Do you ever delete?

[dmbpettit]

After all the editing was done for my first two weddings, I realized between the two I had about 130gb of photos. I should I delete the subpar shots?

Here is my workflow:

In Lightroom, are give anything worth a second look 1 start. I then go back through those and give anything worth a few edits and cropping 2 starts. I then do my final retouches and give those photos 3 stars. The 3 stars make up my final batch.

I won't ever do anything with photos that never received a star, should I toss those?

[tim]

You took 65GB of photos per wedding? That's the first place to start... think before you push the shutter button.

Yes, I delete photos. My workflow's a sticky thread in this forum, go take a look if you're interested.

[Mhappy]

After I get home from a wedding, the 1st thing I do is back them up and make a master copy of all images taken (this is just for me)

Then when I start to edit, I go through all the images and weed out the "bad" ones (eye's 1/2 shut, the less-nice shot if there's 2 pretty much the same, etc), those go into their own file of 'deletes' - just incase I need to take from one of those to fix something else in another shot.

[Gibbo]

WOW, 130GB for 2 weddings? Even using your 50d at it's highest resolution setting, that's a lot of images!

I have no experience of wedding photography, although i try to delete as little as poss when reviewing shots..

[dmbpettit]

At both weddings I had a second shooter. This in includes all the additional TIFs that are created when using Photoshop as an external editor for Lightroom, probably a couple hundred of those.

[picturecrazy]

I delete everything permanently that doesn't make the final cut.
Why keep garbage around?

[Peacefield]

I delete everything permanently that doesn't make the final cut.
Why keep garbage around?

Me, too. The RAW keepers along with their associated jpgs are backed up both to an external hard drive and DVD's. I keep an online gallery up for my clients for 3 months. If after that time, there have been no requests to adjust the processing on them (which I can interpret as I did a good job on PP the first time), there isn't really much reason to keep the RAW so I delete them from both my internal and external hard drives. I still have them on a few DVD's if I ever really need them, but I think I'm going to discontinue this practice as well.

[bnlearle]

I keep it all. I could end up changing that - but for now, I keep. I also shoot a similar amount as you did.

My stacks of 1TB HD's is ridiculous!

Bobby

[tim]

At both weddings I had a second shooter. This in includes all the additional TIFs that are created when using Photoshop as an external editor for Lightroom, probably a couple hundred of those.

You edited a couple of hundred in Photoshop? I edit perhaps 1% of my images in photoshop, the rest just in LR/ACR.

[dmbpettit]

No, I don't do heavy editing. I just use a automation that applies a Nik Silver Effects B&W effect.

[tim]

In that case i'd delete the tiffs and just keep the jpeg files afterwards.

[RDKirk]

I won't ever do anything with photos that never received a star, should I toss those?

Do you ever watch "Clean House?" When you know you're never going to do anything it, then it's clutter. Get rid of it.

[Bobster]

if it doesnt make the mark, its binned

[mdaniel]

I delete everything permanently that doesn't make the final cut. Why keep garbage around?

I tend to agree. I keep images I think could have potential around, but the images that are obviously junk (out of focus, etc) I immediately reject within Lightroom.

There is no sense in filling your disk with junk..

I haven't been shooting long, but I have noticed that the longer I shoot the more willing I am to part with my junk shots..

[AssassinJN]

+1 For getting rid of your tiffs, those things take up way too much space.

However I only delete oof and shots like that. You never know when the bride's cousin's date will turn out to be the next Justin Timberlake and that shot could be worth some money. Especially now that memory is so cheap and easy.

I suggest getting a hot swap external hdd case such as below.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066
Especially now that regular 1TB sata hard drives are only $80 a piece.

[mariusz]

I delete the shots that I am not happy with everything else is stored and I also do jpg dvd.