When we are out shooting we know from looking at the LCD display that some of our images are better than others. In fact, I tend to delete some images - ones that are out of focus or have camera shake or where the subject has moved - along the way when I have time.
We tend to take several shots of the same subject improving as we go along perhaps by changing the angle etc. I have found from my experience that it is not always possible to make editing choices as you shoot unless of course you have some obvious howlers. Images I have taken that I thought looked pretty good have been eliminated from the first technical edit once I load the pictures onto my PC.
I also find it hard to select the final few images from a shoot. I tend to want to include all those that have made their way to the final selection process. Maybe this is because by nature I am a bit of a hoarder. But maybe it is because I am a little lazy in my approach or haven't finely tuned my creative editing skills.
I think the help me improve my editing skills I need to re-visit the process I use. It is suggested in our course notes that we use the following:
- Start with a purely technical edit removing those with outright mistakes and put aside images which are less well exposed. This leaves us with a set of technically good images for a basis to start with.
- Refinement - whittle down the set to a smaller group of good possibilities and then further refine till you are left with the very best images.
A lot of this creative editing process is down to personal taste which is where maybe I lack a little confidence in my own ability as a photographer. I need to be more decisive when it comes to my own work about what makes the final cut and what doesn't.
- Process the final selects. I have both Nikon's software and Lightroom for this.
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