What do you do with your photos?

[faerywings]

Do you edit your photos immediately? Or do you keep them SOOC until you need them?

I see the photographers on FB saying that the shot x-number of photos and are processing them all. And wow, do they do an amazing job, seeing the before and afters.

I don't really do any processing unless I need a specific look for my scrapping. Which makes me wonder if I am taking all of these pics mainly for the purpose of scrapping, or should I be taking the pics for each photos sake?

Does that make sense to you? I know the difference in my own head, but I am not sure if I am getting the words out intelligently.

I guess after looking at all my hard drives so closely after this last few weeks of crashes and lost info etc, I am wondering if I really need to keep every last photo I take, or should I find the best and process them?

What do all of you do?

 

[clarabear]

I always delete about half of my photos because so many end up being duplicates. I take pics to scrap with because I don't consider myself a photographer. I love taking photos but don't have that eye. I process as I need to for a page or for a look to print.

 

[whatnext]

i keep them as is until i use them, Chris.

 

[whatnext]

...and i only keep a small percentage of the photos i take, because i am a really CRAPPY photographer!

 

[sue.falstaff]

I rarely delete ANY photo ... you never know when that blurred shot, cut off head or over exposed image will be the PERFECT one for a page :grin:

I generally leave mine SOOC until such time as I need to use them ... I rarely print photos, most of mine end up in my LO's or on my blog.

 

[Heather Prins]

I edit as soon as I upload and delete ones I don't like. I may further edit when I scrap them too, but just a tiny bit. I have a really good camera so there is very little editing needed.

 

[Kiliki]

i dont do anything to them until i use them for something....cause i never know what pictures i want to use....

 

[yvonnahenna]

I rarely delete ANY photo ... you never know when that blurred shot, cut off head or over exposed image will be the PERFECT one for a page :grin:

Same here

 

[taxed4ever]

I am the same as Sue and Yvonna, unless they are totally crappy pictures I pretty much keep all of my photos and process as I need them.

 

[Bush Girl]

I delete about 50% upon upload and process those RAWS I keep immediately in Lightroom. My processing is what I call "true" ie: no fancy pants stuff, natural colour/light etc to produce photos that granny might like. I scrap about 1/200th of the photos I actually keep, and if I want a fancy process on them I'd do that at the scrapping stage not before. I almost never print any photos out, except for the occasional paper scrapbook page or the never ending request for photos for school projects.

I never EVER use SOOC photos! And any photos I get sent by friends get run through LR also!

 

[tanteva]

I am not sure if I am getting the words out intelligently.

:tape: I am NOT commenting on this.
I am NOT NOT NOT ....

I keep EVERY photo, and if I edit one, I always keep the original too. You never know when you can use a photo - even if it looks like it's nothing at first. blurry photos are great for blending into backgrounds for one thing.

This photo is really bad, but blended into the background it looks perfect:

Also - I love looking at old pictures. You can always see details to make you remember. Like an old sweater - and old sofa - the old wallpaper ... what ever. Things that are no more ... other in your photo.

 

[sberkan]

I keep everything!! I figure that my digital folders of photos are like my "shoebox" and some days I just like to go through my shoebox and remember the photos. I also want to keep them for my kids so that they can do that when they get older, too. It's a record of our family. I do delete really horrible ones if I have a corresponding good one. I do not shoot RAW because then no one would ever see my photos...I don't have time to process everything. I edit when I scrapbook or print (though I rarely print) or before I send them to other people. Not usually fancy edits, though...just brightening, colour etc.

 

[clarabear]

I rarely delete ANY photo ... you never know when that blurred shot, cut off head or over exposed image will be the PERFECT one for a page :grin:

I actually end up keeping a lot of those (not all but a b unch)...my biggest issue is I end up with 200 of the exact same picture so I'll go thru and minimize those because I just don't want to use that space for no real good reason except that I over photograph. But I know what you mean about not throwing away those quirky shots that came out a little different than I intended. Oh, I will also delete pics if the lighting is really bad and I have the same pic with good light.

 

[tanteva]

I am not sure if I am getting the words out intelligently.

Note that I didn't comment on this ... :laugh:

 

[janedee]

Right away I delete the really bad ones and get rid of about half of the duplicated shots.
I don't do any processing though until I need the photos for scrapping or printing.

 

[Bush Girl]

Note that I didn't comment on this ... :laugh:

:hurt:

 

[mrstoa]

I never delete photos! But then I'm able to take few these days
Many of the photos I use are from son-in-law and taken thru the years

I usually edit when I'm going to scrap them. The scanned photos I spend time editing.

Actually, thinking about it, I spend far too much time editing photos
I usually do it in PE6 but have the Lightroom Demo which if I can learn to use hopefully will make it faster.....

 

[clarabear]

You know...reading thru...I just realized...I never ever save my photos after I edit them. I always save them as the originals. I have no idea why I do that but I just have never saved the edited version. Now that I think of that it seems strange that I wouldn't.

 

[VickiStegall]

IF, and that's a big if, I manage to get them off the camera, I save them to my computer and there they sit FOREVERMORE.

*cries* I need to DO something with them!

 

[faerywings]

Yay!!! You all made me feel so much better about just leaving them.
LOL

Sandra:

I figure that my digital folders of photos are like my "shoebox" and some days I just like to go through my shoebox and remember the photos. I also want to keep them for my kids so that they can do that when they get older, too. It's a record of our family.

After I read this, I realized that this is me to a T! I was browsing through some photos and came on a folder of my dog, who was put down a few months ago. Gary stood over my shoulder as we scrolled through them, from when she was a puppy, the way her ear used to stand up before Ravyn chewed it and it got scarred, to pics of her and Ray snuggling together under the covers on my bed, and to some right before she died. It was exactly like sifting through a shoebox and it was a great feeling to see her and remember her again.

 

[faerywings]

oh, I should also add, that I tend to keep the originals too even after I crop and process them. Like Eva-- I get a kick out of seeing the little memories in the pics-- like a baby toy on the floor, or our old curtains etc....





Eva:

 

[LaurieW]

I plan on making DVD's for my son's was to be last year Christmas gift, but the 1" flood in the basement on this day 2011 caused that not to happen, maybe this year. That way they will have their own photos to sort through- well from 1999 till present. Then I need to scan and burn from my actual photos. Need to do this with layouts as well- then they can print what they want. Oh time- please time!

 

[Ellen]

I take them then throw half away because there are too many taken near the same time.
I only do "something" like soft light to make it sharper to them when I use it for a layout .
I don't don't like overprocessed photo's where they've whitened the teeeth, made the eyes more colourful, etc. just take it as it comes i.r.l.

(although an anti wrinkle and extra remove chin button would come in handy)

 

[suezeeq12]

Heather it's not the camera that takes good photos - it's the person using it!

Just like having All Clad doesn't make someone a chef

You must be a great photographer because it certainly isn't the camera that takes great photos because me and Mr. 5D Mark ii are proof of that - LOL!

 

[mrstoa]

I NEVER toss away photos - (as my thousand DVD's will prove

I come from a long line of hoarders -

My brother, now 83, has every screw and bolt that fell on the hanger floor when he served in the airforce in 1950's for 15 years! His basement (supposed to be a rec room) is full of boxes of 'stuff' from hangers.
I am not joking - it doesn't matter that those particular airplanes no longer fly - he may need them, one day.

So I keep everything - and all my digital stuff too - just can't bring myself to throw them out -
I may need them one day :biggrin1: