Hundreds Of Images

I'm too stubborn to delete because the few that have sold would have fit that criteria. I just try to arrange what I think is best and move them forward in both galleries and images but after there is a lot that becomes a problem too. But what I found is that moving them around get bot hits if that means anything.

If I had deleted stuff I don't like or think was just terrible compared to the work I do now, I'd have missed out on some very nice sales. So I don't delete anything - unless it is completely unprintable.

I was told by 2 photography professionals/teachers to NEVER delete anything! Reason being I'm my own worse critic and was deleting images they wouldn't have. lol Nowadays I only delete images that I know are too bad to edit: too dark, too blown out, too blurry that I know that no software or my ability (at present or future) will ever recover. So I keep about 98% of my shots.

And I have over 50K images; very few edited, some will probably never be edited, but never know. Right now designing my websites and putting up profiles (like on here) then upload images is taking all my time. LOL

I don't delete, but I do tweak an image and upload it again.... or a different version from the first one. But I don't delete because usually what sells of mine makes me shake my head, but then again I posted it soo.....

I have deleted many that were not printable and several that were old and I thought not up to par. I will probably delete more as I go but I like yourself need to get busy and produce more so I will have enough for a good gallery. I also "correct" paintings and reload them, that is if they have not sold already.

I think that often we as artists are our own worst critics!

Delete perfectly good and printable images if you want to please yourself. If you want want to sell artwork then don't delete.

If I deleted or didn't upload things I wasn't crazy about sales would be around 30% lower.

"So anyway I wondered if anyone else does this...this compulsion to reexamine their work and find it lacking and then delete?"

All the time, Val. If I would not spend my own money to purchase and proudly display it, I would never expect others to do the same.

I very often rework images that I have from a number of years ago, and about 18 months ago had a massive cull resulting in the removal of about 300 images, but not sure that was a good idea now.

I think the problem with a large number of images is not being able to rotate them automatically which would bring selections from the back of the list to the front periodically, also for the external marketing it would probably be better to use different galleries on your FAA site and point people at the particular galleries externally rather than them landing on a mass of uncategorized images.

Eventually as time progresses on FAA, it would be nice to see a better search and indexing service for the artwork on FAA, and also more definitive categories.

Like many of the others here I go through my work periodically and rework pieces and delete things that make me wonder “what was I thinking.” But a while back I was going through a period of inconsolable self-doubt when my husband emailed me this quote: “Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. - Andy Warhol.” It is now my mantra.

Nope.

I don't upload anything unless I'm completely in love with it. At that point, it's ready for public consumption and goes on the market for life. (Of course, I have a ton of work that will never see the light of day -- I don't fall in love that easily!)

I might tweak and replace -- but never anything that's already sold.

Yes, Val -- I think you're shooting yourself in the foot. ;-)

if i uploaded a good job the first time there is no reason to erase later. however due to printing i may bring up a piece clean it up, and if it seems dull, i'll brighten it up, repair things i didn't see, etc. i try not to remove things just because i don't like them - those are the ones that eventually sell. just make things to the best of your ability, and just keep making more.

---Mike Savad

I've reworked and uploaded a newer version of an image many times (and have a few more sitting at the top of my to do list due to concerns about excessive noise and print rejections), but very rarely will I delete anything that's made it onto FAA. That being said, I have thousands upon thousands of images that will never see the light of day, some of which I haven't even viewed myself (two years of hand and arm issues have significantly slowed down and at times totally stopped my workflow).

I do what Frank does...when I review my images and find ones I am not satisfied with, I usually rework them, then upload the revision to replace the old one. Every now and then I will delete one totally, but more often revise them.

Val - " compelled ... I can't seem to help myself ".

Compulsion - have you attached this behavior to any type of stressful occurring events ?

I have this odd habit when I am under duress ( relatives illness hospital...) to cut my hair. I immediately come home from the hospital & hit the scissors. Weird.


You're purging, & it is providing some form of relief - but I don't think you are doing it because they are "not good enough"

You're striving to hit 200 - yet you keep yourself short of that mark . Change you imaginary number to 300. Lol. & give yourself a break.

I never delete a perfectly good image from my computer I try and delete as little as possible even if it is not usable. Deleting images or throwing them out is a form of self rejection disguised as making room.
Remember you have a special talent and your worst is better then the best of many here. Take down if you wish but never delete a finished work.

Wow thank you all so much!!! I love all your answers and will work at stopping this behavior.

@ Nadalyn ...this says a lot “Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. - Andy Warhol.” I might have to paste that up on the wall!

I think that might be very good advise for us deleters ...oh that's not a word!

@ Janine I have done the hair thing too! The awful hair cuts I have given myself! I finally broke myself of that bad habit so maybe I can with this too :)

@ Michael...300 IMAGES!!! Oh my Gosh! Yup I think you have to stop too!

I guess we are our own worst critics...makes me think the stuff we like the least we should put in the front of our galleries.

I often trim back when I feel that I have moved on from a particular image or style. There are images from my past that I just don't feel are all that strong, and I don't want to show what I consider weaker images. While I am a harsh critic of my own work, I am also of the belief that I only want to show my best. As my tastes and skills evolve, I feel confident in deleting what I deem to be weaker offerings. I also don't want to appear top heavy. I want buyers to get to know me, and to come back for more, to see what is new. I don't have an abundance of imagery here, but I am patient in how I choose to build my presence.

-YoPedro

Heh - I'm still aiming for my first 100 images (just uploaded #76 about 10 minutes ago). But, delete - not unless I detect an error. I hope you meant "take down" from the sales page - and not totally delete from existence.

My most recent sale (at another place that I am moving from) was of an image that I recently did another version and uploaded here. I don't like the "old" version but I will add it here as soon as I can find the original (I've got too many old storage devices - LOL). You never know what may strike a buyer's fancy. I figure it may not be my best inventory but it is inventory.

~ Bill
~ USPictures.com

Frank Casella hit the nail on the head ... I've had that happen too ...

He said: "I don't delete, but I do tweak an image and upload it again.... or a different version from the first one. But I don't delete because usually what sells of mine makes me shake my head, but then again I posted it soo....."

I also go back and tweak and re-upload ... I really appreciate the ability to do that here. Sometimes if the new version is drastically different, I'll stick it in as a totally new posting. I feel like what I've uploaded in the past had good bones to begin with, so as time goes by and I get a few more tricks up my sleeves, they deserve a little more love, too.

So ... no ... I don't delete stuff.

I have a lot of early work on here and have been tempted to delete it, but haven't . I think deleting just awful stuff can be good but it also can be a sign of insecurity or lacking confidence in ones self. As you grow and move forward your eye might change it doesn't mean your previous work is bad or off it just means you moved on or had a growth spurt as I call it, it's like touching up work from 10 years ago to match your eye now. I don't think it should be done since art is always a path and why revisit the past when you can create new awesome stuff to add to the past ones. It also tells a story of an artist from beginning to now. Just a thought :)

@ Leah - "It also tells a story of an artist from beginning to now. Just a thought. :)"

I like that thought.

~ Bill
~ USPictures.com

Painters don't create enough stuff to delete things. Actually, paintings never become things in the digital world way too often for painters. I think artist tend to never be satisfied in general.

And it's difficult to step away from your perspective and interpretation (especially during the creation process) and see other's views of your work.

Paintings can be very mysterious and have personalities. Some are just hard to get to know, some aren't worth knowing.

So for me than I tend to grow over time more approving of certain pieces, even if at one time I had even questioned being worth digitizing it. So I do revisit these old (or un-favored) works with my own new appreciation and perspective to re-describe and keyword etc. Even occasionally to rework.

I'm still too dismissive of old stuff. I started paint really young on cardboard boxtops that have survived and surfaced recently from my mom's estate. Had them laying around the gallery and chance person wanted prints made up, since I wouldn't sell the originals. My thinking is they're made by a 5 year old, but ok. - lol.

Simply because of the time that goes into our pieces, painters are reluctant to ever delete anything. And generally are too close and involved in the piece to be objective or innovative enough if stuck to act so rashly. Our advantage is that technically if we can figure out what's bothering us than it's fixable. We don't have to have the right light, subjects assembled, equipment, etc. No piece is ever beyond savage, even if it's a re-prime. So deleting on FAA is rare and isn't our problem. Our problem is ever being satisfied enough with something where we post it. At least for me.

--mary ellen anderson

Thanks Bill, it's true unless we paint over are old ones since we are unhappy with them or delete them as of here lol, which I haven't done yet, though I am tempted :)

I have had sales of things on here I thought would never sell. I have not sold things I was sure would sell. So, once it's here, it's here. Unless I am required to delete it for some reason, I won't.

I was in an arts and crafts show with a friend of mine a few years back, and I decided to include art of mine that I didn't really like because I needed to fill the space. In the end the work that I didn't really like and almost threw out was the only art I sold! So, you may not like it but someone else might.

As you move on with your work, especially with digital works, you have better facility with new hardware and software to create a better finished image and also at a higher resolution. As an example some of my early cad sculptures used to take my 4gb dual core system to the max, so was limited with the resolution and lighting I could use, now with my 32gb 8 core on a 64 bit system I can produce far better versions and even now I can almost max out my system.

I think the part that makes a difference is the content or idea's in the early works that you lose out on by removing them, so the refinement of them is my preference although I went drastically overboard.

By creating lots of galleries, you have a better chance of people viewing the parts of your work that you are trying to push, by promoting that particular gallery externally from FAA.

Some of my work starts off with the idea of color matched sets, but once I put one up I am very reluctant to put other versions of the same as it looks like meaningless replication. I think a color matched area on FAA should exist, which would be more suitable for the interior designer buyers that does have the same image content but in various colors.

An addition to my previous post, I think the gallery methodology is better than all the images grouped together, although if the main image section had one image from each gallery, then you would have a brief overall of the content of the galleries and know that if an image appealed to you, you could click on it and be taken to the gallery with similar content.

It is because I am confident that I am able to delete work I no longer wish to display. It may sell, but I no longer wish to make that particular image available. I'm not all that concerned with demonstrating how I have grown, nor do I wish to show prospective buyers what I used to do. I wish only to show my what I currently believe is my best work, and once I feel an image no longer enhances my portfolio, I let it go.

-YoPedro

Wow it does seem that the majority of us really are our own worst critics! I took another look at all my stuff...which isn't that hard to do and did delete one piece that bothered me. But the uploaded two that have been hanging around in my computer for some time. What is funny is the one piece that was in my computer for over a year...and I couldn't decide about was one that got more comments and likes on my FB than any of the others.

@ Lois and Frank it seems you guy did "hit the nail on the head" there is just no telling what might sell.

@ Bill I hate to say it but many pieces I did delete from existence...not all but many....sort of like when I painted on canvas and would just paint over an existing piece...deleted.

@Leah I like that: ." It also tells a story of an artist from beginning to now. Just a thought :)" I like that thought too...I have always liked to see the early works of other artists so why be so critical of our own?

I have deleted but only a few. Most I try to be careful that I feel they represent the work I want to have here. One, I would like to delete cause it really needs a better photo, is the highest viewed one so far. How that happens I will never know.

So what do you do, esp., if a highly viewed (probably mostly bots) art and you are thinking of deleting it?( ps: high views, but no sales!) Is it worth keeping on your art site?

Well thats the thing Mary, ya nevah know! So I will rework, but have only deleted two in the past year.

Hi All,

This past week, I put in a request for a feature that would allow for the randomization of images within a gallery or group. For a group, the group owner would be the one who's allowed to randomize images within a group.

As for removing images, that's something that I'll do selectively from time-to-time. That also doesn't mean that the removed image will not be displayed again.


Peter
Peter-Tkacz @ Artist Web Sites DOT COM

Well I deleted another image today and started to rework it and then decided no matter what I did I wouldn't like it....But I did return a few I had earlier deleted to the mix. I almost deleted all the photography but thought I would wait awhile to look at that...there isn't that much and doubtfully anyone would want it anyway.

@ Peter I like that work "selectively" Lol ...would probably have topped 500 images if I had used that train of thought earlier.

@ Mary If it is getting high views why not leave it? As other have said there is just no telling what people want or will by. Ther is another thread about high views and no sales...something like 75000 views and no sale...makes no sense.

When I first started here I deleted stuff if it got no view in the first day...thinking it must be awful...some maybe were but then again as I think Frank said...I added it...