Photographic Revolution: Organizing Your Photos~

As a scrapbooker, I take an abundance of photos to serve my hobby. But like everyone, I will not use nearly half of the photos that I take. I wanted to share some of my tips, as to how I keep my photos and image files under control.

Before they go to print:

1. In the days of digital photography, we have things pretty easy. We can take as many photos as our memory card allows. Back in the day, with the cost of film and processing it....we thought long and hard about every image.  So with that said, my first tip is not to upload ALL of the photos that you take to your computer. The useless, blurry blink shots will just take up space. You can do this by either deleting the duds right on your camera, or simply pick and choose when uploading.
2. Depending on what photo editing program you upload your photos into, your folders are probably categorized differently. I label my photos so that it will be easy to find specific photos at a later date. So generally I name my photos per season, for example "Winter 2014". If I have a specific event, where I take a great deal of photos, then I will have a sub folder inside named accordingly, separating those photos.
3. When it comes time to archive your photos to keep your photos safe over time, here are a couple of things that I do. First is, I burn those photos files to DVDs. Then as seen in the photo below, I write exactly what folders/photos are on that DVD. Then I have CD/DVD albums that I store them in. Another back-up that you could look into as almost insurance for your memories, is to invest in an external hard drive to store your photos. Then keep it in a separate place than the DVDs that you have burned.

Then we come to organizing your photos after they are printed. As a scrapbooker, I personally don't put photos directly into albums. They wait to be scrapbooked. I keep the majority of my photos in a photo case separated in envelopes that are labelled, much like the folders on my computer.

Any leftover photos get put into acid free photo boxes and are stored in a warm, dry place. I keep mine in the spare bedroom closet. Moisture can do a number on photographs, so storing them in the basement or the attic, is not a great idea for longevity.
Another step you could take before storing your extra photos would be to label the back of them, with Who, What, Where and When. That way future generations will be able to look at the back and have all the information that they need.

Check some of my other Photographic Revolution Tips:

Photographic Revolution #1- Getting Closer/Zoom in
Photographic Revolution #2- Keep an Eye on the Background
Photographic Revolution #3-Change Your Perspective
Photographic Revolution #4- Sunrise, Sunset
Photographic Revolution- Basic Camera Settings
Photographic Revolution- Blurry Photos

Thanks for stopping by!