Thanks to the digital age, we are no longer constrained by hard copy photos, paying for photos that didn’t come out right, and changing film roles after every 24 or 36 pictures.  But what we are guilty of is taking too many redundant pictures; I am the first to admit that I do this.  Taking a 100 photos of the same pose with a micro change in movement is fine when you are in the moment but after you go through and find the right one or two, you should really delete the other 98.

Firstly it’s a complete drain on your phone and camera memory, it is also a form of clutter syndrome which would give you anxiety if you don’t “de-clutter” almost immediately.  Yes I know that slight movement may make a difference if your printing on a huge canvas for an exhibition gallery, but for day to day – do you really care if that finger is half a millimetre to the left than the other one?

Having these redundancies also overwhelm you when you want to go through your pictures in the future.  The sheer volume and draining variations of the same think make it a chore to go back and relive those memories.

So when you’re taking the pictures have a second to think that you  already took 3 or 4, you probably don’t need the 5^th or the 80 extra ones after.  And then after you take the photo quickly scan through the variations and pick 2-3 if you must and delete the rest right there and then.

But what happens if you looser delete the three and you don’t have the 4^th or 5^th to fall back on?  What if a bus crashes into your living room while you’re watching the Grammy’s at night?  What if you slip in the parking lot and bang you head on the car door edge?  Worst case scenarios are reasonable up to a point, that’s why you have 1, 2 or 3 – but if you lose all three you’re probably in a strange situation where all your files are disappearing at that point.  In which case a photo is the least of your problems.

For every three photos, have a quick look and if you got, it you got it!  Delete the photo redundancies, as soon as you can, and move on to the next beautiful life moment.