Appreciating your photos

[aam1234]

Just did a major backup of the "old" external HD into a new one, and to test the new external I started checking folders randomly and I noticed something that I always see, and that is...

When you process photos you took recently (the same day or few days ago) you get a certain impression how they look (good/bad). But when you re-visit the same photos, say, a month or two later they look so much better.

My theory is, when you process photos you just took the original scene/place/event is still in your memory, but when you check them out later you have a fresh and somewhat neutral look at them.

Do you experience the same thing.

[gbutler]

I agree. I don't trust deleting in camera or during initial back-up. I've been happy with some that I nearly deleted during initial processing, and later thought some I initially favored were not really that pleasing. Perhaps I'm just starting to mmature a bit.

[Atom Kat]

YES! I usually hate what I do and am disappointed in my work. I look a few months, a year or two later and am usually quite surprised at how "not" crap it is. And I agree, never delete anything straight away. I'll go through and rate photos, go back through weeks later and change my mind completely. Safe way to go, but not kind on my hard drive.

[CliffB]

I find the same thing. For me, it is a matter of having the original plans for the shot fresh in mind. No shot ever turns out exactly the way you envision. When you first look at a shot, you are struck by all of the ways that photo differs from the image that you had in your mind when taking the shot. It is easy to get discouraged when the camera cannot "see" a scene the same way that your mind did. When you look at a shot months or years later, it is much easier to view the shot on its own merit, and not compare it to the idealized image that is no longer fresh in your thoughts.

[mie17]

yes. this is very true. in general i normally do not delete any photo i've taken since some photo that doesnt appeal to me looks good from someone else

[Photosus]

I also experience this very often. But I have also experienced the opposite recently.

A couple of days after completing a color-correction course I needed to go through my journalism archives to make a portfolio to present to a possible new customer. I spent several hours looking through ALL of the photoes I had taken in the past year, and could hardly find any that I thought were good enough to present. That surprised me, since I had the impression that I had some series that I was very proud of. All I could see were color casts and bad lighting.

[E-Man]

Ha! Yes, time and a different set of eye cause very different reactions. Time does cause me to appreciate some images more and other less.

What I find most amusing is when I used to shoot film (now over 5 years ago) I would always sort my images before putting them into personal albums. Invariably, the "discard" pile was larger than the pile of ones I really liked. Observers of the process would always inquire (while referring to the ones I intended to ditch), "What's wrong with those?" "Can I have them?"

[Eero Makela]

Very true , after time passes the memory of the shoot/picture fades and only the image remains and you may not recall the mode or the reason behind the shot. This is normal we discussed this at a photoshoot once. And also as time progresses we have different way of looking at what we photograph and maybe our method has changed etc.

[xxloverxx]

Definitely happens to me, which is why unless an image is totally ruined (blur, out of focus etc) I keep it. I rate the best images 5 stars upon import and edit those I'm sure are fit for upload, and the rest I just look back on later when I have an hour or 2 to kill. Often I find some that I actually like!
The way I do it is just to scroll through everything (in thumbnail view) at a moderate pace, anything that catches your eye, stop and consider it.

[Stephaniespix]

Originally Posted by xxloverxx

Definitely happens to me, which is why unless an image is totally ruined (blur, out of focus etc) I keep it. I rate the best images 5 stars upon import and edit those I'm sure are fit for upload, and the rest I just look back on later when I have an hour or 2 to kill. Often I find some that I actually like!
The way I do it is just to scroll through everything (in thumbnail view) at a moderate pace, anything that catches your eye, stop and consider it.

Good idea, depends on the day I guess

I don't like sorting/selecting, have to work on that.

[xxloverxx]

I hate sorting and selecting myself, which is why I scroll pretty quickly through the photos and only take those that catch my eye (believe me that's how a lot of photography contests work as well!)

As someone who really hates sorting, it's strange that in the duration of about 1.5 hours (an average dinner for us at a restaurant) I end up with about 200-250 photos of people around the table (mostly my grandparents.) Miraculously I still find time to eat. Out of maybe 500, only 10 might ever get uploaded, sometimes only 1 or 2.

I tend to tag my best photos the way they're edited, like 'Black & white' or 'film emulation' and 'upload'. I then set up smart albums such as 'B&W Upload' which shows photos tagged 'black and white' and 'upload'. I can then sit back and appreciate my work and see how it's improved. I still remember my 1st B&W photo, and how much my photography has improved since!

I think after you rate your photos, you have to keep them in an easy-to-find place so you can review them faster weeks later. I once made a mistake of shooting 1k photos a day for 5 days, a year later and I still haven't sorted through every photo in a detailed manner.

[happyfeet]

Yes I always have the same feeling perhaps its because some time gives me more perspective on how photos should look like. So after a week and went back to my files, I appreciate them more.