Photo selection & quality
The selection calls that are not a quality judgement at all — the group shot, the unflattering one, the ex-partner, the person who asked not to be in it.
- Choosing Between Two Similar PhotographsBurst mode leaves eleven near-identical frames and no way to pick. Five tests that settle it in seconds, in the order they actually decide things.3 min read
- Group Photos, and Why They Are HardIn a group of eight, the odds of everyone looking good are against you. What to do about it, and why the group shot still has to be in the book.3 min read
- How Many Photographs Is Too ManyEvery photograph added makes every other one slightly less important. Where the line is for each format, and the arithmetic that shows you have crossed it.3 min read
- Photographs of an Ex-PartnerTen years of someone's life often has another person in most of it. When to edit them out, when not to, and why it is never your decision to make alone.3 min read
- Photographs of Other People's ChildrenA class deck, a team book, a birthday wall. The child cannot consent and the parent has not been asked, which makes this the one case worth asking about.3 min read
- Photographs of Someone Who Has DiedWhether to include them, and how many. The decision belongs to whoever receives the book, and the mistake is making it for them as a surprise.4 min read
- Photographs Where Someone Looks BadThe photograph you love is often the one they hate. Whose opinion wins depends on one thing — who the book is for — and that settles almost every case.3 min read
- Printing Screenshots and Chat ThreadsA screenshot is not a photograph and prints like one only sometimes. Which ones work, how to make text legible on paper, and what to do instead.3 min read
- Recovering Photographs From an Old PhoneThe handset in a drawer usually still has everything on it, and most people give up too early. What to try in order, and when a photograph is genuinely gone.3 min read
- Selfies in a Printed BookMost of the photographs of a couple over ten years are selfies, and most photo books quietly exclude them. Why that is a mistake, and how to place them.3 min read
- Sorting by Story Rather Than by DateChronological is the default and it is right about two-thirds of the time. How to tell which case you have, and what the alternative actually looks like.3 min read
- Using Blurry Photographs on PurposeA blurry photograph of something that happened beats a sharp one of nothing. When to keep it anyway, and the difference between blur and a bad file.3 min read
- What to Leave Out, DeliberatelyA book is an edit and a gap is not a lie. The five things worth removing on purpose, and the permission most people need before they can remove any of them.4 min read
- When Someone Does Not Want to Be In ItA refusal is different from disliking a photograph, and it is answered differently. What to do when somebody asks not to be included, and where the line is.3 min read