Editing Redux

Photographer hard at work (above) doing the thing we all should do...even if it's just occasionally.

I recently poured over tons of family photos that had just been sitting around taking up hard-drive space and decided to put them into some sense of place and order. Here's how I tackle a not insignificant cache of images.

First, I do a quick scan of the thumbnails and click on and delete all obviously bad photos. Way too dark, closed eyes, out of focus, camera shake, etc. Next, I try to find one decent photo of as many different family members as possible. Try to represent everyone. When I discover I don't have a single shot of someone I make a note and damn sure try to get it next time around! After that I look for all usable "multiples." Shots of two or more people together.

All the while I'm keeping in mind that I don't want more than about 20 images from any given event. (Don't get me wrong...I have many more photos than I actually show. I don't delete everything! And you don't have to either.) Keeping people interested beyond 20 photos can be quite a chore. If I have at least one decent photo of all at the event and I'm at or around 20 images, I'm very happy!

In this latest round of editing I came across a series of about six photos of Rachel's Aunt Arline. They were shot in quick succession in the exact same spot. (I do this to make sure I have at least one without a blink.) Turns out, they are all usuable as Aunt Arline is a stunning woman! However, you people don't need to see all six nearly identical images. I found the one shot--and it didn't take long--that pleased me most. She has a natural smile, the light was good, no distracting background, slightly off center...boom! That's it! Done. Then on with the process. Editing is a task I wish I could get someone else to do for me. But I can't. So I try to find the time and make the effort. Consistently using the process as described above works for me. It did take a while to get to where I was doing it almost by rote, but now it's pretty easy and flows rather nicely. Anyway, just thought you should know.

And in case you're curious, here's Auntie Arline!

That guy's upped his game, now up yours!

Tomorrow you are going to be a better photographer. Whether you are fairly advanced, simply a weekend hobbyist or just happen to have a camera you break out once or twice a year for birthdays and holidays, after you read this (and, importantly, put it to practice) your game will improve. You don't need to take a class or attend a workshop. You don't need to buy a new camera or lens. You don't need to learn a brand new photographic technique. It's very simple. Ready? Here it is: Edit! That's right. Cut down the number of photos you show people. Some of them you can keep for yourself, most of them can be deleted. Yes, deleted! Get rid of them. People blinking, out of focus, blurred, hand shake. All these can be jettisoned. I know it's not easy for some to do this but get in the habit anyway. You'll save room on your computer hard drive and those who look at your pics will genuinely appreciate it. Also, we humans need variety. So, sending out 25 shots of junior making his first poopy on the potty is excessive to say the least. Pick one (two tops) and get rid of the rest. (Or save them on a CD so you can use them to embarrass him on his first Prom date!) If you take a weekend holiday down at the shore and you return with 100 photos in your camera, take that extra half hour or so to really go through them all and edit. Once you get it down to a manageable level go one step further before sending them to friends and family and get it down to 10 really good ones. 10 different photos. That's it. Do this and over night people will think you've seriously upped your game. We'll get into more fun ways of improving your photography in the coming days, but for now just get serious about editing. Til then, Cheers.