How to Narrow Down Your Favorite Photos From Your Session: Bellingham Portrait Photographer’s Tips

When It’s Time to Pick Your Favorites

Decide if you Want to Decide At All

It’s okay to hit the easy button every now and then. If you are having trouble or think you’ll have a really hard time deciding which photos to print and save digital copies of then you can absolutely delegate the task to me. Each one of my photo sessions includes ten digital photographs and a single 8×10 print and a photobook. If you want me to choose for you I am more than happy to do that for you. I can make the selections and deliver the final cut, or I can make the selections for you to review and approve or disapprove. I am here to help! It’s your call.

Now, if you don’t like surprises or leaving any decision making to someone else then here is what you can do to make the process easier on yourself.  

Get Started with a Favoriting Spree

After browsing your online gallery, start clicking the heart icon on every photo that you like and capture your attention. Make sure to include the whole family or your partner – whoever was a part of the photo session. This process can especially be fun for kids

Review Your Favorited Photo List 

Just like you browsed through the entire gallery, click through each photo in the favorite list one by one. If you feel you can live without a particular pose, facial expression or moment then re-click the heart icon to un-favorite the photo.

Count Your Favorite List

This is when it can get tricky if you have a lot of love for a lot of photos. At this point, you’ve made your initial selections and then you’ve also un-favorited some as well. Now I offer ten digitals as a part of my services. This is the smallest number to aim for but it isn’t necessarily a requirement. If after seeing how many photos you have favorited, you may find you do want to  make another investment and unlock the entire gallery to download. But digital photos are not ideal for viewing pleasure which brings me to my next point. 

Consider Digitals vs Prints

Favoriting ten photos is only important to get your digital downloads. And think about how you will most likely use your digitals: 1) To share on your social media and 2) To save as back-up files on your hard drive or in your own cloud folder. 

After a few days, you’ll probably never look at that social media post again unless the social media platform pop’s it up as a memory. But technology is always changing, that isn’t a super dependable way to enjoy your photos. 

And yes, maybe you will need to bring up a digital photo to re-print later for maybe a special occasion or to replace a lost printed photo. But what I really think is this: digital photos saved on hard drives or in the cloud will be stored away and forgotten. Not really enjoyed or utilized.

So I highly encourage you to print out your photos instead of purchasing the additional digital offer.

A single printed photo on your desk or wall can bring you so much more joy than 100 photos in a digital folder. 

Also remember, a photo book is a part of the deal! If there are just so many more than ten photos that you love, don’t forget I do include about 20-25 photos in the photobook. So even if you do not purchase anything extra you will have a copy of about 20-25 photos at the end of the day. 

Share With Your Friends and Family for Feedback

What I also love about my online galleries is that they are easy to share with your friends and your family. They can also make favorite lists and help curate a top pick’s list for you that maybe you will love. Or maybe not, and it’ll make you feel more confident in your own selections. 

Lastly, You Don’t Have to Rush

When you review your online gallery, it’s often an exciting experience and a lot of fun. After making your initial favorites it’s a good idea to sleep on it and take a second look tomorrow. 

Even as a professional photographer, I often find that my favorite photos from a photo session change after reviewing it a second and third time. 

So to Sum Up:

• Decide if you Want to Decide

  1. Favorite Away!

  2. Review Again and Un-Favorite 

  3. Count – Did you narrow it down?

  4. Think about Digital vs Print

  5. Share with Family and Friends

  6. Don’t Rush