Three Steps to Curing Picture Vomit (Step 2)

Step 2. Rinse and Do Not Repeat

Okay, so now your pictures are off the card and in your computer. You've weeded out the rejects from the pictures you just shot (as detailed in the previous step). Now, it's time to go over them again and pick out the images that you will proceed to put in a passed-the-audition pile. I would suggest working on copies of your pictures (if you're not using photo management software that preserves the originals) in the event that you might unintentionally delete an image.

The objective of this step is to look at images that essentially depict the same scene, person or object; and choose one to two from that series to go into your pick pile. You don't really need to have four pictures of a waterfall from more or less the same angle, right? 

So, how will an image qualify as a pick? 

Well, allow me to share two examples showing how I go about this process using pictures that I shot myself.

Example 1. The Virtual Slide show

Last year, I shot a short horror flick with a talented group of people from our very own department. There was a downpour on one of the nights that we were shooting, and it was in the middle of all that inclement weather that I chanced upon this tree in the rain. I was in charge of shooting production stills, so I had my camera with me. I took a few moments, while we were walking to one of the indoor locations, to quickly change my settings and shoot a few frames of the scene in front of me. The following pictures are three very similar images of what I saw that night.

So, did I really need all three pictures taking up space on my hard drive?

You can read the answer to this question and the second example after the jump.

__________

No. (Okay, that was a tad anticlimactic.)

Not unless I'm suffering from a yet undiagnosed, imaginary disease known as pixel hoarding. I opted to keep the second and third images from the top, since both showed more of the leaves and the shape of the tree. I can either delete or keep the first image. I chose to keep it, but marked it for later review. This means I may delete it in the future. Okay, this wasn't a very hard call to make because there were really very minute changes from one frame to the next, which brings us to the second example.

Example 2. (No) Thank You for the Memories

Okay, so let's look at a series of pictures showing a number of B.S. Chemistry students sending off their mentor and my good friend, Hess, off to the US. The series of shots shows Venz (the student in front) presenting their beloved teacher with a heartfelt token of their appreciation.

Which pictures would you choose? (Take some time to think about it before reading my answer below.)

I chose the first and third images. The first one because all the faces are visible and it is clear that Venz is speaking at this particular moment in time with the token in his hand. I chose the third picture because Venz is shown reading a passage from the book/token, and although one of the students faces is obscured, there are many interesting expressions on the faces of the students whose faces can be seen. 

I proceeded to mark the second image for deletion because I felt that I already had two very usable images to work with. Admittedly, this will not be easy to do at first because there will always be that tiny voice in your head that starts screaming at the top of its lungs the minute your finger moves towards the delete key — You don't really want to erase that. You don't have the b... wait, no, think of the sentimental value!

And before that voice annoys the bejesus out of overwhelms you, press that delete key. Trust me, it will only make the next step a whole lot easier.