It’s that time of year again. As we reach the end of another year (wow…doesn’t time fly), multiple news agencies, countless image libraries and a plethora of photographic organizations, all release their “Top Ten” or “Most Viewed” images of 2016. These succinct snapshots of the year effortlessly tell in just a number of powerful images the key events and stories from the past year. This year these collections are bound to be full of unpredicted major events like Brexit, Donald Trump becoming President and even perhaps Leicester City winning the English Premiership! But, how can you collate your own photographs to tell the narrative of your year?
Gazing over the perhaps thousands (or more) photographs sitting on your computer that you’ve shot over the last year may seem overwhelming. Even more daunting, may be the seemingly time-consuming task of whittling them down to compile and subsequently present your favourites to friends on social media, family or potential clients. However, by following a few simple steps, I believe it’s possible to curate your photographs into a succinct and strong portfolio that tells the story of your year without too much agonizing.
Although it may seem tedious, learning to cull your images and de clutter your image library is a crucial skill for any photographer. I often get asked how many photographs one should put in their ‘best of’ collection. There isn’t a hard, scientific answer but, I would advise that less is more and that quality usually trumps over quantity. Indeed, by striking a balance and removing any unwanted images, you can actually help your audience see the greater picture and convey your message with greater ease.
When compiling your best of 2016 collection you must firstly consider your audience – who are your photographs going to be shown to and what are they for? Are they for friends and family or are you an aspiring or current professional canvassing for jobs in the New Year? In the case of the former, you will want to present a more intimate, personal narrative where as in the latter you will want to showcase some of your best commercial work. It could also be a good idea to try to include some personal work within this portfolio so that you appear more interested and rounded.
One approach to compiling your favorite images from the year is to adopt a specific theme. For example, you could choose to focus your photographs on specific genres such as landscapes, portraits, still life, lifestyle, architectural. Alternatively, you could take a range from all these photographic genres to present a tapestry of eclectic imagery to show different things you enjoy shooting. Another idea is to consider what this past year has meant to you? In this case, it may help to make a list of your seminal 2016 moments: Milestones? Achievements? Family events? Holidays? Memorable Experiences? Also, note that these don’t all have to be happy occasions. We all know that life is full of up and downs – you may well have chosen to document these various highs and lows with your camera – all of these can be woven into the fabic of your 2016 in pictures.
A good tip that I frequently use when editing images is to first look at all of them small and then hone in on some selected images larger. By this I mean, firstly zoom out of your collection and view your photographs together at relatively small size. This is easily achievable in programs like Lightroom, which then has a flagged and star systems to easily help you identify and rank your favourite photos. The specifics of how to do this could make up a whole article in itself so more information on this can be found here. By viewing your images at smaller sizes, nuanced details become irrelevant but obvious photographic issues such as bad composition, perspective and framing all become obvious. Blatant similarities also become apparent once you see photographs relatively small next to one another. This means that you can get rid of near duplicates. With practice, you can learn to carry out this process relatively quickly and soon pick out your favourtie photographs whether they are centred on your family, pets, holidays, jobs or other themes.
You can then zoom in on your selected photographs to view them larger. This will highlight issues and flaws you won’t have seen when looking at the smaller thumbnails such as slight imperfections, poor focus and distracting clutter. For your ‘Best Of 2016’, perhaps, one image a month could work well or a selection of images for each season? Alternatively, you may want to choose one or two hero shots from trips you’ve been on or select different shots from special occasions you’ve experienced throughout the year? As mentioned, there is no exact science but, I want to provide you with suggestions to act as a creative stimulus whilst also helping to streamline your digital workflow.
It is also a good idea to ask a fellow photographer for advice. If you don’t know one, ask a friend who you think has a creative eye to take a look at your shots and give you a hand in narrowing things down; it’s often difficult to objectively curate your own work; a fresh pair of eyes can help pick out the shots that stand out which may have gone unnoticed by you staring at them repeatedly.
Another piece of advice is to take your time and review. Like with all aspects of photography, patience is vital – at first glance some images may immediately seem inconsequential but returning to them a few days later with a fresh pair of eyes will give you a new perspective…it is so easy to gloss over a ‘hero’ image with a rushed first edit. Indeed, editing your work is a skill in itself (many would argue almost as much as taking the original photograph) so don’t rush, use your intuition and with practice, you will hone your eye to develop your own style and appreciate what appeals and doesn’t appeal to your personal taste.
Whichever way you choose to compile your favourite photographs, hopefully your final selection will serve as inspiration to continue to explore and experiment with your photography in 2017. In turn, reviewing your final selection, should hopefully continue to drive your passion for photography and keep you snapping well into the New Year.
Looking at so many images you have taken over the last year at your computer may seem a daunting process, but there are some easy and simple tips that can help you efficiently and with less stress compile your favorites from 2016.
Using Lightroom’s ‘starred’ system easily helps identify favorite shots and de clutter your image library.
As mentioned, viewing thumbnails smaller, allows for obvious similarities between frames to easily be identified (see red shading). These duplicate frames can then be swiftly be removed thus speeding up your edit and the compiling of your favorite shots from the year.
