As we have seen in a previous blog post, The Cardinal Rule of Photography is “Never show anybody everything you shoot!”
One of the main reasons we photograph is to make photographs that our viewers will enjoy. Here are great ways to show your photographs that will impress, amaze, and astound your viewers.
1. Don’t take so many pictures. With digital cameras, we take so many pictures!
2. Edit in your camera. Go through your photos after every photo session.
3. Download into your computer and make a folder for every photo shoot or event. If you are on a trip and have taken a lot of pictures every day, make a folder for every day.
4. Make a “Best Photos” folder for every photo shoot, event, and trip. I have found it is so much easier to make a “Best Photos” folder than to delete down to a reasonable number of photos taken. This way you don’t have to throw away possible keepers you might want to have for later.
5. When showing your work, keep your numbers down. Always consider your audience and venue. If you are showing a colleague your trip photos at work, the 10 to 20 best might be appropriate. If you are having a sit-down computer screen or projector showing at home, 100 to 150 photos. However you show your photographs. You want to leave them impressed not bored, excited not asleep.
When you follow the Cardinal Rule of Photography and these five steps, your portfolio of photographs will be better and your viewers will be impressed by your skill. Slimming down you portfolio is simple and not always easy.