Do you remember the old days of photos storage? The old peel and stick albums...or better yet a shoe box full of photos on a shelf somewhere? Well now the days of physical photos seem to be long gone. Instead we have 100’s, or more likely 1000’s of digital image files. And it’s so easy and so cheap to make photos, the numbers just keep piling up.

For me it got to a point where I didn’t even want to make any new photos. I’m an organizer at heart. And the thought of photos randomly scattered across my computer without any system for finding them made me kind of crazy. BUT the thought of sitting down to organize them all made me even crazier. Where do I even start?

Eventually I decided enough was enough. So I did what I do. I researched. I took classes. On software, recommendation for filing systems, on the “workflow” from making the photos in my camera to downloading, organizing, editing, storing. I consumed everything I could find. And then? Well then I was really confused.

Eventually I sorted through ALL of that stuff and figured out a manageable system. A system to keep my files organized so that I can find them, AND a way to back them up so I don’t lose them. And I’m going to share some recommendations with you so that you can get started on your own journey to zen photo storage.

A blog post of mine has to include photos. I mean I talk about creating photos, don’t I? So writing an entire blog post without any photos feels wrong, but what kind of photos would I have that are directly related to file organizing? So I’m throwin… — A blog post of mine has to include photos. I mean I talk about creating photos, don’t I? So writing an entire blog post without any photos feels wrong, but what kind of photos would I have that are directly related to file organizing? So I’m throwing some photos in there just to liven things up a bit. Because I can.

Today I am going to be your Marie Kondo of photo image files. Marie says “tidy your space, transform your life.” And I’m completely onboard with that. During a graduation speech, Admiral William H. McRaven said “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

I think you can see where I’m going here. If your photos are all over the place - different devices, different folders, different drives…you get to a point you don’t even know what you have any more! So guess what? You certainly can’t enjoy the photos, relive the memories, or learn from them if you don’t know what you have.

And another thing (wow I’m really on a roll today)... I am a firm believer that you should NOT keep all your photos stored on a hard drive somewhere - organized or not - for nobody to ever see. I think you should PRINT THEM! That is a whole other subject that we will dive into some other time. I just thought I’d throw that out there for now.

Just to keep things interesting…Alicante, Spain

OK I get it. This is NOT a sexy topic. Not like “let’s connect with your creativity” or something. BUT it’s an important one. One that will help you maintain your sanity, which is ultimately important for your creative juju. So work with me here.

Now what I’m going to share with you today is my system for organizing my photo files. What I recommend is to do a little research (I’ll recommend a few places to start) and then figure out what works best for you. I looked at a few systems, and then used them to create something that fits with how my mind works. Your mind works differently. So figure out what works for you. If you’re so overwhelmed that you want to just use my system for now and modify later if it doesn’t work? More power to you. I completely understand.

This post would get way too long to go through my entire workflow from beginning to end. So I’m going to give you a slice of it - how I organize my photo files on my hard drive. That is a really good place to start in your zen journey of photo file joy.

So here is my file system (drum roll please…). I have a Pictures folder that I keep in the favorites section. I should also qualify that I work on a Mac, but you can organize a similar file system on your PC as well. And in the Pictures folder, I have a Photos folder. This is where ALL my photos live. All of them. Now in the Photos folder, I have a folder for each year (2020, 2019, 2018 - each gets a folder). Each year gets a series of folders that are numbered to correspond to the month (01 for January, 02 for February, and so on). From there I create a folder for each photo “event”. Which is really just why I had my camera out that day. When we had visitors in town and I made photos that weekend, that folder was titled “Dad-Barb Visit”. These subject-specific folders can hold one session, one day, or one weekend, depending on the content and if it relates to each other or not.

Yeah, I’m guessing your head is spinning right now. Mine is a little bit too. But I do have a method to this madness. I threw out the whole overview to get us started. Now let’s break it down into examples and it will make more sense.

Let’s say I get my camera out this weekend for a photoshoot at the farmers market. I would file those images this way:

Pictures
- Photos
  - 2020
    - 02
      - Farmers Market

Here’s what it looks like on my computer, with the family visit I mentioned above. You’ll notice that all of the photos in the folder are my RAW images, the originals. So ALL my original files are in that Photos folder. Period.

Now let’s talk about some resources. If you want to go ALL in with your zen photo management journey, then Peter Krogh is your man. I read The DAM Book, Digital Asset Management for Photography (which even has super handy videos embedded) a couple of times. It’s a LOT of information, and it’s LIghtroom focused. It might be too much for you, but to me it’s the number one best resource for managing your digital photo files.

There are LOTS of photo organizing software options out there, like Movavi, Big MIND Photography, Magix Photo Manager, etc. I would LOVE to know if you have used any of them! I use my file system paired with LIghtroom, where I tag, create collections, etc (another post, don’t worry). So I haven’t used any of these. But I’m intrigued. They use facial recognition, search by location, and some even claim to automatically create photo albums. I personally want (need) a little more control over my photos - where they end up, how they are grouped, and so forth. BUT these might be a good option if you aren’t a control freak like me. Here’s an article that discusses some of these options.

Whew! It’s over (for now). My goal was to motivate you to do something. Anything. Just get started with organizing your files. Trust me (and Marie Kondo) your life will spark joy once you finally dive in and figure it all out.

Do You Know Where Your Files Are?

Ready to create photos you LOVE?