Newsletter - Editing vs Culling...

Hello,

For the past two years I have been a part of a community of documentary family photographers, and it has been nothing short of awesome.

But I do get confused sometimes.

See, the language a family photographer speaks is different from how photojournalists speak, which is where I first learned. Some of the words are just different, most I have learned to accept, but there is one exception: culling.

I see this word a lot. We do a session, we cull it down. We photograph a family, we cull out x amount of photographs. Every single time it send shivers down my spine. It reminds me of the Hunger Games movies, so when I hear my peers speak about culling out this and that in a family I see these people headed for the Culling.

Yeah, not a good visual.

Photojournalists use the word edit. I like it a lot more. I love words so much, so to illustrate my point, I will provide you with two definitions.

Culling: reduction of wild animal population by selective slaughter. Also: The action of sending an inferior or surplus farm animal to be slaughtered. (Oxford English Dictionary)

Edit: 1.Prepare (written material) for publication by correcting, condemning or otherwise modifying it. Or 2. be editor of (a newspaper or magazine). (Oxford English Dictionary) 

I prefer not to send any of my work to the slaughterhouse. Not even my worst work. I might not share it ever, but I won't murder my work. That sounds just awful for everyone involved.

You may say, well, I use edit for when I colour correctly my images. Well, you can just as easily use toning for that. Edit down the work, then tone it, then share.

That's perfectly fine. I just can't cull my work, it gives me the shivers.

All for now,

Kristine