Organizing Digital Photos

Tips for Tuesday

Last week, we talked about organizing all those photos you took before the advent of digital cameras. You may still have a film camera, but most people are slowly turning to digital cameras for all their photo needs. The photos are easier to share with others, and can be edited before printing. And there's no negatives to worry about.

But we also seem to take a lot more photos because there aren't all those envelopes laying around taking up space. All we have is a little SD card. Or, perhaps a lot of SD cards. This is where organizing photos can become difficult.

Once you start taking pictures and storing them on a memory card, they just keep adding up, perhaps to the thousands if it's large storage and you use lower resolution. To keep track of them, you should download photos as soon as possible after taking them.

Create a folder on your computer for your photos. Create subfolders for all the different subjects, such as family members, special events, vacations, etc. Then as you download the photos, immediately drop them into those folders. Don't worry about editing them if you don't have the time. It's more important that they are easy to find when you need them.

After they are downloaded, back them up (automatically or manually) to an online storage site (such as Shutterfly, PhotoBucket or Flickr) or to an external hard drive. Once the backup is complete (giving you two copies of each photo), delete them from your memory card.

If you take a lot of photos, have different memory cards for different uses. For example, I have one memory card specifically for client photos. I use a second one for personal photos. If I am looking for a photo before I have a chance to download them, I know which memory card it's on.

After you have downloaded all your photos, open them, edit them, then sort them further into even more subfolders. For example, Vacation-->2012-->Spring Break Mexico, Summer Disney World etc. When you are ready to upload them to Facebook or other photo-sharing web sites, they will already be sorted and ready to go, all within one folder.

Organizing Print Photographs

Tips for Tuesday

While many of us have digital cameras, we still have a lot of photos from print days. And lots of negatives. But can we find the photo we want when we need it? Have you put all your photos into albums, or are they randomly dumped into boxes?

Is lack of time keeping you from organizing your photos? Does the thought of taking each photo and slipping it into an album overwhelm you? It shouldn't. There are ways to organize your photographs that don't require hours of your time. So how do you get there?

First, gather all your photos together. Sort them into broad categories, such as vacation, immediate family, holidays, extended family, special events, etc. Or, if you prefer, arrange them chronologically by year.

As you sort, toss any duplicates or blurry photos. If you have two of similar scenes, select the better one and toss the second. Don't feel you have to keep every photo, especially if you don't keep in touch with the people photo, or if the shot isn't flattering. Also, put some aside for friends, family if you think they would like a copy. You can also toss most of the negatives, since technology now allows us to scan photos for reprints. Keep only those you know for sure you will be enlarging or replicating, such as wedding photos. If you do keep your negatives, keep them in their sleeves, and store them flat.

Once they are sorted, identify them on the back with a photo safe pen. Then place them in archival safe photo boxes or albums. Boxes are quick sorts. They usually come with dividers so you can label your categories. Albums will take more time, and don't hold as many photos.

Finally, keep your boxes and albums in a cool, dry place. Humidity will damage the photos.

Remember, not taking care of your photos can possibly harm them, and they will be gone forever.

March 12 is Genealogy Day

March 12 is Genealogy Day

Organizing Your Family Photos--part 2

As stated last week, you will amass a large amount of photos while conducting your research. Here are some more helpful tips for storing them safely.

Archival products--There are products made specifically for storing photos. They are acid-free to prevent fading and wear. This includes plastic pages, boxes and even markers and stickers for scrapbook use. They are available at retailers such as The Container Store and online companies like Creative Memories. Before using anything for photos, verify that it is archival and acid-free.

Plastic pocket pages--These come in a variety of sizes to fit all your photo needs. Older photos are different sizes, depending on their age, so you may need a variety of pocket pages. Place only one photo (or two back-to-back) in each pocket. These pages can be kept in binders.
Keep negatives separate--Never store your negatives with your photos. This will not only keep your photos safe, it will give you a back-up should something happen to the photos. Negatives should be stored in a cool, dark place with low humidity.

Identify people/place-- When storing your photos, mark the names of any people in the photos, along with the place and date. Never write on the backs of the photos. Instead, purchase pocket pages that have a white strip specifically for documenting this information. Future generations will appreciate this.

Storage products--There are several ways to permanently store your photos. First, there are photo albums and plastic pocket pages. As mentioned above, they come in a variety of sizes so you can keep different sized photos in one album. Second--photo boxes. These are easier to use, as photos can be dropped into the box and separated with dividers. You can identify photos by writing on the dividers. However, they only accommodate photos up to 4"x6". Third, there are traditional scrapbooks. While these are beautiful works of art in themselves, they are also the most time-consuming. It can take hours to do just a few pages. Fourth, there are digitized scrapbooks which take digital photos of any size and arrange them to create bound books. No matter what you use, make sure all your products are acid-free.

Categorize your photos--Just like you categorize and separate your documents, do the same with your photos. Separate by event, family member, year, etc. Whatever works best for you.

Taking the time now to organize your photos and files will save you and your family hours of stress later.