Simple Steps for Organizing Photos on Your Computer
Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:59AM EST
See Comments (6)
This may seem really simple, but sometimes, simple is best. So if simple's not your thing, skip this. But if your digital photos are a mish mash mess in a few huge file folders on your computer, you can start organizing them by arranging them in your operating system's files.
How? Follow these tips from Jay Savage on downloadsquad. (Thanks to Lifehacker for the link.) They're for the photos you may not want to tag and organize in a photo software program just yet or share on photo sites, such as Flickr. I've got lots of photos I don't necessarily want to edit, print, or share right away, but don't want to delete them, either.
There are five steps, starting with creating a meaningful label for a new folder within your "My Pictures" or "Photos" folder every time you download a new batch of photos from your camera. Second, create separate folders with more specific titles, such as pets, birthdays, summer, etc. Then create links (shortcuts in Windows) from photos in the main folders to the category folders, sort of your own tagging system. This will allow you to quickly sort through photos to decide which ones you want to send to your photo software.
Warning, many of Savage's readers disagreed, saying you may as well use a photo software program from the start, and many recommended Picasa. But Savage says he's not as thrilled with Picasa and his system is for organizing photos before deciding which you want in a photo software program for printing or sharing. Check it out and see what you think.
Related:
Organizing Photos: Organize Your Digital Image Library
Spring Cleaning for Photo Slobs
Archiving and Backing up Your Digital Photo Collection
Top 5 Posts
More About Miscellaneous
Comments on Simple Steps for Organizing Photos on Your Computer
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
2 Posted by tbhoerner@sbcglobal.net on Sat Mar 3, 2007 6:42PM EST Report Abuse
Consider using Creative Memories' Memory Manager 2.0 digital organization software. Learn more by going to their website.
-
3 Posted by paulmaxpayton on Sat Mar 3, 2007 7:13PM EST Report Abuse
I place photos I like in three places: (1) my hard drive, (2) a jump or thumb drive, (3) onto either a CD-ROM or DVD. All three places, to ensure redundancy. I like carrying a jump/thumb drive around my neck on a lanyard or on a keychain. In addition to pictures of my wife and stepdaughter, I also keep samples of my algorithmic art in a similar manner. It's like a portable softcopy art portfolio. Rule of thumb: You can never have too many backups, so long as you designate them carefully for future reference. You know what they say in dentistry about "only floss those teeth you wish to keep"? Well, the same principle works for backing up pictures.
-
4 Posted by jrivera64 on Sat Mar 3, 2007 7:23PM EST Report Abuse
The way I organize photos in my PC is by assigning a date to each folder and file. For instance, for our vacation to Arizona last October, I created a photo named "2006-10 Arizona Vacation". Then, using the scanner and camera wizard on Windows, I gave all the photos the "2006-10 Arizona Vacation" and the program then assigns the 001, 002, 003 ...etc. numbers to each one. I do this to all my photos and they are now neatly stored in folders that not only describe the event, they are also organized cronologically. Aloha.
-
5 Posted by mcuaderes on Sat Mar 3, 2007 8:29PM EST Report Abuse
better still, is not to wait till your memory card is full with pics that you can't decide which to share, throw or simply keep. i make folders and sub-folders in my notebook and if new pictures can't be classified under existing ones, create a new sub-folder, just like the old dewey-decimal system.
Post a Comment
Sponsored Links
Videos
Tech Close-Ups
The Soda Club is an $89 device that lets you make your own soda at home. No more carting cases or bo ...
Gadgets You Might Like
Also on Yahoo! Tech
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Posted by creatememoriessatx on Sat Mar 3, 2007 6:32PM EST Report Abuse
You should try Memory Manager 2 software from Creative Memories. It has a great sorting system - sort boxes - and you can tag a photo to be in multiple sort boxes at one time. It also has print track so you can see which ones you have printed. You can also "tell a story" about each photo in the "tell a story" box on the right side of the page. You can rank them, much like you can on Picasa if you want. This is a very user friendly software.