This AM, I read a Facebook status update from a woman I met last weekend at the Pond Hockey tournament. She noted that she had to clean out her hard drive to make room for the more than 1400 pictures she shot there. After photoediting and photoshopping, I had about 150 images. Here are my thoughts and impressions on what I think the difference between our approaches might be:
(1) Know your story before you pick up the camera. You'll shoot smarter and happier if you know what you're trying to capture.
(2) In-camera editing. Some images are so lousy that you can tell just by reviewing them in your digital camera's viewfinder. Take a break now and then to review your images and delete the lemons before you even get home.
(3) Duplicates. We all like to take multiple images of "important" subjects. But unless you sell stock images, is there really a need to save more than a few versions of the same shot?
(4) File formats. If you're just shooting snapshots for fun, do you really have to shoot in RAW format?
(5) Storage issues. As my Facebook friend is finding out, it takes a lot of space to save 1400 photos. But don't scrimp on multiple backups: make sure any image that's important to you is saved at least twice, preferably in different locations. Consider off-site/online storage.
(6) Value your own time. At an extremely conservative 6 pictures a minute, it will take nearly four hours just to view 1400 photos! If you want to save each image and make minor color in Photoshop/crops in Photoshop at 3-5 minutes apiece (assuming no batch processing), you're looking at another 70-117 hours!
(7) Think about what images the subject may not find flattering. Be kind and delete cringe-worthy pix. Wouldn't you want them to do that for you?
(8) My new friend was far more generous and thoughtful than I was. While I focused primarily on my two family members, she was taking pictures of all the players.
(9) "Take your own temperature" and reassess when photography becomes more of a chore than a passion.
(10) Break your own rules when something unexpected happens.
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