Being an editor can instantly improve your work

Photographer: Al Jurina

If I could hand over one tip on becoming a better photographer, that tip would be: edit your work. Now, many people confuse the word "edit" with the word "post-process". They are very different.

To edit, means to sort out the good and the bad. There is a very high price to pay for showing your not-that-great stuff. Sometimes this is what can make your work stand out. I have heard it said that the different between an amateur and a professional artist, is that a professional knows what NOT to show.

This tip can even go into the idea of getting work out there, but for now, I want to highlight the importance of this. Stop dumping your entire clump of work out there. Sure, sharing your photography is a good thing. But if you want to improve, you need to become a good self-critic. If you shoot 50 photos, chances are that you didn't shoot 50 outstanding photos. In my experience, if I shoot 50 photos, I would be happy to have more than 5 that I consider worthy of sharing. The only time this is not a consideration is when they are family photos or sentimental events. But even these are edited. Just some food for thought on this Monday.


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