Photo Fix

I've said it many times.  I have so many pictures I feel like I'm buried in them.  Personal photos from my teenage years, school and college pics, baby pictures of my kids, even pictures I inherited from my mom, not to mention all the pictures I've taken as a photographer .... yeah, the list just keeps going.  I wish I could say that every picture comes out totally right the first time straight out of the camera, but we all know that just doesn't happen.  Hello Lightroom and Photoshop!  Many of them are edited for creative artistic vision, and others are edited to make a few ... ahem .... adjustments here and there.  So, with so many pictures, how do I decide which ones to keep, which ones to toss, and which ones to edit?  How do I present my client with their best 30 to 40 images, from the 150 to 200 images I shot in their two hour photo shoot? Here's the break down...

After loading all those photos and backing them up on a hard drive and an online vault, I check them out on Lightroom for a first pass.  I'm basically looking for the crud files (yes, I have them, not afraid to admit it ... haha).  These are the pics that were test shots for lighting, out of focus, over/underexposed (like when my flash batteries decide to go into sudden death mode), or just repetitious from the other six shots pretty much just like it.  These get a star.  Now that sounds like a good thing, but trust me, it's not.  I take those marked files, and immediately hit DELETE.  As in hasta la vista, baby!

Now with the crud files gone, I have less to deal with, and I start looking for those pics that truly deserve that star as a keeper (for now).  These are the ones that immediately catch my eye, the ones that have potential. Some I will remember from our shoot and I look for those to mark, and some surprise me and make the cut. Yes, these are the ones going to the next round.

By now, I have narrowed down the field considerably.  But this is usually the point to where I'm getting a little photo cabin fever and I need to step away for a while.   And.... this is usually about as far as I get before someone in my house starts going "Mom?!?!?"  So, after Mom duties, a break, maybe a snack and something to drink, I come back to Photo Fix, Part 3.   I'm still looking for pictures that speak to me, and with some minor adjustments, those photos usually rank between 2-3 stars.  After I put a filter on those images, I go through them one more time.  This is where I'm looking for those pics that really stand out, that strike emotion, that are the real 'gems'. I usually pick somewhere between 25-40 images, and these are the ones that I select to present to the client.

And that fifth star?  What makes the five star status?  Well, that one is not up to me.  That status is reserved for the photos that the clients select for their wall art, prints and digital images.  Noting their selections with the five stars makes it super easy to retrieve their photos to work with the products they purchase.

That's it, that's my process.  Sound easy?  No, not always.  My photos are like my babies to me, and seeing one go away and not make the cut can be a little disheartening.  Kind of like American Idol, right?  You get so caught up hoping for one of them, and get disappointed when they don't get to the finish line.  But you're always happy with the ones that make it in the end.

Have a great weekend!  Guess what I'm about to do?  Yep, take more pictures!  :)  -- S

My three favorite photo subjects.