Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer, print them when you want, email them to friends and family share them to your hearts content. Couldnt be easier, could it? So how come that for most of us storing and sharing our photographs is a bit of a nightmare?
The ease of using a digital camera is its very undoing. Its easy to take some shots and then work on them later. The trouble is that later doesnt happen often enough and we build up a huge backlog of images that we have to sort and process. Thats where things start to get untidy. Very soon you wont know what youve printed or you wont be able to find the original file of that cute shot that your wife wants a copy of.
So whats the answer? As the Greek philosopher Hesiod put it nearly 3,000 years ago, It is best to do things systematically and disorder is our worst enemy. You need to plan a system for processing your photographs and be systematic in everything you do
You probably remember that after the thrill of your first digital camera, you began to realize some of its limitations. Without a computer or other digital device, its hard to share them with granny or the cousins back home. You realize that you have to have traditional prints to pass around and share.
So the planning system you adopt must cater for both digital and physical prints you need a single system that organizes both and ensures your precious memories are stored forever.
Heres a six point plan to establishing your own system.
1. Decide how you want to organise your photographs
Without a system, youll just get a list of meaningless file names. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be for you to find the photos that you want.
Youve got to have a system a way of organising one that suits you. I choose to organise my photos by event but you could do it by date, by family member or by whatever is meaningful to you.
Under My Pictures on my hard drive, I have four sub-folders Family, Business, Holidays and The Best. The first three are self-explanatory; The Best is where I keep images of which Im particularly proud.
2. Create mirror images on both your computer and photo album
People love traditional prints so no matter how proud you may be of your computer skills, to really share your photos with friends and family, youll need physical prints to pass around. And to get the most from your memories you should have a single system that runs across both.
Once youve decided on your system use the same categories on both your computer and your physical photo album.
3. Taking your photos
Snap away happily but dont carry around useless photographs on your camera or waste your time downloading them before deciding to bin them. As soon as youve taken photographs have a quick look at them and dump the ones that dont look special. Be ruthless and immediate.
4. Downloading back home
The temptation is to rush and get the exciting photos on the machine. This is where discipline is needed. You need to have an uninterrupted session. If you can arrange that easily fine. If you cant you should set aside a regular time once a week to do all your photographic work.
There are four tasks:
- Download your photographs onto your hard disk
- Edit them, e.g. get rid of red eye
- Give each file a meaningful name with a date so instead of P1010012 use Sarah on the beach 07/03
- Save them in the appropriate folder.
Now make a back up copy. This is essential you dont want to risk losing your images. I use a ZIP drive for back-up.
5. Print your photographs
Plan what prints you want, print them and put them into your album immediately. Update your album index as you do so.
6. Store them and show them (but dont ever give them away)
Never give your album photographs away. If someone wants a copy, resist the temptation to hand them your album copy. Instead, print them a new one or email them a digital version.
About The Author
Kesh Morjaria is passionate about organising and runs Arrowfile.com. He provides an extensive range of organizing products that are used not only in the home but by professional photographers, collectors, local government, museums even police forces. You can find the full range at http://www.arrowfile.com.
kesh@arrowfile.com
