As a new photographer I felt like I knew very little... and I was right! But despite what I was lacking, I was always so caught up in finishing the order and getting whatever number of pictures required "out the door" that often I left unedited some real gems. In fact I can find them in every single shoot that I have EVER done.
In expediting my post processing I actually cause this secret stash of photos. What happens is things like, I'll take several pictures of a similar pose and then pick one good one to edit or I'll not edit something because I know it takes a very detailed time consuming edit were other similar quality photos just need a little polish. While these are good approaches, upon going back those other "rejected" images I find they often have just as much merit as the one that was selected to take to the client. So my tip for the day is to at least once a year ( something good to do when things get slow) go through old shoots and rediscover all that awesome you just left on the table!!!
I find for me that it actually helps me feel less critical of myself. I guess in the heat of pushing orders out I get very critical with my work and in a way stop admiring the beauty in favor of being ruthless in putting my best foot forward to clients in the most efficient manner possible. Going back when there isn't a rush is like really smelling the proverbial roses.
I can admire my use of composition or lighting, edit or re edit without as much pressure, experiment with new post processing techniques without worrying about what the client might think, finally delete images that just aren't worth the disk space and see trends in my work. In fact, sometimes I feel like some of my earlier work was actually better, maybe I wasn't as encumbered with technique or maybe despite my lack of confidence I trusted "my eye" more. It helps me grow into a better artist who thinks more deeply about my work and how it reflects me and gives me goals and direction in the future.
Anyway, that's my tip for this week... go dig through the archives (Oh please tell me you have everything backed up!!!! In like triplicate!!!! That's a whole other blog post!!!) You never know what gems are just lying around taking up space :)
So here are a couple of my old/new edits
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