Editing Without Ego: How to Cull and Curate Your Own Work

A key part of any photographer’s arsenal is their ability to edit. While some like to make drastic adjustments to their work, others like to keep it to a minimum. But to reach the editing stage, you must first decide which of your photos are ‘editing worthy’, and that can also be one of the most challenging parts of the process.

After all, many of us will be familiar with the struggle of having to choose between several hundred of our shots, trying to find the one that stands out the most. Furthermore, you also have to consider which of those shots complement each other best, and this is particularly the case if you want them to form part of a coherent sequence.

In short, developing an eye for this level of artistic curation is certainly not an overnight process, but it does come with just the right amount of time and practice. The question is – how can you decide which parts of your work best represent your photographic style, and how can you find the images that say the most?

Separate Shooting from Judging

No matter how skilled a photographer may be, there is not a single one that gets the shot they want every time, all the time. Mistakes can and often do happen – whether these be overexposed or blurry shots with a grainy texture, it’s all too common to experience setbacks when reviewing your photos.

Editing acts as a chance to correct these areas, but first you need to really consider which of your shots deserve to be saved. When faced with hundreds of pictures to cull, the best thing you can do is try to avoid looking for imperfections that may not even be there.

Shooting is its own process, and only by reviewing our photos can we decide which of them are worth saving. With so many photos to choose from, break each of them down into smaller batches. You can separate them by looking at criteria like lighting, the time of day they were taken and the overall atmosphere they give off.

Once you have organised them into these subsections, you can start to make the case for culling some of them. When doing so, make sure that you do not try to complete all of the batches in one day, as you will likely experience visual fatigue by viewing similar shots over and over.

This can dampen your overall impression of them and cause you to delete shots that may have been worth saving. If you really can’t decide, leave the images for a day or two and come back with a fresh pair of eyes to make the best judgements.

Criteria That Go Beyond Sharpness

Once you have narrowed down the images you want to keep, you can formally begin the editing process. When it comes to editing your own photography, there are several elements to consider. Think about what kind of atmosphere the photo already has and what adjustments you would make to enhance this.

With so many fancy features and AI-accelerated software, it is easy to go overboard when editing – but there are ways around this. For example, you can separate your photos into two different piles – ones that will require additional enhancements such as sharpening and lighting improvements, and ones that require minimal input on your end. 

The latter will often give you the best results, as ideally, you want to be able to capture shots that are compelling on their own, where editing plays a much smaller role. However, keep in mind that photographic editing is still very important as it can often be the definitive tool in allowing you to recreate the vision you experienced when shooting, which is something that can be quite the task to achieve on its own.

Remember – while the settings on your camera are equally important in producing memorable shots, editing is the tool that can transform your photos into a compelling sequence.

Building a Narrative or Theme from the Keepers

Now that you have edited all of your images, it is time to think about how you can put them together. Depending on how many images you have, you may find that some work better as a pair, or that some work better as part of a sequence.

Certain consecutive shots may tell a story when framed together. For example, think of a cat chasing away a flock of birds, or a dog running to fetch a ball across a field. In a scenario like this, you should consider the importance of an anchor shot.

The anchor shot is the image that immediately pulls in your viewer and sets the tone for the remainder of the photos. A good anchor shot will tell your viewer where and when your photos take place.

Getting Feedback Without Losing Your Mind

It’s no secret that criticism and general feedback can be a tricky area to navigate, more so when you are on the receiving end, but that doesn’t mean it should be dismissed. Even some of the most commercially successful photographers have projects that they look back on critically, wishing that they had gone with a different lens or camera.

It’s simply part of the learning process, and remember that photography is a subjective medium, so some viewers will look at your work more fondly than others. Furthermore, their opinions on whether your photos feel ‘compelling’ or ‘boring’ are usually quite varied.

So, try to direct your focus to feedback that is more about your technical execution – elements like composition, lighting and exposure, for example. With that in mind, how should you actually ask for critique? Well, avoid generic questions like ‘what do you think?’ as this will simply garner a generic response that won’t help you develop your skills.

Instead, ask more specific questions that relate to technical areas, such as ‘Does the theme come across effectively, or does it get lost in the frame? Does the lighting effectively guide your eye to certain parts of the image, or is it too bright altogether?’

In conclusion, it’s vital to remember that your work is effectively a training ground for your photography skills. Whether you are a professional shooter or a casual, every project you create and every photo you take serves as a key building block in your journey. Even the shots that you are less fond of are still a stepping stone to finding your overall style. The most important thing is that you apply the lessons learned to your next photoshoot.