Why It Is So Important To Organize Your Photos
Originally published here
How to curate your memory
Most people think memory is like a library — you can go in and pull out whatever information you need whenever you want. But memory is not like a library. It’s more like a messy attic full of things you never use but can’t bear to throw away. The problem is, if we’re not careful, the attic can take over the house.
The same is true of our photos. We take them to capture memories, but then they are scattered across our phones, computers, and social media accounts. If we’re not careful, they can become a burden instead of a source of joy.
That’s why it’s so important to organize your photos. By taking the time to curate your collection, you can make sure that your memories are accessible and enjoyable. Here are some tips for getting started:
1. Create folders for each year. For each year, organize your photos chronologically. Then you can put event folders under each year or month. Our brains tend to remember dates best.
2. Upload your photos to a cloud-based storage service. This way, you’ll be able to access them from any device, and you won’t have to worry about losing them if your phone or computer breaks.
3. Use tagging and search features to label your photos. This will make it even easier to find the ones you’re looking for.
4. Share your photos with friends and family. This is a great way to enjoy your memories together and keep everyone up-to-date on what’s going on in your life.
The above tips are good at a higher level, but where should we start?
Ask this question first. Where are all my photos saved? iCloud, your desktop, laptop, multiple phones, external hard drives, Google Photos, and others? If you can’t answer this question easily, then it’s time to do some decluttering and housekeeping.
Once you have a catalog of photos and devices, you need a process to bring all of your photos into one location.
There are a number of photo management software available. Some are free (like Google Photos), and some have subscription plans (like Adobe Lightroom CC). No matter what tool you use, the goal is to get all of your photos into one place so you can view, organize, and edit them as needed.
Obviously, like anything else, there are many ways to organize anything. My preference is to group photos by year and then by the event. For example, within the year 2019 folder, I would have a folder for our trip to Italy, one for my son’s graduation, and one for our family Christmas photos.
If you have a lot of photos, it may make sense to create subfolders within each event folder. For example, within the Italy folder, I might have folders for each city we visited (Rome, Florence, Venice) and a folder for general shots (landscapes, architecture, etc.).
The important thing is to find a system that works for you and that you can stick with. The goal is to make your photos easy to find so you can enjoy them for years to come.
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