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nipperoon

nipperoon

Suspended / Banned
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16
Name
kevin
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi

I have just started this photo lark again after a long time out. I am using a Canon 300D I wish i could get a new camera and software, but money is an issue.
But my main question is what do you all do with the photos that don't make the grade. do you still keep them or get rid of them. I ask this because when in the olden days when I used film, I used to keep all of my photos (and I still have them).
 
I'm sure there will be many people with many different answers! ... anyways, here is what I do now.

I use lightroom now, mainly down to it's cataloguing and tagging ability. I rename and tag photos on import into LR. The obviously out of focus and just plain awful get deleted from my hdd on the first pass through. I'll then look for any that I feel are what I wanted and these will get flagged (Picked by using the "P" key). The rest will get a second pass through and I may delete a few more. The remainder go into a pending collection and I decide later. I'll edit the picked ones and sometimes find that I will delete one or two at this stage too. Some time later I'll revisit the pending collections, often I find one or two that are worth "developing" the rest once I'm totally happy they are no good get deleted.

Given that hdd are cheap as chips it is better to err on the side of not deleting if in any doubt.
 
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No need to apologise for using a Canon :)

Storage is generally not a problem nowadays. I use a 2Tb external drive for backup. Under a hundred pounds from Maplin ( Western Digital Passport, it's about the size of a passport too)
So, why delete? Unless they are really, really bad!
 
Most, if not all, of my shots that don't make the grade get deleted..... eventually. Some get ditched quickly, others days or weeks later. Some may be around for months until I have another look through and think, "Why did I keep that?"

Dave
 
I keep pretty much everything. Storage is so ridiculously cheap it's not worth throwing stuff away.
 
At present I am keeping all my images.. but perhaps i should have a clear out
 
I do a cull of the poorest after each shoot than keep everything else.
 
I have asked this question before and got a really helpful answer that I have managed to stick to.

I delete any shots that simply don't make the grade - head chopped off, motion blur, out of focus etc. The rest I almost always keep :)
 
Bubby said:
I have asked this question before and got a really helpful answer that I have managed to stick to.

I delete any shots that simply don't make the grade - head chopped off, motion blur, out of focus etc. The rest I almost always keep :)
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This ^^.

If an image is 'technically' unusable (as above) e.g. out of focus, motion blur etc. it'll be deleted. Everything else i keep as some times i find i go back over old images and look at them differently with a fresh pair of eyes and see something i didn't see before. Then i'll process them, can't do that if i deleted it ;)
 
I *want* to delete, but in practice I have been keeping pretty much everything. Fortunately I'm an amateur, so only have tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands.
 
CharlotteM said:
I keep pretty much everything. Storage is so ridiculously cheap it's not worth throwing stuff away.
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I'm the same, it's extremely rare for me to delete images. I've had too many experiences of places and people not being around anymore and in some cases all I have left are a few 'technically poor' photos which I'd almost certainly regret deleting in years to come if I did. Having memories is much more important to me than being technically correct.
 
Whilst I am taking photos, if I have time, and some shots have obviously gone wrong (multiple flashes failed to go off, or the focus badly failed), then I will delete the odd one or two at the point of taking it (i.e. the last 5 photos at most probably). The images I shoot are raw, and around 27MB each, so the number that will fit on a CF card is limited (I have cards that range from 250mb to 16GB, and can fill them in a day...).
Once images are transferred to the computer, I don't delete them.
 
I presently use a 1 terabyte hard-drive, maybe get a 2 terabyte hdd at some stage in the near future, handy to dump raw & jpeg images onto etc, then if need be delete at your leisure.
 
I take less photos these days and have become a bit more selective on what i save, doing this has resulted in me printing more and that's far more important than having a HD full of iffy images.
Set your standards higher and think a little more will result in taking fewer shots but HD's are dirt cheap so if your a hoarder then snap away and don't worry about it.
 
I keep most shots and store them on external USB powered laptop drives. Easy to store and no trailing wires with power supply.
 
I'm a bit of a hoarder with my pictures at the minute, as others have pointed out though storage is cheap enough to not throw anything away. I will, however, one day get round to sorting my images out and would have no qualms about getting rid of the bad ones, although any with any shred of any redemption would be kept, even if only for experimenting purposes.
 
PMN said:
I'm the same, it's extremely rare for me to delete images. I've had too many experiences of places and people not being around anymore and in some cases all I have left are a few 'technically poor' photos which I'd almost certainly regret deleting in years to come if I did. Having memories is much more important to me than being technically correct.
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But that's family pictures, would you keep every shot if you where into landscapes or wildlife? I agree that in the case of family its the moment but for all over shots you dont wants folders full of crap
 
kendo1 said:
No need to apologise for using a Canon :)

Storage is generally not a problem nowadays. I use a 2Tb external drive for backup. Under a hundred pounds from Maplin ( Western Digital Passport, it's about the size of a passport too)
So, why delete? Unless they are really, really bad!
Click to expand...

Why delete? If they are not good enough why keep? Its pointless filling drives full of shots thay dont make the grade. Theyll just sit there never to be used. And in the long run its more average shots to go through to find the gems. Yes drives are cheap now but thay doesnt mean you should be less strict about what makes the grade. Why settle for less than perfect?
 
barratt1988 said:
But that's family pictures, would you keep every shot if you where into landscapes or wildlife? I agree that in the case of family its the moment but for all over shots you dont wants folders full of crap
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I keep every shot unless it's something I obviously screwed up when taking it and I get the one I want second time round. I don't see the need to delete otherwise, so I don't.
 
PMN said:
I keep every shot unless it's something I obviously screwed up when taking it and I get the one I want second time round. I don't see the need to delete otherwise, so I don't.
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Buy why? If the shot is just an average shot nothing special why keep it? I just dont understand people having hundreds of shots but cant put together a portfolio?
 
PMN said:
Are you really demanding I justify my reasons? I mean, really?
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... demanding? WTF ... no im asking why? Sorry I didnt know you where so defensive! Calm down, this is a question and answer forum...
 
PMN said:
I've already explained why, how much more of an answer do you need?
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I dont now. Would wana set you off. Just wondering why you keep something that would never see the light of day again
 
barratt1988 said:
I dont now. Would wana set you off. Just wondering why you keep something that would never see the light of day again
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That's partly the point. I've used plenty of images 3-4-5-6-8 years after I took them because they suddenly mean something to me. If I deleted everything that didn't mean something to me at the time I'd have lost them.

It's not just that, it's memories of places, people, times, and 1001 other things. Photography is more than just a technical exercise to me.

And with 'setting me off', try asking your questions in a less blunt way (especially as I'd already explained it) and you might get gentler replies.
 
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PMN said:
That's partly the point. I've used plenty of images 3-4-5-6-8 years after I took them because they suddenly mean something to me. If I deleted everything that didn't mean something to me at the time I'd have lost them.

It's not just that, it's memories of places, people, times, and 1001 other things. Photography is more than just a technical exercise to me.
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Thays fine im just sayin if its shots for sale, magazines or companies then it is a technical exercise as they arent bothered by memories or personal emotions. My photography is something separate to my family and home life. Its my hobby and though I shoot for myself ive became very critical of my shots and I now do delete them if they dont make the grade. Because I hate the idea of shots sitting on a hdd for ever and also being critical and not settling for ok pictures is the best way to learn and develop
 
barratt1988 said:
Thays fine im just sayin if its shots for sale, magazines or companies then it is a technical exercise as they arent bothered by memories or personal emotions. My photography is something separate to my family and home life. Its my hobby and though I shoot for myself ive became very critical of my shots and I now do delete them if they dont make the grade. Because I hate the idea of shots sitting on a hdd for ever and also being critical and not settling for ok pictures is the best way to learn and develop
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You should see the number of my own images that never see the light of day because there's the minutest detail out of place. Believe me, I understand the meaning of self-criticism, I just don't see why that means I should delete stuff.

Another reason I don't delete things is how else can I judge my progress? If all I ever keep are my 'best' images then there's absolutely nothing to compare where I am now with where I was 5 years ago, or even 1 year ago. I know that might not be important to everyone but it's very important to me.
 
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PaulButler said:
I'm sure there will be many people with many different answers! ... anyways, here is what I do now.

I use lightroom now, mainly down to it's cataloguing and tagging ability. I rename and tag photos on import into LR. The obviously out of focus and just plain awful get deleted from my hdd on the first pass through. I'll then look for any that I feel are what I wanted and these will get flagged (Picked by using the "P" key). The rest will get a second pass through and I may delete a few more. The remainder go into a pending collection and I decide later. I'll edit the picked ones and sometimes find that I will delete one or two at this stage too. Some time later I'll revisit the pending collections, often I find one or two that are worth "developing" the rest once I'm totally happy they are no good get deleted.
Click to expand...

I no longer 'pick' using the P button - I just use the X key (for rejects) on the assumption that any that don't make the grade I don't want anyway. This is on all pass'es.
 
Ib tend to delete any rejects. Any work related stuff I'm not going to revisit years down the line, and although storage is cheap by the time you've put onsite ands offsite backups in place it starts to add up. If I deleted nothing I'd fill 2tb in 9months. Personal photos are a different story
 
I go through and delete any obviousl bad ones, most of them are my fault for misfocussing or under/over exposing etc, and then just keep the rest. I use my computer hard drive, then copy to 2 external drives as well just for safety sake. I then eventually dump any of the kept shots if I can't improve them enough.
 
PMN said:
I'm the same, it's extremely rare for me to delete images. I've had too many experiences of places and people not being around anymore and in some cases all I have left are a few 'technically poor' photos which I'd almost certainly regret deleting in years to come if I did. Having memories is much more important to me than being technically correct.
Click to expand...

Keep it all, but file it.
 
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