. Organizing Photos on Computer

I recently received a request asking that I discuss the best way to organize photographs kept on a computer.  I will approach this in the same way I do it myself with the hope that you can both understand and it’ll help you organize your own photographs.

Any time we attempt to get organized, we have to think in three directions:

1) Do I have the tools to get organized?

2)  Do I have a system set up which both makes sense to me and which I can trust?

3) And, finally, do I have a routine that will allow me to work with the tools and the system so I can regularly take care of the photographs on my computer?

May I suggest first that you have a “holding” folder where photographs can be kept until they are processed.  I call this folder “Photographs to Process”.  You might use a different name, but the concept is that there needs to be “holding” folder for all photographs that need processing.

I create a sub-folder anytime I download photographs, and I include in this subfolder the date and the place and sometimes the occasion of the photographs which I have taken.

In addition to this,  I have a folder where I keep photographs permanently.  This particular folder I just label “Photographs Processed” and within this folder there are sub-folders, usually labeled with general family names, general topics, or general divisions that would apply to my specific situation.  For instance, my last name is Ricks so I have a subfolder that says “Ricks Photographs” and within that sub-folder I have an additional subfolder that says “James N. Ricks Photographs”, which are the photographs for my immediate family and “Norman H. Ricks photographs” which are photographs for my father-in-law’s family.

Within the “James N. Ricks Photographs” sub-folder, I have additional folders that say “James N. Ricks Photographs~2007”.  Within that subfolder I have the event subfolders “Brian C. Ricks’ Birthday, Highland, Utah, 2007”,  “Tom E. Ricks’ Graduation, Athens, Georgia, 2007” and etc. always including the name, date, and place in that folder’s name.

As I process my photographs, each photograph is labeled with the initials of those people in the photograph, the date of the photograph, and the place of the photograph.  For instance, “ter at graduation, 2007-08, Georgia, Athens”.  I have found that by using people’s initials (of their first, middle, and last name) I very rarely have confusion or the inability to list everyone that is in the photograph.  And then if there is a special event of which I have taken several photographs of the same people, I will add to those photograph titles numbers such as: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 as needed, i.e. “ter at graduation, 2007-08, Georgia, Athens, #1”.

I hope that this small introduction to the way I organize my photographs on the computer will give you some impetus and ideas to organize yourself.  Remember, you must have the tools, you must set up a system that works for you, and then you must have a routine.  I generally do photographs on Sundays  because that allows me a time to move my photographs from the “Photographs to Process” folder to the specific folders and subfolders where I keep my permanent photographs on a regular basis.

Think of tools that will work for you, a system that will work, and a routine that will provide you with the capacity to keep those photographs processed.  Good luck this week!

Find more helpful ideas in my House of Order Handbook.