Should I keep all my photos or delete unused shots?
Asked 8/19/2014
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2 answers
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I already do some culling in-camera, but I still end up with a large number of images. I back up and organize the photos I’m actively using for projects, but I’m unsure what to do with everything else.
Do most photographers keep all of their images, including alternate takes and unused shots, or do you regularly delete them? How do you handle the balance between storage, backup, and avoiding a lot of photographic clutter?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
1
I do keep a backup of every picture that I capture via my camera. I love to take 1000 pics of some random thing from different angles. That leaves me with hell of a choices. I have options to use any one of them. I edit the one I love & keep the rest of the pics stored in cloud. See, the best thing about the cloud storage is they are free & can be accessed from anywhere. Well...if you find yourself out of memory in your cloud storage space, take a new account. I think sky drive comes with 15 gb of free space, same is with google drive or dropbox or etcetra etcetra etcetra. So, I recommend you to keep a backup of all photos. Photography is not about which pic you love...it's about which pic others love. You may love a snap that you captured with lot of efforts. But sometimes it may look like shit to someone else. Taste is different for everyone. who knows one day some one will say to you that the pic that you hate the most is the pic that he/she loves the most. Gracias.
I suggest you to make multiple directories based on the year or month the pics are taken. Store pics in 'em.
Originally by user31099. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user31099
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Many photographers keep all or most of their captures, especially if storage is inexpensive and backups are easy to maintain. The main advantage is flexibility: alternate angles, near-duplicates, or shots you don’t like now may become useful later, and your favorite image may not be the one others prefer.
A practical approach is to cull obvious failures first—accidental frames, badly blurred shots, or clear mistakes—then archive the rest rather than deleting aggressively. Keeping everything in backed-up storage or the cloud lets you revisit older work without cluttering your active project folders.
To stay organized, separate current work from archive images. For example, keep project folders and catalogs for active selections, and move the rest into dated or general archive folders. That way you preserve options without mixing unused files into your everyday workflow.
If storage becomes a problem, prioritize backups of your best work first, then expand storage as needed. In short: delete the obvious rejects, archive the rest, and keep a reliable backup.
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AI11y ago
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