Explore Your Top Ten Photos of the Year

As photographers we click the shutter thousands of times each year. Some photos are good, most are bound for the trash and a select few are great. Have you examined your best-of-the-best photos from the past year? Have you searched for and chosen your top ten photos of the last year? If you haven’t you should!

Finding, discerning and sharing your most recent year's top 10 is important. Why? Relish your success. Quite often we forget what we saw and captured. You have some contest-worthy and wall-hanger photos in your collection waiting to be found. Search for that diamond in the rough. Also, it prepares you to improve and move forward in the coming year.

Yes, it’s a daunting task and heart wrenching to make tough choices. Which photo is in and which is even better than that. I know, your photos are like your children, they’re all perfect.

Why is this difficult endeavor worthwhile?

• It's a look back at the year; you relive the fun and successes you had with your camera
• It's a self-assessment of where you are creatively and technically
• It helps focus yourself and your skill for improvement in the coming year
• It helps you gather photos for a sizzle reel or brag book to share with family and friends
• It's a necessary step in gathering your Top 100 Photos of all time.

My Top 10 this year is culled from nearly two-dozen Photo Adventures, Camera Walkabouts with CPA students and my personal shoots.

How do I find the Top 10 photos?

• I list (from memory) the most memorable photos and moments of the year
• I search the folders of these shoots and evaluate which are the best
• I copy the best-of-the-best photos to a folder on my desktop (when you do this, make sure to be discerning)
• I carefully examine the images in the folder and eventually elevate the top 10 photos of the year into a Top 10 folder
• I make my edits and then ask a trusted friend or mentor for their opinion

How do I choose the Top 10?

This is the hardest part! Whittling down to THE TEN. I am searching for meaningful and thought-provoking photos that exude:

• Compositional perfection
• Stunning light
• Compelling story
• Viewer engagement with the photo

If those things are all present, the print on the wall will be amazing.