The extra ones

Jaclyn Feb 2010

My post shooting image selection process goes something like this.

Import into Lightroom with exif copyright info added and no initial post work applied. Overall images whittled down to a selection of keepers with the flagging feature. Then depending if it is for me alone or someone else, I will cut that initial selection in half. These will be the ones I really like and are unique enough to stand out. Sometimes I will use the Compare option to view two or three very similar ones side by side and grab the best one selecting them with a colour marker.

I might leave it a bit if there is no pressing time urgent need. I find it gives me a critical eye slightly distanced from the photo session - which I might have loved and that could be colouring my feelings about the photos. I will then pass through the newest subset again and pair down the choices with a star a rating system which will be result in a fraction of the original number. I really don't 'do' hundreds of pics only to have them all posted or displayed online -as I have mentioned before I am sure. Everyone and every shoot gets the same treatment.

But what to do with those left behind? Delete? Keep? Some choices are obvious and I will flag them as Rejected and delete them completely: people blinking, a car getting in a shot, and so on. But what about the others that are fine?  Usually they sit and gather dust - figuratively anyhow. When I was backing up images a couple of weeks ago, I spent some time going through the images as the DVD laser did it's thing over and over.

There are many tens of thousands of images, such as the one above from my shoot this time last year with Jaclyn, which have remained pretty much sight unseen. And for the most part they probably will be. Sad in a way.

Mike