A few days ago, Monique & Suzannah asked about my new photo system. With over 3 years of digi photos, it was getting difficult to find things & I needed something more than a hodge podge “edit” folder. So I used the family fun library categories from Stacy Julian’s Big Picture Scrapbooking to set up a photo library. It’s a work in progress, so I’m keen to see the ideas in her new book photo freedom (& think about the next BPS class).
This is how it works atm.
- original files (aka. digital negs) are stored chronologically
- anything that’s been edited, is “saved as” a tiff file in the photo library (nb. I keep the original number from the camera ie. _mg_1234.tiff so it’s easier to track back to the original file)
My photo library categories are:
- all about us (contains individual folders + relationship folders)
- people we love (ext. family + friends)
- celebrations (easter & xmas + xtras)
- places we go (near & far)
- things we do
- school of life
- photos i love
This year, most of the photos I’ve edited have been for project 365+1, so they’re stored in a special project folder atm. I also have a “blog” folder for web images. The great thing with a digital system is that photos can easily be placed in multiple folders. So the project 365 photos will eventually be sorted into library categories too. The thing I love about this new system, is how much easier it is to find things. Like finding 10 favourite photos of Miss M – so much easier when all her photos are in one file. The other interesting thing is making connections – like seeing how her smile has changed over the years.
That’s about it – it’s far from perfect, but it’s a start.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
