A Beginners Guide to Organizing your Photos

Are you drowning in an ocean of digital photos? While the digital age has simplified the way we store our photos, the sheer quantity of files can make organizing your photos an overwhelming task. Though you may want to give up on the project altogether, just take a deep breath…and continue reading.

I like to keep things organized – but I know that this is a major stumbling block for many digital shooters.

How many of you are diligent at organizing your photos? And how many are avoiding the issue altogether?

2017 – Maui, Hawaii
2008 – Horse Shoe Bend, Arizona
2017 Winter – Iceland
2012 – Marble, Colorado

Benefits of Organizing your Photos

If you go looking for that pretty shot you took in 2005 or 2018 – you know the one I mean… the shot from Iceland, Colorado or Hawaii or Arizona… the one with the interesting patterns or the fantastic sky – how long will it take you to find it? Will you find it at all? Is it buried with thousands of other images in the depths of your computer? In one of hundreds of cryptically labeled files? How many folders are labeled “vacation”? How many shots should have been deleted long ago – but are still waiting in folders within folders? How many times have you looked at the mess of files and folders on your screen and thought, “I really MUST do something about this mess!” But where to begin?

2014 – Lake Pukaki, New Zealand

It’s a lot easier to organize a digital file system than it was to organize all those prints we used to have in envelopes and boxes – waiting to be labeled and put into albums. Unfortunately, most of us have more digital files than we can count. We can shoot as much as we like… no need to worry about the cost of film. We can easily ignore the enormous number of photos in our collections… just close the window on the computer, and the mess is gone. And so it grows, and grows, and grows.

Getting Started

So, here’s my recommendation to get started… Don’t Touch Anything! Just take a few minutes to think. What kinds of photos are you taking? What categories will work for you? Would you rather sort your photographs by date or location? Do you have photos that should be deleted? Would keywords helps you find your images when you need them?

When I started organizing my files, I decided to begin with the current year – rather than going back to the beginning of time and trying to organize old files first. That way, any new files that enter the system will be introduced into a clutter-free environment. Those old files have been sitting there for years – they can sit a while longer. Why not start clean in 2011? Then, when you are sure you like your filing system, you can work backwards, one file at a time.

Create a Folder Structure

Take a look at the structure I’ve chosen for my own system. It’s really very simple. My photographs are sorted first by year, and then by state (or country). You might argue that it’s best to sort by month as well – and that may work well for you. However, Jay and I tend to return to a location more than once in a year – so that only serves to complicate the system for me. Besides, each photo is tagged with a date in-camera, so if I need to know the month, I can easily look it up. I sort by location so that all my photos from that location are together. If I need to find a shot from, say, Blackwater Falls, I’ll open my 2006 folder, click on Midwest Folder, and choose Blackwater Falls. All the locations we visited on the island are listed alphabetically, and I just select Blackwater Falls from the list.

Portfolio & Family Photos

I should also point out that the files represented here are landscape photographs only. Family photos are filed separately, so that I can find them more easily. I also have a file called “Portfolio”. Every single processed image – landscapes, events, portraits, family photos – gets a space here. When I am finished processing, I simply create a small JPEG file with a frame a signature (you can see my frame on the White Sands photo up there) and save it to my portfolio file. When I’m not sure which photo I want – or when I want to show someone a selection of my work – I can browse my portfolio.

There are all kinds of options for sorting your files… do it any way you like. What matters is that you can find what you are looking for – without getting too frustrated. So take a few minutes to think about how you want to sort things and then jump in and get started. It’s not as hard as you think!

To learn more about organizing your photos check out our A PHOTOGRAPHERS GUIDE TO IMAGE MANAGEMENT & PHOTO BACKUP SOLUTIONS

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To be continued – A Beginners Guide to Keywording your Photos

About Author Varina Patel

There is nothing more remarkable to me than the power of nature. It is both cataclysmic and subtle. Slow and continuous erosion by water and wind can create landscapes every bit as astonishing as those shaped by catastrophic events – and minuscule details can be as breathtaking as grand vistas that stretch from one horizon to the other. Nature is incredibly diverse. Burning desert sands and mossy riverbanks… Brilliant sunbeams and fading alpenglow… Silent snowfall and raging summer storms… Each offers a unique opportunity. I am irresistibly drawn to the challenge of finding my next photograph, and mastering the skills required to capture it effectively.

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