I've come to see that the process of photographing is more important to some than the photographs they derive. A possible rationale for gear acquisition syndrome. So filling up one's hard drive with digital image files may be a sign of accomplishment in that regard.
I don't necessarily think photographers shoot too much, maybe they don't cull enough.
I worked as a digital asset manager, cataloging image files for an agency. That informed me how to better catalog and retrieve my own photographs, it also made me think even more the value of every photograph I've taken.
The pandemic helped me work though my archive faster due to having more time to do it.
I take a look through the archive on a daily basis. Finding images I've not culled yet. That number of photographs that aren't culled is dwindling.
Hey Ken! Thanks for this. It’s really interesting to read other photographers’ approach, also about what happens AFTER the images are created and completed. My approach is to cull the images before I start working on them. What I end up is the list of “final” shots, the good ones so to say. The point is that, once they are processed and delivered, I just pick some of them to be shared on my social media in the future and the rest will just stay there unused on my drives. These are the ones that led me to this reflection. Somehow, they are shots which deserve to be kept, but not good enough to be shared. Which, while I’m writing, seems to be a nonsense…
Brooks Jensen, the publisher of Lenswork Magazine talked about it in one of his podcasts. He reminded us about the differences in what a fine art photographer would cull versus a commercial photographer. How fine art photographers would make a few exposures on a roll and cull those few. A commercial photographer could shoot dozens of rolls, then have to cull from them. The key difference from back in the days would be the culled photo(s) would end up as a print or as a set in a periodical.
I am not photographing because I care so much about filling my harddrive, but because I enjoy the process of photographing. So, to answer your question - no I am not photographing too much…
Hey Susanne! Yes, I see your point. I also do love taking images. But sometimes I feel like I’m creating something that gives me joy for the moment I’m into the process and then it becomes only a mass of useless occupied space that will never be “used” again.
Hey Teo,
I've come to see that the process of photographing is more important to some than the photographs they derive. A possible rationale for gear acquisition syndrome. So filling up one's hard drive with digital image files may be a sign of accomplishment in that regard.
I don't necessarily think photographers shoot too much, maybe they don't cull enough.
I worked as a digital asset manager, cataloging image files for an agency. That informed me how to better catalog and retrieve my own photographs, it also made me think even more the value of every photograph I've taken.
The pandemic helped me work though my archive faster due to having more time to do it.
I take a look through the archive on a daily basis. Finding images I've not culled yet. That number of photographs that aren't culled is dwindling.
Cheers!
Hey Ken! Thanks for this. It’s really interesting to read other photographers’ approach, also about what happens AFTER the images are created and completed. My approach is to cull the images before I start working on them. What I end up is the list of “final” shots, the good ones so to say. The point is that, once they are processed and delivered, I just pick some of them to be shared on my social media in the future and the rest will just stay there unused on my drives. These are the ones that led me to this reflection. Somehow, they are shots which deserve to be kept, but not good enough to be shared. Which, while I’m writing, seems to be a nonsense…
Brooks Jensen, the publisher of Lenswork Magazine talked about it in one of his podcasts. He reminded us about the differences in what a fine art photographer would cull versus a commercial photographer. How fine art photographers would make a few exposures on a roll and cull those few. A commercial photographer could shoot dozens of rolls, then have to cull from them. The key difference from back in the days would be the culled photo(s) would end up as a print or as a set in a periodical.
That’s an interesting point
Photographing too much........does not compute....!!
Ahahahah yeah, put it this way it makes sense 😜
I am not photographing because I care so much about filling my harddrive, but because I enjoy the process of photographing. So, to answer your question - no I am not photographing too much…
Hey Susanne! Yes, I see your point. I also do love taking images. But sometimes I feel like I’m creating something that gives me joy for the moment I’m into the process and then it becomes only a mass of useless occupied space that will never be “used” again.
Thank you Matteo for sharing your experience and these amazing photos!
Thanks a lot for reading, as always, my friend!