PHOTO EDITING TIPS

1) Editing is a virtue. Practice being decisive.

2) Less is more! Showing fewer images is usually better than showing more.

3) More is often too much. Leave your audience wanting more rather than wearing them out with too many. If in doubt refer to rule #2.

4) Think in terms of series with an overall consistent viewpoint to a given body of work rather than finding single stellar images.

5) A good single image may not fit in with a particular series of images.

6) Start strong and end strong.

7) The first photo is very important and sets the tone and anticipation for the rest.

8) The last photo is very important and is the visual impression you will leave them with.

9) If you have to make a choice between several similar images, remove the weakest ones first.

10) If you have to make a choice between three or more images just compare two at a time and pick the best of those two. Then compare it against the next image.

11) If there are two similar images in your portfolio, keep them next to each other to highlight the difference between them. Separating them will make it seem like you are trying to hide the fact that you have similar images in there.

12) Refresh yourself often. Get up and walk away, take a break. Stretch.

13) The best computer or editing accessory is a good chair, (like an ‘Aeron Chair’ by Herman Miller). In the long run they are worth every penny.

14) If an Aeron chair is too expensive, try using a balance ball (about $30 from yoga supply shops). A standing desktop may also be helpful.

15) Seek the opinion of others, but only those you trust and respect visually.

16) Your spouse or mother isn’t usually the best judge of photo quality, despite their overwhelmingly positive or negative opinions, so weigh their opinions accordingly.

17) Don’t make decisions by a vote. Your photography is not a democratic process nor is it a popularity contest.

18) Just because someone likes it doesn’t mean a photo is good and just because someone doesn’t like it doesn’t make it bad.

19) Weigh opinions of others but learn to trust your own instincts.

20) Learn to listen for your own inner voice to guide you. Weigh opinions of others but learn to develop trust in your own instincts.

©Douglas Beasley 2018