The Agony & the Ecstasy
How I Chose Images for My 2024 Favs or For Any Other Portfolio
2025 is more than half-way over and I’m just getting around to talking about my favorite images from 2024. Well, I do have excuses. Recovering from a knee replacement done in mid-December of 2024 sidetracked me during the first part of this year. It was spring before I started reviewing images made in 2024 and thinking about goals for 2025. So, I got a late start. And the process took a while for a couple of good reasons. 2024 was a productive year so I had a lot of images to go through. But, because of my knee, I couldn’t sit at my computer for very long. Also, I was in no particular hurry. I was thoroughly enjoying pouring over my images and reliving many fun adventures.
As in previous years, I set a limit of 25 images, which is a still a lot for a portfolio, but not so much compared to how many images I had made in 2024. 25 is a very, very small percentage. That constraint forces a brutal selection process. I started with many thousands and initially selected many hundreds based on their technical quality (sharp, good color, etc.) and how I felt about each one. I selected the ones that produced a strong emotional reaction, i.e. gut feeling. Then I took a break and repeated the process, reducing the many hundreds to about 150 semifinalists. Then another break. Taking breaks is an important part of the process, otherwise your brain gets too full. Going from 150 to 25 proved difficult and the process slowed even more. I liked them all but couldn’t include them all. I needed to revisit my process.
As I thought about why this became difficult, I came to realize that the experiences that I had in making each of those 150 were all very memorable. I could remember what I was thinking and feeling as I made each of those photos. Those memories evoked strong feelings about the images. I realized that my initial selection of favorites was based more on the memory of my experiences of making the images and, perhaps, not necessarily on the merits of the image. So, to make my final selection, how I felt about the images per se needed to be more important than how I felt about the making of the images. So, I took another break. And, had a beer or two.
When I went back through the 150 semi-finalists, I reprioritized my selection criteria to focus as much as possible on how each image made me feel and tried not to think about the experience of making the images. The pace of choosing favorites then went much more quickly. I eliminated well over half of the semi-finalists because they were not quite strong enough when viewed as images and not experiences. Something was a bit off in each of them. The light wasn’t quite right, or the compositions were a bit weak. When viewed individually, they were quite good, but when compared to others, not quite good enough.
Images from my favs of 2023
To get down to the final 25, my criteria changed again. I had 30-40 really images that were really good, at least in my opinion (and that’s the one that matters in this case). Their individual merit wasn’t going to help me select the final 25. However, I could look at all 30-40 images at one time in Lightroom on my 32” monitor. This meant that I could see them as a portfolio and then make decisions to keep or toss based on how good each image looked as part of that portfolio. I quickly saw images that were somewhat repetitive and others that were clearly visual outliers, which were culled. The final 25 were selected based on how each one fit into the portfolio. Finally, I had achieved my objective.
I think that this process works for assembling any kind of portfolio. In this case, the portfolio is a collection of my favorite images made in 2024. But the process still applies to other types of portfolios, e.g., one made of images made in a particular place, or of a particular subject, or representing a particular theme such as calmness, sorrow, rebirth or whatever. So, start by deciding on the theme, topic, purpose or idea of the portfolio. This guides your choices for what to select for, and ultimately keep in, the portfolio. Those that remain at the end should be the ones most strongly aligned to the theme.
Then set a limit for the size of the portfolio, e.g. 12 images or maybe 20, or even 6. This constraint keeps you focused. Then make an initial selection of images based on their fit the portfolio’s idea. The decision to include an image, or not, should happen quickly, based on the strength of the feeling about the image and it’s fit to the idea. Your heart and gut are heavily involved. Don’t over think it. Next, take a break. Then move on to the semi-finals during which you cull any images that are not technically sound and that, with a second look, aren’t quite as strong as others. Then, take another break.
In the next step, you should forget how much fun you had making each image or your experience in making the image (there I was, a storm raging around me…). Focus only on how the image itself makes you feel and how it fits the portfolio’s idea. Once you’re down to a more manageable number, the decision criteria changes from the individual, stand-alone images to how the images hang together as a whole. Usually, this means eliminating images that are repetitive or seem to be outliers. This brings you to the final set of images in the portfolio. But wait a few days then force yourself to eliminate a few more, and perhaps revisit a few that you previously eliminated just to be sure. Now for the really hard part, sequencing them. But that is best left for another conversation.
To view the portfolio of my favorite images from 2024, click HERE.
Images from my favs if 2024
