do you trash

[bmc]

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what do you do with your imports. when i shoot raw i import to iphoto. from iphoto i cull out the really bad shots, out of focus, blurry, bad shot period and simply trash and delete those.

 

then i take the dozen or so that i wish to tell my story with. the shots that i really like, or the ones that seem a little better than the other ones. i then take these shots to aperture and do my post process work and publish to my mobilme gallery.

 

so my question is this. should i keep all the shots, or just the ones i liked and have post-processed.

 

the real reason i ask is. im shoot a bunch now and have thousands of photos building up in my library.

[andybarton]

I never delete anything. It's surprising how often you can go back to a shot that you have dismissed and find something worthwhile in it, at a later date.

 

If you ever shot film, I bet you never threw away negatives or slides...

 

Just one question, why bother importing into iPhoto, when you can import directly into Aperture? That's two libraries that you are filling up with your files.

[stunsworth]

I only ever throw away shots with severe technical problems.

[bmc]

I never delete anything. It's surprising how often you can go back to a shot that you have dismissed and find something worthwhile in it, at a later date.

 

If you ever shot film, I bet you never threw away negatives or slides...

 

Just one question, why bother importing into iPhoto, when you can import directly into Aperture? That's two libraries that you are filling up with your files.

 

yeah, its an extra step i have to do for my wife. she wants all the photos of the children. ive got it automatically set up to push to her online mobilme account. i dont argue since it also provides a third place to safeguard and back up my photos.

 

i though about doing it all in aperture, but the program is new and i have not played around with this feature, and like i said the iphoto is automatic.

[wda]

I never delete anything. It's surprising how often you can go back to a shot that you have dismissed and find something worthwhile in it, at a later date......

Andy, I understand the feeling, but I now try and edit as soon as new material has been ingested into Lightroom. Obvious rubbish goes without a second thought. (E.G. Street scenes spoiled by strangers crossing my view at the last minute). I then rate my pictures, usually one to three or rarely four stars). Doubtful shots or lesser quality duplicates are unrated and kept for final consideration after a month or so. Anything remotely potentially useful is kept. However, I shoot a lot and am ruthless editing for final quality. What is the point of keeping too many poor alternatives?

 

OP, I think you should simplify your work-flow; import into your final processing software directly and export those desired pictures for your wife to keep. In Lightroom you can still keep the 'Masters' as you only export copies with any PP you have done.

[250swb]

I never delete anything, unless its a blank frame. Life is to short for regrets, storage is to cheap to consider it a problem, and you never know what you may want or need or find interesting tomorrow. Don't do it. I mean, if you were shooting film would you cut out individual frames from a strip of film to throw them away? Of course not, so why treat digital as something of even less importance?

 

Steve

[bmc]

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OP, I think you should simplify your work-flow; import into your final processing software directly and export those desired pictures for your wife to keep. In Lightroom you can still keep the 'Masters' as you only export copies with any PP you have done.

 

i agree, but sometimes she does not see it that way. i trash anything blurry, either subject movement, or whatever (shutter to slow, low light hand movement etc.). however, she does not always agree. she likes them all if they are of her girls.

 

here is a quick example. i grabbed the m8 to play around and have some fun practicing. the jacaranda in my courtyard had just started to bloom and i thought the colors would be a perfect way to hone my skills with the m8. i shot a dozen or so frames with my daughter. i didnt like any of them. some were fun, some were cute. i pick one or two to remember and keep, but the others id probably trash. but cant.

 

as for film, yeah we saved most of the slides or negatives, but again i probably shot 2/3rds less with film than digital. im not saying that i go out and fill the card with junk shots only hoping to get the one i like, but with digital its so easy to shoot several frames with different aperture settings, shutter speeds etc., and then choose the one you like.

 

i do the same thing with B&W lately. im sure all this will change and the number of frames i shoot will go back down to a normal level, but for now while im learning the m8 and re-learning photography all over its nice to be able to shoot and not waste film. however, i am mindful that quantity is no substitute for quality, and i do try to compose and think before i shoot.

 

here is the frame i kept, the others are ones i was not allowed to toss out.

[bmc]

un-altered shots i would not have kept, but that others would not let me trash. again, i was not trying to shoot the subject. i hate the blue pole that is laying across the back of the frame, but again i just woke up saw the colors and picked up my m8 to go play around.

[Arif]

un-altered shots i would not have kept, but that others would not let me trash. again, i was not trying to shoot the subject. i hate the blue pole that is laying across the back of the frame, but again i just woke up saw the colors and picked up my m8 to go play around.

 

The blue pole can disappear once you get more comfortable with Photoshop (to be honest, I never even noticed it). The expressions are priceless and are what you should treasure.

[wda]

bmx, lovely shots of your child and I understand your dilemma. As I said, anything remotely doubtful is kept for later review. Child portraits are precious and we all see different qualities in them. You are absolutely right to keep your wife happy; just pass copies of them all to her and selectively edit your set.

 

Incidentally, do you 'rate' and keyword your pictures? That helps considerably in filtering what you deem to be your better and best shots. Your wife still has the whole collection to keep her happy!

[JanCderidder]

I don't trash them, but put them into a "Trash" folder, even back them up....

[bmc]

all good advice. ill keep them all and everyone wins. thanks to all that posted.

[sanyasi]

I trash.

 

When I am working with the files for the first time, I get rid of about 20% of the photos as I look at them. Then as I work with them over time, I eliminate files on a case by case basis. Recently, I went through the files I accumulated over the last five years and deleted half. While hard disk space is cheap, I find there is a cost in time to managing files, although my keyword tagging and workflow in LR has improved greatly so that is less of an issue. I estimate that I could delete another 30%, but at some point the balance falls in favor of my time rather than hard disk space.

 

As is true with my office, clothes closet, and other storage areas, the act of purging is cathartic.

 

Jack Siegel

[bmc]

I trash.

 

As is true with my office, clothes closet, and other storage areas, the act of purging is cathartic.

 

Jack Siegel

 

i love it! thats exactly why i started this thread. im totally into purging everything. i travel and live out of a duffle bag 3 days a week, and what ive realized is that i really dont need very much at all. ive always had a simple or less is more mentality and it just started crossing over to my photo library. now that ive been studying and trying to take more thought out or mindful photos i caught myself going through my old library and wanting to delete anything that was not up to par.

 

i was thinking of a compromise, like put all the photos on one computer and back it up, then on my personal laptop cull out everything i dont like or that does not measure up. then going forward ill will only keep what is good or worthy.

[Rolo]

I trash constantly, every day I'll come across image files that have reduced in value to me and the place for them is the Bin.

 

I regard it as refining my judgement, reappraising my personal and professional standards, setting the bar higher. If I have no use for an image it goes to make space for more, better images that will come in time.

 

It's not the cost of space for me, it's the ease of access to images with some potential that have been left unprocessed. When I realise they may never be processed they hit the trash. If I regret it later, so what; I either go and shoot the subject again, or forget about it.

 

Strapped to my workstation, I've got enough images to last a couple of years and then there's the film images I need to re-scan and rework, but in reality, I'm more interested in the images to come rather than the ones I've already passed over. If it didn't create a tiny thrill when I saw it for the third time, it's unlikely to raise any excitement next time.

 

bmc, your child shots do need special care because they do have sentimental value. I've currently got 2,100 images of my 3 grandsons and the eldest is just 20 months old. I've shot at least twice as many and maybe need just a couple of hundred of each to illustrate their pre-school life. The images you've shown, I would keep as a matter of course, but no duplicates .... etc. My wife has different standards and doesn't apply any judgement at all, so pruning hers is a late night activity.