish line. Take your example of 5 or 6 almost alike and all great. You have to pick 1 and move one. Now, maybe you edit all 6 or maybe the best cull you can do is "let me see the results of these 3 ..." I get in that situation too where my RAW viewer used for culling can make it hard to pick The One from the sequence. But, by the end of the editing, I should be able to pick one and delete the other two even if they have been edited.

One item you didn't mention during culling is an assessment of the potential edit requirement per image. Coming back to the 5 or 6 the same, I typically can determine which will require less edits, particularly cropping, editing or cloning out unnecessary distractions. The ones with less downstream edit requirements are kept and the others deleted.

Rather than "printing" as a measure of the worth of the final result, I use sharing on social media. I try to share uniquely to each target site and if an individual image wasn't used to 500px, Flickr, Facebook or Instagram, why did I bother to keep it? They all represent potential sales and more than once an image posted on one site lead to a sale of another image posted elsewhere that was more to the customer's interest.

PaulBrit Loc: Merlin, Southern Oregon

Oh, that touched a spot! For I was looking for an image from a few years back in my Picasa albums yesterday and was aghast at the clutter, for want of a better term, that had accumulated in those folders. So there’s another item to put on the list of things I’m not going to do today! Clean my Picasa folders!

tomad Loc: North Carolina

^ Today? That would be a month's job for me! I'm still doing it with scanned slides from the 70's to the 90's!

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Then delete all but one of those almost identical images. Yes, it will be a painful decision to make. But the more often you do this, the easier it will get.

SS319

It may be difficult to select one image from among three, even harder with four, and progressively worse as the number of images increases. I find that, even if I start with 100 images, if I compare two images, and reject one. Start slowly look at the image using any and every parameter to choose which image you like better - you must choose one of the two. Say you start with 10 images, and you compare 1 vs 2, and after some period of time, you finally decide that #1 is the better of the two. Scrap # 2 and compare #1 with #3, and choose only one again, then compare the winner with #4, and so on. At the end of the exercise, you will have what you think is the best image.

As an alternative, just put all ten on screen and ask your wife, she will ALWAYS yield the right answer - no matter the subject....

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

First run through, I delete obvious misfires and unusable exposures from disk.

Second run through, I rate with Lightroom's star system:

* Five = my best work in every way.
* Four = acceptable for most editorial purposes. Technically sound, but I have a better pick.
* Three = acceptable if I don't have a better rendition of the scene or moment.
* Two = technically imperfect, but has some redeeming qualities that would be endearing to someone for some reason.
* One = technically imperfect, with only emergency use in mind. Still worthy of backup due to historical significance.
* Zero = any files that get deleted from disk.

Third run through, I select all the five stars, make fine global adjustments, and examine them critically. I usually drop a few to lower star ratings, and occasionally delete a few.
Fourth run through, I select all the four stars, make fine global adjustments, and examine them critically. I usually change a few ratings, and delete a few more.
Fifth run through, I select all the three stars, make gross global adjustments, and examine them critically. I usually change a few ratings, and delete a few more.
Sixth run through, I select all the two stars, make gross global adjustments, and examine them critically. I usually change a few ratings, and delete a few more.
Seventh run through, I select all the one stars, make rough global adjustments, and examine them critically. I usually change a few ratings, and delete a few more.

I keep what's left. I may put the catalog and images into offline storage and backup, but I keep it.

I learned early in life not to throw much away, when it comes to images. I still have almost all the personal negatives I exposed from 1960 to 2005. I also have most of my personal slides. I've been surprised by how many of them have been important in some way to someone I know.

tinplater Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

Since I shoot only for my personal entertainment, I quite often assemble slide shows and let the images just run on the computer, very rarely printing. Because I can't really see the thumbnails well in LR, I like to view images in full frame (shift command F on my Mac) and just cruise through the images, x ing those that I don't like, then do a command delete to get rid of the rejects. I also hit the i key to display pertinent information as I work through the full screen images. At the same time I can add a number rating to the images I think are potentially exceptional. Very fast and fluid way of working through the pics for me.

jcboy3

If you don't do it, you will have too many shots to go through when you want to find something. Put similar shots into a temporary collection and rate up starting at 1; then filter out the lower rated shots, repeat until you hit 5 or have as many as you need (just a couple). Delete everything else.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I don't shoot burst very often, and my total shutter count for a year is typically around one thousand. With the exception of clear issues - totally out-of-focus, for example - I keep everything and periodically review everything because my opinion may change.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-488146-1.html

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

I never cull my photos, and I take an average of 547 a day, 7 days a week. Since April 2007. Some of my worst pictures when judged by others make my best-selling Photographic Art, which I create using Photoshop, Lightroom, Word (you might be surprised what kind of photo editing tools are in Word), onOne, Nik, Topaz, Redfield, Paintshop Pro, Photo-Paint, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, InDesign, Photomatix, Landscape Pro, Panos FX.......... just off the top of my head. Since I know that everything has the potential to make good/great/best-selling Photographic Art, and since I'm 62, I figure that my mental capacity will probably last longer than my physical capacity based on what I know about me and my family at this point, so when I am no longer able to get out there and take pictures, I can sit at home, create Photographic Art, and still make a living so that I'm not on the public payroll.

Bill_de Loc: US

If I like it today, I keep it. If I don't like it today I delete it and don't look back. If I'm not sure I keep it, and if I eventually go back to a folder I may delete more.

I'm not concerned about selling, I have plenty that I like to give to friends. The older I get, the fewer I keep. If I started going back through all my pictures I would be dead of old age before I finished. I have no illusion that my "talent" will be discovered after I'm dead, and if it is I won't GARA.

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