Shooting, Culling, and Editing: A Deep Dive into 1732 Hockey Tournament Photos

Shooting, Culling, and Editing: A Deep Dive into 1732 Hockey Tournament Photos

Over the past weekend, I had the opportunity to photograph a hockey tournament where my niece played for the Puckhounds. Capturing the speed, intensity, and emotion of the games was both thrilling and exhausting. By the end of the tournament, I had shot a staggering 1,732 photos, and the real work had just begun—culling and editing.

The Culling Process: From 1732 to 246

With so many photos, I knew I had to be ruthless in narrowing them down. My process involved:

Initial Review: Quickly skimming through all images to delete outright misses—out-of-focus shots, obstructed views, or poorly composed images.

Second Pass: Looking for peak action moments—players battling for the puck, goal celebrations, intense facial expressions, and crisp, well-exposed shots.

Final Selection: Narrowing it down to a manageable number, ultimately selecting 246 photos that best told the story of the tournament.

Editing on a Chromebook with Snapseed

Editing sports photography on a Chromebook might not be the traditional choice, but it worked surprisingly well with Snapseed, a free and powerful mobile editing app. My workflow included:

Basic Adjustments: Tweaking exposure, contrast, and sharpness to enhance clarity.

Selective Edits: Using Snapseed’s “Selective” tool to brighten faces or add detail to jerseys and logos.

Cropping: Tightening compositions to keep the focus on the action.

Sharing on Flickr & the Response

After hours of culling and editing, I uploaded the final 246 photos to my Flickr account. The response was incredible—within two days, the images had racked up 8,546 views! It’s always rewarding to see the hockey community, families, and players engaging with the photos, commenting, and sharing their favorites.

Final Thoughts

Shooting a hockey tournament is a test of both endurance and technical skill. Managing 1,732 photos, culling them down to the best 246, and editing on a Chromebook might not be the traditional workflow, but it worked. It was a fantastic experience, and I’m already looking forward to the next event!