You did it right and made too many pictures. Which ones are good? Glad you asked.

Here’s the easiest way to sort your photos

Folders work for this, but star rating is easier and more flexible, so you’ll want an app that does that (such as Lightroom). This works equally well for five or 5000 pictures.

1. Pull up your pictures. Look at each full-screen and decide if it’s garbage. If it’s not, mark it one star (⭐️).
2. Show only the ⭐️s. Look at each a little more critically. If you still like it, mark it ⭐️⭐️.
3. Show only ⭐️⭐️s; show tough love. If you still like it, mark it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
4. Edit the ⭐️⭐️⭐️s.
5. Look at each again. If you like it more edited, mark it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I share only the 4s. Then I go back in three months. Whatever still does it for me gets marked ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. That’s my portfolio.

This is how I’ve sorted my photos for 11 years

Recently I shot 6,000 pictures for a personal project. In an hour I had 66 ⭐️s; after a few days of editing, I had my final 12. Your timing may vary, but it WILL be faster AND more reliable than spitballing.

This is a key ingredient in my secret sauce. Bon appétit.