Favorite Images of 2021
With 2021 wrapping up, it's time to dig into a year of images and find your favorite ones.
This not only helps you figure out if your grew in skill and vision over the year, but it also forces you to look at what you are shooting and identify what about your work draws your personal attention.
With a month in the year still to go, I'm personally not 100% committed to to the project and won't be until the end of the year, but I've selected 32 shots from January through November to think about.
This is a good practice to get into and will help any photographer grow.
The way that I do this project is create two new collections in Lightroom. The first I call "Favorites 2021," and the second I name "Favorites 2021 Selects." The first is for all my favorite shots from 2021. The second if for one image from each month.
After those are created, I start with January images. Using the Library Filters, I filter by Metadata for January 2021 and then by Attributes. For attributes, I select greater than or equal to one star. As long as you rated your images when you imported them, you'll be able to do this step. See below for what it looks like in the catalog.
After the images are filtered, I selected them all and then put them in Survey View. Any that stand out as a favorite get added to my Favorites 2021 collection. Then I do that for all the months. Below is an example of what Survey View looks like for my January 2021 images. I knew right away which one I liked the best. The Coast Guard building shot with the full moon over it while bathed in the pink of the Belt of Venus was by far my favorite.
For me, it isn't about finding your best shots. It's about finding the images that you connect with the most. When you have a connection to an image because it impresses you in composition and style, it might be worth pursuing the style in that image a bit further with future work.
Sometimes, you may just have an emotional connection to the image, and it won't take you anywhere except to a memory. The following lighthouse image is like that for me, because I made a YouTube video called Shoot the Full Worm Moon about that morning. While I love the image, I don't think it will take me anywhere new in future work.
After adding all my favorite images from every month of the year, I'll go to the Favorites 2021 collection and then sort by month and Survey View to further refine my selection down to one image per month.
The below screenshot is from my favorite images in February 2021.
It's a tough choice, but it'll be either one of the left two. I'm thinking it'll probably be the one furthest left. There isn't anything new as far as composition, style or technical prowess, but everything came together in that image that represents my current style and skill.
March for me gets harder. Here are the three that I've narrowed it down to.
There are three choices here that all lead in different directions. The one on the right side is in my Northern Landscapes 2022 Calendar. Because it made the calendar, I tend to shy away from it in my favorites. I'm not sure why that is, but it is how I am. I love the center image, but it feels off balance to me. I really like the image on the left, because it represents something that I seldom do but enjoy and would like to do more of.
This is why I suggest getting a head start on this project. You need time to mull it over. When the new year comes, you'll find yourself without the time you wish you had. You want to be ready on New Year Day, so you can start the year with fresh ideas about your images.
If I was selecting today. It would be this collection.
Sunset on November 1: The Gales Gone Missing — www.youtube.com
I released a new vlog on YouTube last Sunday. I shot this early in November, but because of the amount of time it takes to put together a short video, I didn't get it done until the middle of the month. It's about shooting sunset.
Until Next Time
I hope this was helpful, and I hope you'll take the time to do this exercise. I'll see you again in two weeks.
