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How to Organise Your Digital Photographs
Get tips for managing your digital photo library – on your own or with the help of a pro
Every day we snap more and more photos on our phones, cameras and other digital devices. Smiles may fill those images, but thinking about organising those digital photos probably doesn’t make you grin. In fact, you may be grimacing as you realise how many digital photos you have and the many different places they’re stored. But don’t fret – you aren’t alone. A messy collection of digital photos is a common issue that can be cleaned up like any other mess around the house. And there’s no time to start like the present. “If you don’t tackle this now, it won’t get better. It will only get worse,” says Sylvia Cuillo, professional photo organiser and owner of US company PhotosOrganized, which works remotely with clients all over the world. Here’s how to set up and maintain your digital photo library, keeping your memories safe and easily accessible.
Get expert help
This can be a DIY project, but you’ll need to gauge how much time you have to devote to the task, how quickly you want it done and how comfortable you are with technology.
Professional photo organisers can provide varying levels of service. They can help you get your photos in one location and start a backup system, remove duplicate images, create an organisational structure for your digital photo library, add keywords, tag faces, help you display your images and maintain your photos for you on a regular basis.
As the photos are digital, organisers can also log into your computer and work on your digital photo library from a remote location.
6 Steps to Organising Your Loose Photographs
This can be a DIY project, but you’ll need to gauge how much time you have to devote to the task, how quickly you want it done and how comfortable you are with technology.
Professional photo organisers can provide varying levels of service. They can help you get your photos in one location and start a backup system, remove duplicate images, create an organisational structure for your digital photo library, add keywords, tag faces, help you display your images and maintain your photos for you on a regular basis.
As the photos are digital, organisers can also log into your computer and work on your digital photo library from a remote location.
6 Steps to Organising Your Loose Photographs
Work out the cost
The cost varies depending on the level of organisation you want and the number of photos you have. For the DIYer, assuming that you already have a computer, you can organise your photos for about £120. This covers the cost of a cloud backup service and an external hard drive.
Professional photo organisation costs can range from £1,200 to over £8,000. Some photo organisers charge by the hour, while others charge by the project. When working with a professional, the costs include backup options, the organiser’s time and any additional tools, such as a photo management software program.
The cost varies depending on the level of organisation you want and the number of photos you have. For the DIYer, assuming that you already have a computer, you can organise your photos for about £120. This covers the cost of a cloud backup service and an external hard drive.
Professional photo organisation costs can range from £1,200 to over £8,000. Some photo organisers charge by the hour, while others charge by the project. When working with a professional, the costs include backup options, the organiser’s time and any additional tools, such as a photo management software program.
Consider the time it will take
A small project, which Cuillo considers to be 10,000 photos or less, can take about three to six months at one hour to four hours per week. Cuillo will either work on a client’s photos at that frequency or give clients the skills to organise their own photos at that pace.
A large project with more than 50,000 images, which might include multiple computer and phone photo libraries, can take more than a year to organise. During this time, Cuillo organises the client’s photos remotely for a few hours each week.
A small project, which Cuillo considers to be 10,000 photos or less, can take about three to six months at one hour to four hours per week. Cuillo will either work on a client’s photos at that frequency or give clients the skills to organise their own photos at that pace.
A large project with more than 50,000 images, which might include multiple computer and phone photo libraries, can take more than a year to organise. During this time, Cuillo organises the client’s photos remotely for a few hours each week.
Decide when to begin
Cuillo recommends starting immediately because photo organising is time consuming and you’re probably continually taking new pictures. Another idea is to start when you have some free time, such as when you’re having a break from work.
You may be wary of sharing your personal memories with someone, so if you hire a photo organiser, ask them about their confidentiality standards. Members of professional organisations, such as the Association of Personal Photo Organisers, conform to a confidentially code. “We’re nonjudgmental and don’t share the things we see,” says Cuillo. Clients can mitigate security concerns with password protection, case-by-case access, session recording and other measures.
Cuillo recommends starting immediately because photo organising is time consuming and you’re probably continually taking new pictures. Another idea is to start when you have some free time, such as when you’re having a break from work.
You may be wary of sharing your personal memories with someone, so if you hire a photo organiser, ask them about their confidentiality standards. Members of professional organisations, such as the Association of Personal Photo Organisers, conform to a confidentially code. “We’re nonjudgmental and don’t share the things we see,” says Cuillo. Clients can mitigate security concerns with password protection, case-by-case access, session recording and other measures.
Get started
1 Gather together your photos
Before you can get started, you need to have all your images in one place. This will be your photo hub. A good place for this is your computer, but it could also be cloud storage or an external hard drive. Remember to collect your photos from your phone, camera, email, social media accounts, CDs, thumb drives or anywhere else where you store
images.
Interested in photography? See how it can enhance the look of your home
1 Gather together your photos
Before you can get started, you need to have all your images in one place. This will be your photo hub. A good place for this is your computer, but it could also be cloud storage or an external hard drive. Remember to collect your photos from your phone, camera, email, social media accounts, CDs, thumb drives or anywhere else where you store
images.
Interested in photography? See how it can enhance the look of your home
2 Back up your images
Ideally, you want to back up your photos in three locations, advises Cuillo, but many people end up with only two: one on site and one off site. You want to have these backup copies of your photos in case of technology or power failure, fire, robbery or natural disaster.
On site, you can use an external hard drive or another form of storage. Cuillo likes to use a product called Picture Keeper. It’s a small stick that automatically backs up your images when you plug it in.
Off site, you can use cloud storage. There are many options, including PhotoSync, Backblaze, CrashPlan and Google Photos. Cuillo recommends reading more about the storage services online or consulting with your photo organiser to find the best one for you.
For extra photo security, use a third backup option. This could be another of the above options or a storage device, such as the Picture Keeper, that you can keep in a safe deposit box and update on a regular basis.
3 Categorise your pics
You can organise your photos in any way that works for you, but a standard method is by year and then by month. You can set up a system on your desktop computer with folders for each year, and within those year folders, create additional folders for each month. Cuillo recommends labelling the monthly folders with a number before the month name so that the folders line up chronologically rather than alphabetically. For example, in the 2016 folder, you would have folders named ‘01 - January,’ ‘02 - February’ and so on. Within the month folders, you can also create additional folders for events.
At this stage, you can also use a photo management software program to help you clean up your duplicates, name files, add keywords and tag faces. Again, many options exist. Cuillo’s clients use Adobe Lightroom, Forever Historian and Photos on Apple devices.
Ideally, you want to back up your photos in three locations, advises Cuillo, but many people end up with only two: one on site and one off site. You want to have these backup copies of your photos in case of technology or power failure, fire, robbery or natural disaster.
On site, you can use an external hard drive or another form of storage. Cuillo likes to use a product called Picture Keeper. It’s a small stick that automatically backs up your images when you plug it in.
Off site, you can use cloud storage. There are many options, including PhotoSync, Backblaze, CrashPlan and Google Photos. Cuillo recommends reading more about the storage services online or consulting with your photo organiser to find the best one for you.
For extra photo security, use a third backup option. This could be another of the above options or a storage device, such as the Picture Keeper, that you can keep in a safe deposit box and update on a regular basis.
3 Categorise your pics
You can organise your photos in any way that works for you, but a standard method is by year and then by month. You can set up a system on your desktop computer with folders for each year, and within those year folders, create additional folders for each month. Cuillo recommends labelling the monthly folders with a number before the month name so that the folders line up chronologically rather than alphabetically. For example, in the 2016 folder, you would have folders named ‘01 - January,’ ‘02 - February’ and so on. Within the month folders, you can also create additional folders for events.
At this stage, you can also use a photo management software program to help you clean up your duplicates, name files, add keywords and tag faces. Again, many options exist. Cuillo’s clients use Adobe Lightroom, Forever Historian and Photos on Apple devices.
4 Maintain your collection
You’ll continue to take photos, so you’ll need to keep filing and backing them up. Cuillo recommends spending 15 minutes a week cleaning up your most recent images. “The most important thing is to have a plan and stick with it,” she says.
She also recommends keeping a folder on your virtual desktop of your most recent images which can remind you to do photo maintenance. If you have extra time, you can go back through your older images and add information to them, such as keywords.
You can also hire a professional photo organiser to maintain your photos. Cuillo works with clients who let her log into their computer every month remotely to organise their previous month’s photos.
You can find professional photo organisers online or find ones who can work remotely with UK clients through the Association of Personal Photo Organizers.
You’ll continue to take photos, so you’ll need to keep filing and backing them up. Cuillo recommends spending 15 minutes a week cleaning up your most recent images. “The most important thing is to have a plan and stick with it,” she says.
She also recommends keeping a folder on your virtual desktop of your most recent images which can remind you to do photo maintenance. If you have extra time, you can go back through your older images and add information to them, such as keywords.
You can also hire a professional photo organiser to maintain your photos. Cuillo works with clients who let her log into their computer every month remotely to organise their previous month’s photos.
You can find professional photo organisers online or find ones who can work remotely with UK clients through the Association of Personal Photo Organizers.
Organising and preserving your digital photos ensures your fond memories are accessible today and saved for future enjoyment.
This is especially true if you take a lot of photos, but don’t have backups of your images and have never set up a digital photo library. Cuillo, a member of US organisation the Association of Personal Photo Organizers, says her average client takes 50,000 to 100,000 photos a year, a number that has grown over time. Five years ago, her clients were only bringing in about 10,000 images.
Getting your images organised is also a good idea if you want to be able to easily and quickly find your photos, whether it’s to order photo gifts or share them with friends and family.
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