Selecting photos is tough!

A short while ago I read a small article written by an aspiring model where she expressed her frustration with photographers who don't let her pick the best photos for her portfolio and only give her what they think is best. It led me to some thinking... I always try to give model the widest selection possible, because I think she needs and has a right to have all those copies, but that list is always narrowed down a certain amount - all blurry photos, or bad expressions, or any other kind of a "Bad" mistake - they are all removed from their view without hesitation. I don't delete them, just in case I can use some parts of them - to replace bad looking parts in "good" photos, or what not...

But for a portfolio? For a book that possibly will be seen by people? By people who are going to ask - who took this photo? Does this photo represent my best efforts????

Sometimes it is hard even for me - to select the best image. And a model usually judges from her own perspective, being critical to only her own looks, and sometimes those criticisms are not even fair to herself (come on, we've all been there! :) I do it too)

So what would I take into a consideration when picking a best photo from the shooting session?

First I look at the expression and energy. Does image look empty to me? Expressionless? Having a pretty model in it isn't enough, there's got to be the vibe.

Then I check the quality of the selected photos and filter out all subtle mistakes that I haven't noticed during preview.

And then, usually after some time, I sit down and analyze - how's the flow going? Is the eye traveling in the right direction? Are the shapes helping the flow or throwing me around all over the place? Colors? What can be improved? Can I make those changes in post-production? And that's how I land on very few really good ones that will stand the test of time. Meaning - I will like them for years to come and they represent my skill the best.

This one is from a recent shoot with a lovely girl named Tracey. She was very sweet and easy to direct during the shoot - she trusted my judgment and followed my lead, landing with a pack of fantastic images which I'm still to go through to select THE BEST :).



As usual, I hope this was fun, and come back again!