Quality over Quantity: It’s OK to Delete Some Photos

Are you running out of storage on your phone or computer because of all your photos? Do you have thousands of photos of dinners that you enjoyed five years ago or sunset pictures that you never look at? It may be time to declutter your camera roll and make room for more images that will hold meaning for you. It’s time to delete some photos so you can actually enjoy your memories. 

Don’t risk running out of storage space at your kid’s concert, sporting event, or vacation – clear out your photos today. 

Why Delete?

1. By deleting the photos you don’t need, you will be making room for the memories that mean the most.
2. Digital clutter can weigh you down; deleting old photos can feel liberating 
3. Quality over quantity – not every photo is a great one and that’s okay!
4. If your digital photos are organized, you may be more likely to share these memories with family and friends!
5. Freeing up storage space means that you will have a device with faster operating speeds.

As someone who enjoys taking pictures and savoring memories, I can understand the temptation to keep every photo that you have ever taken. It is essential to think about how these memories will be used in the future and whether or not they are truly important to you. 

When you are looking back at your pictures in 10 years, will you still want a dozen selfies or 10 group shots at the beach?

Clearing out your camera roll is something that can become extremely overwhelming, so it is vital to start small! Just like cleaning out your email, it doesn’t have to happen in one sitting. Depending on how many pictures you take on a regular basis, carve out some time once a week to sort through your digital photo albums. The time that you spend doing this does not need to be any more than 5 minutes. Start small and you will be shocked by how quickly you are able to sort through your images.

Photos to Delete:

• Screenshots – Whether you are on an iPhone or an Android, your screenshots should all be in one album and easy to gather together. If you are on your computer, these are typically .png files.
• Reference photos – Did you take pictures of five chairs to show your spouse, did you take a photo of a sign to remember to call someone, you get the idea – we take a lot of photos that don’t belong in our memories hub – I have a folder in memories hub for the ones I need to keep to reference later or I make a note in Notes (iPhone) or Google Keep (Android) 
• Blurry photos – enough said
• Landscapes – Unless you are going to make a gallery wall of landscapes, you probably only need to keep a few from your trip to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. 
• Unintentional – We all occasionally take a random photo of our foot or inside of our pocket 
• Bursts – pick one and let the rest go
• Almost duplicates – these may be the hardest. If it’s a group of people, and each one has something not right (eyes closed, funny face, hand moving), pick the most important person in the photo and choose the one they look best. For example, if it is your child’s birthday party and there are groups of kids, your child is the most important but if you are at the same party and you have three pictures of your child and their grandpa, grandpa because the most important because he is only in this one photo. 

Still feeling overwhelmed? Here are some things that can help.

• iPhone – GoodOnes – I LOVE this app – Check out my blog and use my link so they know I sent you
• Android – Slidebox – (I honestly haven’t tried it but it’s the only option I am aware of)
• PC – Duplicate Cleaner Pro – Beyond finding exact duplicates it can find similar photos by lowering the matching percentage
• Mac – Photo Sweeper – Again, lower the matching level and it should find similar but not exactly the same photos

Don’t want to deal with it all yourself? Set up a free 20-minute consultation so that I can learn more about your photo organizing needs.