How to Organize and Manage Pictures: Part 6
I hope this series has helped you. If something is still tripping you up, please reach out! I can address specifics.
Creating healthy habits in your picture organization, like anything, is crucial. You can do this. It just takes a little bit of time and sacrificing an hour on the couch once in a while. Below, I’ve listed the major take-aways to help keep you on track. I’ve also included a little “workflow” checklist that you can use to get going.
Healthy Habits
1. Commit to taking less pictures.
Don’t use burst mode. Pretend you have a roll of film in your phone and can only take a couple of shots each day. Become more intentional about what you’re shooting. Put the camera away and enjoy the day! It’s easy to get carried away when your phone has unlimited storage, but the quality over quantity mindset will help you stay more focused and create better memories.
2. Cull early and often.
Be brutal, keeping the best and deleting the rest. You don’t need multiple pictures of almost the exact same thing. If you become too bogged down with digital baggage, you’ll never know where to start. Regular culling ensures that only the best photos make it through.
3. If you’re behind, start small.
Bite off a chunk that you feel you can manage in an hour. Start deleting and saving the best. Build on that the next day until you’ve got a whole (month? season? year? decade?!) finished. The key is consistency, even if it’s just a little at a time. I suggest printing as you accomplish a certain time period, then moving on to the next batch.
4. Find a way you enjoy looking at pictures, and then put your phone pictures on autopilot.
Chatbooks, FreePrints, Artifact Uprising… there are so many apps that will allow you to pull directly from your camera roll. Once you’ve printed those, delete them and clear up your camera roll, creating a digital storage system Marie Kondo would be proud of. Whether you do this once a season or once a month, it’ll help to keep your digital space tidy and your memories organized.
5. Set yourself up for success with a well-organized hard drive.
Having a solid organizational system will keep you accountable. Using external hard drives, Google Photos, or other storage solutions can ensure that your files are well-kept, and you’ll be able to easily find the memories you’re looking for without feeling overwhelmed by clutter.
6. Find a way you enjoy looking at pictures, and print your camera photos accordingly.
Blurb, Chatbooks, FreePrints, and many more small photo businesses are eager for your photo printing business. Find what works for you, whether it’s traditional photo albums, or creating beautiful photo books that preserve your memories. Print the best of the collection and enjoy them for years to come. No more hard drives and SD cards full of pictures that you can’t find! No more digital photos sitting in "computer jail" – develop those photos and enjoy the memories.
Camera Picture Workflow
Set up an organized system on external hard drive (or in Google Photos, your computer’s hard drive.. somewhere!)
Shoot
Cull – Be brutal
Edit
Export to organized system
Favorites or special project files to a special folder in your organized system (e.g., what I’d do with my boys’ Christmas books)
Repeat until you have enough pictures you want to print
Upload to print (Chatbooks, Blurb, Freeprints, however you enjoy photos)
REPEAT!
Keep me posted!
I hope I’ve helped. Be sure to send questions my way if you’re still having trouble. Stay organized, make printing a part of your routine, and enjoy your photos! You’ve got this!