The Importance of Being Ruthless

Last Saturday, I took 951 photos at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Today I set a goal to limit myself to five images to share with you. Only five? Holding myself to a higher standard is hard, y'all. You see, I really like most of the pictures I take because I really like the people in the pictures.

When I look back at some of my earlier photo albums, I cringe just a little. Not at the memories, but at some of the photos I deemed worthy of saving. It seems that the more I know about photography, the more I realize there is to learn.

Ever since I met Chuck, I have been in awe of his camera skills. He is constantly seeking out knowledge to improve his art. He reads books and articles, listens to podcasts and watches YouTube tutorials. He talks to other photographers, and asks lots of questions. 

Do you want to know one of the most important lessons I am learning from Chuck? The critical editing skill is deleting all of the mediocre shots. 

Delete, delete, delete.

Chuck and I talk about deleting. Often. I still struggle to delete pictures of people I love. Delete my husband? Our children? The grandbabies? Our good friends? I will admit; it's been a painful process for me. 

Chuck once teased, "Ya gotta be ruthless; I tell ya. Ruthless. There shall be no Ruth in this house." Hearing my meek-mannered, gentle husband talking about ruthlessness makes me smile. 

What if the picture is of one of my favorite humans, but it's just not that flattering? Delete.

What if I'm learning a new technique, and I almost nailed it, but not quite? Delete.

What if the image is one of our canine companions, but the lighting is all wrong, and no amount of editing makes it look pleasing to the eye? Delete.

But what if it's the only picture I took of my grandma with my older son before she died, and it is not tack-sharp? KEEP IT! Look, sometimes a photographer has to have a heart; there are some moments that need to be memorialized, even if they're not exactly frame-worthy. 

As time went on, and I watched my husband delete pictures I would have been proud to have taken, I learned that one reason Chuck's photo albums are full of powerful images is he deletes the borderline shots, the weaker images, and the ones that don't meet his criteria. He would rather post one fantastic photo from an event than ten mediocre ones. 

A young man asked me at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin if we share all the pictures we take. I laughed. No, not even close. I used to share many more than I do, but I am learning to be more selective. Patrons and cast members might be aware of photographers pointing their cameras at them, and they might hope to see those pictures on Facebook later, but through no fault of their own, the pictures might not make the photographer's cut. 

On any given faire day, we take close to 1,000 shots. When we look through the images the first go round, we eliminate half of them immediately. There are times when someone walked in front of our subject, or the settings were wrong, or when our subject blinked or pulled back their head, creating an unflattering extra chin or two; all of those get the axe. We really do try to show people at their best. 

Now it is a standing joke when we sit down at our computers to begin the daunting task of editing our photos after a full day of shooting. 

"Be ruthless. There's no room for Ruth. Get Ruth outta here."

This year I've been challenging myself to limit how many photos I share from an outing or an event. So not only am I deleting lots of pictures, I'm being more selective about which ones I share. Out of 400 pictures during a Coffee and Cameras morning with Susan, I will sometimes set a limit of 12, or I might allow myself a baker's dozen. 

After a weekend at the faire, and knowing I took close to 2,000 photos, I've been trying to limit myself to posting 50 shots from each day. It is challenging because I know how much time and energy our friends put into their costumes, and playing their part in extreme weather conditions. Their small reward sometimes is a nice portrait of themselves, doing what they do best. 

Huzzah for ruthlessness!

Even though I never thought I'd have a goal to be more ruthless, I am beginning to see when it comes to editing, that's just what I need to be: RUTHLESS.