We get overwhelmed with all the digital photos we take with our digital cameras. When I got my first camera my intention was to delete as I go. Well, I was so busy taking pictures and having so much fun, that never happened. Then I had way too many pictures! Here are some tips to help with the storage of photos.
1. Upload! Upload the images from your camera as soon as possible. What happens to most people is they get home and get busy and the pictures sit on the camera. Then they take more pictures and the pattern repeats, sometimes until the memory card is full. Then there are so many pictures that it’s overwhelming. Every time you take pictures, upload them to your computer and delete them from your camera.
2. Sort! Once they are on your computer, sort the best from the rest as soon as you can. This can be a challenge and take a bit of time but it’s worth it in the long run. The software I use has a rating system and I use it for this purpose. I give the best a 4 star rating and don’t rate the others. Then I sort by rating and delete all those without a rating. When I’m ready to put them into photo albums, I do a second sort and give those to go into the album a 5 star rating.
3. Categorize! Create categories and sub-categories that will help you find your pictures when you need them. For example, create a category “Family” and then sub-categories for each member of your family. Create a category “Holidays” and sub-categories for each holiday you celebrate. Create them based on what you do and what you take pictures of.
A screen shot of my system
4. File! File your pictures into the folders by the sub-categories you created. If you have a good system, filing will be easy. What do you do if the picture matches more than one category? Put it in all folders that apply. Hopefully, you are using digital photo organizing software that will allow you to do that without duplicating the picture on your computer. Even better, if it allows you to cross-reference multiple folders, finding those pictures will be a breeze!
We take photos to help us remember the special times in our life and to share those memories with others. Now that you are sorting your digital photos, what will you do with them?
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