Revisiting a 10-Year Old Photo: How My Editing Evolved
In this video, we crack open the time capsule and revisit a photo I made over a decade ago. Back then, I thought this image was “done.” I liked the composition, I liked the mood — but my skills and my vision were still taking shape. Now, with years of practice, mistakes, and growth behind me, I look at the same image through a very different lens.
I’ll share the original and talk about what I see now — the things that feel overcooked, the moments where my storytelling fell short, and the areas that just don’t feel natural. Then I’ll share the fresh re-edit. This isn’t about chasing trends or flashy effects — it’s about shaping light, refining tone, and letting the scene breathe in a way that invites the viewer in. By the end, you’ll see a side-by-side of then and now — a visual record of how far a photographer can come when they focus on craft over shortcuts. It’s part reflection, part demonstration, and all about making an image feel authentic, stronger, and more compelling.
And this approach — shaping light and refining tone — is a big theme in my upcoming video course, coming mid-September. Watch for it, and be sure to join my mailing list for a special discount when it launches.
A Lightroom folder structure doesn't need to account for every date, location, subject, or shoot with another level of folders. Organizing photographs into dated folders is especially common, but unless dates are how you naturally look for your photographs, that extra structure may not be helping you. Too much structure can make a photo library harder to understand rather than easier.
I keep all of my photographs beneath one top-level folder, then use a relatively shallow hierarchy underneath it. Different types of photography can follow different organizational logic. The important thing is that the structure matches how you naturally think about and look for your photographs.