How does a photography show juror narrow down 220 photos to about 70 to be included in the show?

If you are Everett Adelman, this year’s juror for the Suffolk Museum’s 26th annual Juried Photography Exhibit, you start by looking at everything three times before you start eliminating photos.

“I try to get a sense of the photographers,” said Adelman, a professor of art and curator at the Lynch Collection of Outsider Art and Mims Gallery at North Carolina Wesleyan College. “I try very hard to include something from everybody, but I don’t think it will be possible with all the work.”

After examining all the photos, which are in frames and lined up along the walls at the Suffolk Museum, Adelman begins turning photos around to face the wall. These are the shots that won’t make it into the show.

“It’s a difficult process,” Adelman said. “It’s a wonderful selection of very good photographs.”

He considers all aspects of the photograph — interest, composition, use of color or gray tones, organization and more — when choosing the photos that will be included in the show.

After turning about 150 photos, Adelman has enough to fit onto the walls of the museum. He then wields a pile of pink Post-It Notes, sticking one to each photo in the award-winner short list.

As a final step, Adelman carefully chooses several award winners and writes the names of the photographer and the photo on a form. He then hands it to Nancy Kinzinger, coordinator of the Suffolk Museum and of the photography show.

“There are a lot of engaging photographs,” Adelman said. “They range from very nave to very sophisticated. Some of the subjects are very down and gritty, and some are ethereal and otherworldly, and everything in between.”

The photography exhibit will open with a reception Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The exhibit runs through April 16. Most photos will be available for sale. The Suffolk Museum, 118 Bosley Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.