01: Culling
I normally wouldn't use a snobby photographer term to people who don't know them, but there isn't a better word to use in this situation! It's the process of swiping through your photos and figuring out which ones are keepers, and which ones you don't care about! The blurry, the 3rd-15th of the same thing, and the memes will all GO!
What is culling?
introduction to culling
date range overview
In our case, we're working through your family yearbook iphone album, so pick 365 days! It doesn't matter where you start, just plan for it to be the same for the long haul if possible. You could go by the school year, the calendar year, or even by your baby's birthday. For me I find the calendar year is the most OCD-oriented :) Scroll back in your camera roll to that date to get started!
pick a time frame
swiping overview
Start on that first picture of the year, and QUICKLY swipe through. When a photo catches your eye and makes you pause, for a cute reason, a funny reason, or a sweet reason... click the heart button and "favorite" the photo. If you have any sort of reaction to it, you should keep it! Try to stick to a certain number (that's appropriate for you) per day that you favorite; 5-10% if you take a lot of photos is a great rule.
GET YOUR SWIPE ON!
If you can't tell what it is? Don't favorite. If it's blurry? Don't favorite. If it's a meme? Yeah... you can google that if you need it again. Don't favorite it. Screenshots could be favorited if it's something you want to have it on your phone for reference. Whatever isn't "hearted" will eventually be deleted - so I err on the side of the heart button.
BUT HOW DO I NARROW IT DOWN?
I promise,, IT'S NOT! I suggest taking it in 3 month chunks if your aim is to cull a year's worth of photos. Set a goal, with calendar reminders on your phone, of one 3 month chunk per week. It'll take you a month, but it won't be stressful! Each week is 25% of the year, which (even for me with 60,000 photos in 2019 to sort through) is a reasonable amount of time. If you feel like it's not quite enough, or WAY too much, go ahead and adjust. Just make sure you keep it consistent for you - consistency is what will keep you on track!
