I've mentioned before the difference between 5 star and 3 star rated photos. Basically 5 star is as good as we can get them and 3 star means there are some technical quality issues with the photo.

Today I added a series of hockey team photos, all of which are 3 star. I have down that because I want to get these photos out there and find out who these people are. And if someone does want to order a print of any of these 3 star photos, I will make sure they are retouched and cleaned up before they are printed.

Photographers commonly presented proof copies to their customers before they printed finished photos. These proofs allowed the customer to see what was in the photo, who had their eyes open, who was smiling and who was looking just right. The proofs were usually stamped with "proof only" across the photo to remind customers that they did not represent exactly what the photo would look like once it was "finished". The photographer would make developing adjustments, retouching and cropping to ensure the "finished" photo was as good as it could be. 

And that is how you should consider our 3 star images. Mostly they are proofs, indicative of the content, but not the quality.

600 down, 4400 to go...