Organising your Digital Photos

posted at 10:32:23
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
GTD/Productivity

Define your Structure.

Decide before you start how you want to structure the folders and files to put your photos in. Will each year be in its own folder? Will you organise the photos into folders by topics? Will you not bother with folders at all?

Once you have decided this, you can begin the process of sorting photos and moving them into the right folders. Here are a couple of tips to bear in mind when you're doing this

Rename files to something more appropriate rather than just using the generic names assigned by your camera.
Keep to the same naming system throughout, this'll speed up finding photos in the long run.
Append files names with the date created to assist in searching
Be ruthless, you don't have to keep everything, get rid of the photos you're not happy with. Remember you wouldn't stick all of your regular photos in an album.
As you're renaming/deleting files, why not do a bit of editing as well and get rid of that Red Eye
If you're using Windows XP, turn on the thumbnail option for the folders so you can see a preview of the photo at a glance.

Taking it Further

Whilst the "My Pictures Folder" in WindowsXP is quite handy for looking at a few images, if your collection grows then it may be worthwhile investing in some photo organising software. These allow you to add descriptions and tags to your images, allowing for easier searching and better filing. Below are some links for online Photo Albums and Image Organising software:

PictureIt! (Had to recommend this as I wrote it!) (requires ASP Hosting & Customisation) (This script runs this sites image gallery)
Flickr (Online - Free)
Picture Trail (Online – Free)
PhotoBucket (Online – Free)
My Photo Album (Online – Free)
Picasa (Windows Only - Free)
Photo shop Album (Windows Only)
iPhoto (Mac Only)
FxFoto (Windows Only - Free version)
Paint Shop Pro Photo Album (Windows Only)
Corel Photo Album 6 Windows Only)
Ulead Photo Album (Mac Version)