Fresh Eyes to Old Photos

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Rodeo at Parker Ranch, Waimea, The Big Island of Hawaii [Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/1000]

Every once in a while, I like to go back through older photo shoots and look through them. I sometimes find photos I glanced over that are much better than I first noticed.

South Point, The Big Island of Hawaii
[Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/2500]

I use the software PhotoMechanic for my culling and reviewing of photos. 

I can make the photo large and also see all the information about the camera settings on the right of the image.

This is quite helpful for evaluating a photo. Why isn’t the image sharp? The shutter speed helps you see if it was fast enough to eliminate camera or subject motion.

I also like clicking on seeing the photo 1:1, so I can evaluate down to the pixels.

Charleston, SC, The Citadel, Recognition Weekend [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 Sport, Sigma TC-2001, ISO 2800, ƒ/8, 1/4000]

I am doing this with images I have already edited through Adobe Lightroom. If I think I could do a better job now than, say, when I first did the edit or that Lightroom now has tools that were not available when I first edited the photo, I may go back to the RAW image and work on it again.

The Citadel [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 Sport, Sigma TC-2001, ISO 3200, ƒ/8, 1/4000]

When you first edit a photograph, you are on a deadline—having the luxury of a lot more time to evaluate photos, I find that I seldom feel much different than I did at the time of the first edit.

White-tailed deer live throughout the Smokies but are most commonly seen in areas with open fields, such as Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley. Biologists estimate that more than 6,000 deer may live in the park. Deer populations can change quickly. Local overpopulation leads to widespread disease and starvation. Predation by coyotes, bears, and bobcats helps reduce threats associated with overpopulation. This deer was photographed in Cades Cove, part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Townsend, Tennessee, on June 22, 2006. [Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, Sigma 1.4X, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/100]

One thing I notice a great deal when I go back a few years or more is that the cameras have improved. In 2006 when I took this photo of the dear, I owned the Nikon D2X camera. This was a cropped 12-megapixel sensor with a usable ISO range of 100 to 800.

The California Honeydrops play at Terminal West in Atlanta, Georgia [Nikon D5, Nikkor 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 40000, ƒ/5.6, 1/200]

Just this Wednesday night, I was shooting at a music venue with my Nikon D5, a full sensor, and ISO 40000 to get this photo above. Basically, with the Nikon D2X, this photo wouldn’t have been possible.

The California Honeydrops play at Terminal West in Atlanta, Georgia [Nikon D5, Nikkor 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 22800, ƒ/5.6, 1/200]

Too often, when I look back at photos where I was hand holding the camera, the shutter speed wasn’t high enough to eliminate movement.

Red-tailed Hawk in our backyard is eating a squirrel. This one kept on screeching with another hawk nearby. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 Sport, Sigma TC-2001, ISO 1000, ƒ/8, 1/200]

While this is a very recent photo of the Hawk in our backyard, it is so sharp because it isn’t the shutter speed as much as I was on a tripod.

Stream near Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in the Great Smoky National Park located in Townsend, Tennessee, on June 22, 2006. [Nikon D2X, Nikkor 24-120mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 100, ƒ/22, 1/1.5]

I recommend you go back through your photos and not just look for great moments, but evaluate them for sharpness. If they are not sharp, then ask yourself, why not? Look at the camera data and see if you can learn from your older photos.

While shooting is a great way to improve your photos, learning to take the time and evaluate pictures for how to improve them next time technically can mean that when you do shoot again, you will not make those same mistakes due to not having the camera on the best setting.