(Deciding Which Photos To Reject, And Which To Keep)

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(Deciding Which Photos To Reject, And Which To Keep)

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mikeo21

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question for you guys,

I have been taking pictures for a few years now, and I really enjoy it. I have learned a lot, and taken a lot of pictures along the way, however there is always the same problem/bottleneck:

when I upload pictures to my computer.. I can't find a fast way to select what to move forward with! I am wondering what kind of process people who have been doing this for years use:

I will upload a set, have a few particularly important shots that I purposely took 2 to 3 similar photos of, and I will struggle on deciding which to reject, and which to keep. Or which crop to use, etc. Maybe its because my eye is not well trained? while I have sped up over time, I often STRUGGLE to pick one and go forward with the editing process. it's mainly composition related.

How do you guys deal with this? Maybe you are more decisive? If I were to pick the wrong photo.. life goes on.. yet when I am in lightroom.. I seem to forget that! Please advise.

Thanks,
MIke

Posted 1 year ago #
Mike Gunter

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Hi Mike,

There is at least three answers. The first is how you shoot. The second is how you process and, and the third is what you shoot.

Pre-visualization is key to how you can be happy with your shots before and after your shoot. By careful planning, you'll be able to not only get the shot you were after, but be flexible enough to get the shot that you weren't thinking of in the first place. IOW, if you plan for shot A, it's just as likely that shot B will present itself to you during the prepping and planning.

Usually, I try to envision what I want while I'm shooting to pre-visualize the image so I can 'fix' it in Photoshop. I shoot in RAW and load 30 to 40 images in Adobe Camera Raw for raw processing (something that is similar to Lightroom's engine), and save RAW settings where appropriate. ACR is a great place for adding layering mundane gradients (in both gray and color) and some simple retouching, too. One can quickly go through dozens of images, deleting less than perfect as needed.

I have Lightroom, but generally use CS5, but it doesn't matter which, the process is similar.

Thirdly, in the fullness of time, I've come to grips with what I'll call the 'uniqueness of customer' satisfaction. Something I learned a long, long time ago, and I learn every year I deliver products to a wide variety of customers.

For example, some parents can't be 'dissatisfied' with any pictures of their children.

If you can bottle that with 'every' customer, you wouldn't have to make any choices.

My best,

Mike

Posted 1 year ago #
warprints

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What software are you using? Lightroom, and many others, allow you to rank (or assign numbers/colors) to photos, and let you view two photos side by side to compare them. Go through the ranking process a few times, narrowing your selection of photos each time, until you end up with the best. If it's merely that you can't tell which is the better of two or three photos, that may be something you just have to learn over time. Check the internet or library and look at a variety of award winning or well know photos similar to the type you are doing (e.g. landscape, portrait, photojournalism) and try to determine what they have in common -- and which of your photos come close to those common elements.

I know I'll get heat from some for this, but it's a good way to learn what makes a good photo. You don't want to imitate, just see utilize the elements that make other photos stand out. (Yeah, easier said than done.)

Posted 1 year ago #
Anaxagoras

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I know exactly what you mean, but I suspect you're not exploiting Lightroom to the full. (I use Aperture but the features are pretty much the same).

Compare your images side by side in full screen mode without any background distractions.

Remember, any changes are non-destructive so dive in and crop your images both gently and dramatically. Remember too, the undo facility can still be used days, weeks or even months later.

Ultimately, it is down to your eye and practice, of course, but you might as well take full advantage of the tools that are available to help. I find I've improved dramatically in the two or three years I've been using Aperture, and can now rattle through a whole day's images very quickly to get a shortlist.

Although the final decision is ALWAYS difficult!

Posted 1 year ago #
sevencrossing

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I use Lightroom 3 but I gather Aperture is similar
Mr Kloskowski has an excellent streamed video over at Kelby Training
He will explain his work flow and runs through all the other options
Once you get the hang of LR3, its is blisteringly fast
Friends who use Aperture say the same
I do not think CS5 is as quick

One tip. When get you stuck, in choosing between two photos, ether ask the cleaner, or spin a coin, honest

Posted 1 year ago #
Correlli

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For me this is a multiple step process as well. First step is of course to remove the obviously bad images. Then I have generally two sets of images: the ones that I think are good photos and (e.g. in case of "vacation" photos) the ones I like to keep for memory.

For that second set I try to see if I got many images with the same type of content. If so I try to reduce that number by keeping the better ones.

For the first set if I got a series of images of the same subject and rank them as others have said before. If I still cannot decide I start searching for things in these images I don't like (e.g. blurry leaves, people looking in the "wrong" direction etc) to help in that decision. And if that still does not help use sevencrossings tip...

After all, if you work in softwares like Aperture or Lightroom you can still keep some of the images you deselected in a special folder. And if you did not need to access images in that folder in search for a better version of photo you selected to keep, you can delete it after a week or month.

Posted 1 year ago #
NikoDoby

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Joined: May '09
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There are several threads on workflows already. Here is one example:
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1993

I'm changing the title of this thread (Professional/Experienced Workflow Question) to differentiate it from those previous discussions.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bland

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Great question and I more than understand what you're dealing with. Here's my process:

I'll take around 300 shots when shooting an event. I go through my shots using Windows Explorer and choose around 100. I then edit them in Lightroom and resize them in Elements.

Once that is done I walk away until the next day. What your eyes saw today will be different the next day because of the stress your monitor puts on your eyes while editing. Then I choose 40-50 and make any needed changes to them.

My only suggestion I would make is to find a method that is enjoyable to you and not necessarily the fastest. Your results will be much better.

Posted 1 year ago #
TaoTeJared

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I have a ton of the same "type of" and "shot of" this and that especially when I fire away a sunrises and sun sets, animals, art, etc. I use LR as well and over the years I have learned to green mark the good shoots (Focus on sharp, no blow outs, color is good), flag the best (to or have edits) and dump the rest (delete forever). For personal projects/fun I keep very few shots - maybe 1 out of 10. For Photo-shoots, it is more but I am also more picky. I used to hoard images but with digital having 25 shots of the same macro of the same flower and concluded I was dumb. I keep maybe 1-3 at most now.

The simple work flow I found that works for me (getting rid of stuff) is to quickly mark and delete the worst without focusing on the good ones. I then take two more passes with the goal of deleting images and marking the best ones to keep. I do this 2-3 passes until I'm at a point of comparing the best shots to "like" shots and just picking one. Then I do my edits. Anything that I didn't or don't want to touch, I delete them. Basically I work backwards. For photo shoots - I keep an archived copy on disk of all the shots after the first pass to dump the worst out of focus ones.

Once a month I go in and "clean" out images that I have not used, touched or will never touch. After some time goes by, I generally see the images with fresh eyes and see a ton I can delete. I rarely find that I missed ones that were good.

Posted 1 year ago #
mikeo21

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hi guys,

thanks for all of the replies!

To clarify, this is definitely more of a question about decisions rather than the strategy/organization side of workflow.

I have read up on the strategy/organization stuff, and I have various colors for keep/edit in progress/edit complete/ready to print, and even a "crappy photo that has sentimental value" category. So I am pretty organized with that stuff. I actually have a filter called "undecided" on lightroom, and its all photos that havent yet been rejected or tagged for keep/editing. But even getting through that is painful!

I am more concerned with how you can decide which composition to keep, is it worth keeping two of the same, etc. I will often copy/paste settings and apply it to two photos to save myself time in comparison. Often times, I debate whether I should pick an image before or after post processing. I guess a lot depends on exposure, etc. I am interested in how you guys decide, mental process wise, or how you decide to keep two that only vary slightly, etc.

I like the suggestions I am seeing, especially with the reject strategy jared & bland recommended.

I think it's more about having the confidence and experience to figure out a photos potential. There have been times where the most uninteresting looking photo turned out print-worthy, just by a crop & simple touchup.

Thanks for the tips! and if anyone else has more feel free to join in :D

mike

Posted 1 year ago #
Bland

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mikeo21 said:
I think it's more about having the confidence and experience to figure out a photos potential.

That's it in a nut shell. I look at photography as an art form, even if I'm shooting a racing event or mud bogs. That allows me to shoot with confidence because I'm doing it with feel and not some static method of trying to capture the perfect picture. There again, what method works for one might not work well for another.

Posted 1 year ago #
Anaxagoras

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Mikeo,

Simple question - if you have a filter for "undecided", do you HAVE to reject/tag your images? NOW, or even EVER?

Personally, after I copy my photos into Aperture some will be outright rejected and a handful might be marked as 4 or 5 star; But the remainder just 'sit there', undecided. One day I might need one of them, but I can safely put off the decision until that day comes.

Recently, for example, I wanted a set of four, themed prints, but (for reasons I shan't go into) they all had to be landscape with dark backgrounds. I could find only two suitable candidates in my 4/5 star set - the other two had to be chosen from my long-term "undecided".

Posted 1 year ago #
sevencrossing

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Like Anaxagoras I keep everything,other than complete fails

I also use the star rating but use Lightroom 3

One star - Keep, but for my own use only (not allowed out of the studio)
Two stars - Can be shown to clients
Three stars - The best photos of that days shoot
Four stars - My best work (only a few hundred photos)
Five stars - My top 10 ( I only have 4 photos that rate 5 stars at the moment)

LR3 has a facility, to bring up a batch of photos on one screen, as you unpick the fails, the picks get bigger, until you are left with the best

You need a big monitor eg 30"

Posted 1 year ago #
rbid

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@sevencrossing: +1

Although I do not use LR.. but I like the idea!.. thanks

Posted 1 year ago #

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(Deciding Which Photos To Reject, And Which To Keep)

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