quote:

I cull three times - the first culling session is only to separate in focus / out of focus and obvious trash shots

The second culling is a rating system - 1* for keeps, 3* for really like, 5* for like "I want to edit this now" - The ratio kept here is nice - for every 5* rated photo, I have maybe 100 1s, and 10ish 3s

Third culling is going through those 1s and 3s and double checked in case there's any 5*s I missed.

I don't delete any 1s unless there's a 3 or 5* in that sequence (like I'm shooting birds at 10 fps - lots of duplicative shots of a bird being completely still - be decisive and delete near duplicates)

Go through little chunks at a time, like a day at a time - let it breathe. Take your time. It's a long process but it should help quell any worries of destroying a keeper.

Another tip I have: If you're shooting specific spots/landmarks ideas - Go backwards through your cull. Often times your first few shots are safety shots - you naturally react and change composition while you work the scene, so it makes sense to maybe grab the 5* at the end of the series first - it'll be easier to delete those first few shots as you were first working the scene knowing you've already found your 5* rated photo that you like a lot.

Also Culling with a Tourbox or even a xbox Controller plugged into your computer also helps - it's a bit more egonomic and helps break up the hand hovering over your numpad or top row of keys.