Organizing photos for a living, I’ve come across several types of photos that absolutely everyone has in their archives that they don’t need to keep. You may think you have to keep every photo ever taken, especially if you paid to have them developed, but some pictures just don’t add to your story.

Chuckle along with me as we take the tour of the types of photos that absolutely everyone has that can be thrown out.

1. Cityscapes. Been there. Done that.

2. Beach/water horizon shots. This picture could have come from every single seaside vacation you ever took. Or that I ever took. It might be universal, but it isn’t worth a spot in your album. Find the people and experiences from this trip, and highlight those instead.

3. Zoo animal photos. Maybe you’ve got some cute pictures of your kids at the zoo. Maybe your family is a zoo. But the long range, fuzzy, through the chain link fence photos of some random giraffe/tiger/gorilla don’t say anything about you. Besides, can you even see the animal in this photo?

Check out these ways to take zoo photos that you’ll want to keep in your collection forever. 

4. The back of the bride. There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures from that wedding that were full of personality, and that isn’t one of them.

5. Feet. Enough said.

We take pictures to tell our story. These faceless pictures don’t tell anything about who we were or who we loved. Go find the pictures that make you smile and celebrate those.

This is not an exhaustive list. I’m sure there will be a part two.

Do you have lots of these types of pictures to toss in your photo stash?