PhotoCull
How to compare similar photos and keep the best one
You took six photos of the same moment and they all look fine. Choosing the best takes seconds with the right method, and a few minutes with the wrong one.
What to check, in this order
- Focus. Zoom on the eyes or the main subject. A blurry subject is disqualifying.
- Expressions. Eyes open, natural smiles, nobody mid-blink.
- Framing. Nothing cut off, a clean background, the horizon straight.
- Moment. If two shots are equal, keep the one that feels more alive.
Why side by side matters
Flipping between photos makes small differences hard to see. Seeing them next to each other at the same size makes the sharpest or best-framed one obvious. A computer screen shows up to six at once, where a phone shows one.
A faster routine
Group similar photos first, so you never hunt for them in the library. For each group, open the comparison, pick one and mark the others. You decide in seconds, not minutes.
Do it with PhotoCull
PhotoCull shows a badge on similar photos, opens up to six side by side and lets you mark the rest in one click. It works on an iPhone connected by USB or on any folder on your Mac or PC, offline, and it never modifies your originals.
On the phone itself, the TripSweep app suggests the best shot of each group using sharpness, Apple's aesthetic score and faces, and its “Keep 1 per group” button handles a whole category at once.
Keep, don't regret
When you are unsure, keep two. Deletions on an iPhone go through “Recently Deleted” for 30 days, so you can still change your mind.