The awesome thing about digital cameras is that you don’t waste any money on film. The scary thing about digital cameras is that you take hundreds of photos, which you either end up leaving on your memory card for ages or dumping onto your computer in batches (large or small) that may or may not have automatically named file folders and images.
These images may live their lives with such descriptive names such as IMG_0468 living in the folder Roll 101. Yes, this is a real photo on my computer. It’s a lovely photo of my dad’s prize car, but I’d never know that from the name. And try finding such a photo if you don’t have a super memory of which “roll” it was on. That’s why I’m ready to organize my photos. Here’s my plan, which I hope works for you as well.
Step 1. Dejunk. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it was the first step in organizing your printed photos as well. The sorting is different here in that you’ll be hitting the delete key instead of chucking a physical photo into the trash. I find the delete key easier to hit, so I’m excited about all the photos I won’t be keeping (the duplicates, the fuzzy ones, the bad hair ones, etc.).
Step 2. Create folders with recognizable names. I’m starting with folders for family, still life, projects, blog photos, and other folders that make sense for my purposes. You may have subfolders within each of these main folders (like a subfolder for each member of your family) depending on how many of this type of photo you have saved up. Or, you may find that sorting by date works better for you. Whatever you decide, go with it. Only you know how you want to use your photos.
Step 3. Move your image files into the appropriate folders. This may take some time initially if you haven’t had a system previously, but it will be nice when you know exactly where your photos are next time you’re looking for something specific.
Step 4. Maintain your system. However you organize your photos, make sure you maintain your system. Some people like to download and organize at specific times (such as once a month) while others prefer to do their organizing after each batch or outing. If you go the once a month route, it may take a little longer to get through all the photos. If you do a little after each shoot, you can do this pretty quickly since there won’t be as many photos each time.
While this system may take a little more time than simply downloading without renaming and moving files, you’ll find that you can find the photos you want, and you’ll never miss clicking through Roll 101 to find image IMG_0468.
Related Blogs:
Organizing Your Photos: Part One–Planning
Organizing Your Photos: Part Two–Sorting