Culling Old Images

If you are not proud of them, dump them.

If you do would that cause broken links?
You never know what a customer might like.

I don't like to delete stuff. If the technical quality is there, I'd leave it. If you can reedit it better, then replace it with a new version. Remember, your harshest critic is probably you.

Early stuff is always developmental. Why be ashamed of that? Just leave it to the back of the image pages where chronologically it belongs.

Dave

I'd never remove an image just because it's old; but I would remove an image that I'm not proud of -- even if it weren't old.

Two very different issues.

I am a believer in pruning image galleries. ... NOT excessively or continuously to the point of disabling any sort of span of stability, but reasonably, at certain milestones of self development.

The internet has a way of healing itself over time. I cannot be held hostage by my links forever.

In time, the links that you really want to be there will establish themselves again.

If you're not proud of them, then perhaps it is a good idea to remove them. I would want to feel proud of what people see, however I agree with the others, that you never know what someone else might like.

Go with your gut. Dump them.

I delete older stuff from time to time, but only images that don't sell. If they sell, even if I've outgrown them, who am I to argue with the buyer ;)

I do the same as Dave. If it ever sold, I leave it up. If it's been up for years without selling and I am not fond of it myself, I remove it. I leave some that I personally like even if they never sold in years. So if YOU don't like them in your portfolio, I say go with that!

if they can't print, remove them. if you thought they were nice but you could do better, fix them and re-advertise. removing things that are old - many of my things that sell are the older ones. if they are really bad though and they pull the rest of the work down, then remove it. keep in mind that someone might have been saving up all year to get it.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I have had that happen twice Mike. I removed an image and someone emailed me asking where it went. I did put it back up for them. But that has happened only twice in 5 years and I've culled quite a few.

the only ones i ever removed was one hdr that looked like the room was on fire. one where a guy said either give me a print or erase it. i think a few were too noisy to repair. i've fixed about 3 dozen of them or more. and i didn't upload batches of stuff when i first signed on.

my feeling is, when i upload things, i only upload my best work. naturally i get better over time, but as long as it was my best then it stays. if things bug me, like stuff i couldn't clone out then. or i like the image but it needs more story, its reworked. like i always like candles lit in pictures. but at the time i didn't know how to light them digitally, but now i do. so i go back when i see it and repair them.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

"I have had that happen twice Mike. I removed an image and someone emailed me asking where it went. I did put it back up for them. But that has happened only twice in 5 years and I've culled quite a few. "

It has only happened twice that they actually contacted you. How many times might it have happened where they simply couldn't find it and moved on to something else?

Anyway, I have actually deleted images that have sold. Two specifically that were garish HDRs with all of the cliché-ness of HDR. It was not what I wanted to convey with my art so away they went. That said, other work that doesn't exactly WOW me still stays so long as it does not detract from the image I try and present. I sell a LOT of things that have sat around a long time so I am always hesitant to delete. (Just this week someone bought one that has been here four years with a grand total of 135 views.)

John I looked through your whole port and while I would keep 99.7%. I would take a hard look again at the yellow squash and maybe look to shooting it again. BTW I just had a nice deal on a photo of pumpkins. Who would have thought.

JC said, "...I have actually deleted images that have sold. Two specifically that were garish HDRs with all of the cliché-ness of HDR. It was not what I wanted to convey with my art so away they went."

I did the exact same thing. It was the first image I ever sold here. I just did not like it anymore, and did not want it to represent me.

Valerie,
You nailed it.
The best way to wonder about removing an image would be to answer the following question:
"would I want this one image to represent me?"
sometimes, you only get one look from one viewer.

I might would go through and delete those that needed weeding out - but age has nothing to do with it being a good/worthwhile image or not.