Photo Organization: Simple Method

My Fantastic Consultant and I at a weekend scrapbook getaway.

I know that to lots of people doing something other than taking the pictures gets to be overwhelming. I have helped a number of my friends and family with finding a method that works for them and wanted to start a new series in which I pass on that advice to you. Please feel free to ask questions or let me know topics/things you would like to see me cover. I would love to help you, so just let me know topics or areas of interest. You can do that by leaving me a comment below this post or by emailing my your question or topic.

Today I’m going to start with the most simple version in which to take care of your photos. We are not going to talk about the scrapbooking or where the photos go, just how to get them from your camera to a printed form so you can do something with them.

As I said, I am starting with a very simple basic form. This is not what I do. I like a more complex method. The method I am showing you today is great for anyone who doesn’t really like using the computer and secretly wishes to bring back 35mm film because it was so much easier to drop the film off, have it developed and you were done.

Simple Photo Printing, Organizing and Preservation

Step 1:

What I would suggest for this super simple method is to take your camera to a local store (Target, Walgreen’s and CVS are some examples of stores with this service). At your local store, you will find a kiosk in which you can place your camera’s memory card and print off the pictures currently on the memory card. You can delete any you know you don’t want at the kiosk. You can also edit, etc, but as we are keeping this very simple, I wouldn’t recommend this unless you want to take a little more time (in which case, I would recommend my medium photo method which I will get to another time).

Once you have printed your photos, DO NOT delete your memory card. For those who are old enough to remember 35mm film/cameras, what is currently on your memory card is the equivalent of your negatives. Without those files, you can never print these pictures again. See step 2 for what to do next.

I called a few places to help you along. 4×6 prints are the standard size to print your photos. At Target they will cost you $0.45 per print. Walgreen’s charges $0.31 per print, though they often have coupons and my local store runs a Sunday’s for $0.10 special). CVS was the best price at $0.29 per print and like Walgreen’s they often have coupons or specials. It will pay to take a few minutes to look at your local paper for the best deal for that week or to call around. If you were printing 100 prints at the prices I listed above, there would be a high price of $45 at Target to a low of $29 at CVS. That is a $16 difference. Worth a few minutes of calling in my opinion! Before I leave this step, if you are somewhat comfortable with your computer, my medium photo method would save you a lot of money by printing your photos through an online retailer. Those prices are often tons better than a kiosk at a local store. I will address this method in a future post in this series.

Step 2:

1.  Organize your photos into simple folders so you can find them again. I use a box for the year and a folder for each month because my software allows me to create boxes (think of it like a box of photos) within the box I can make a folder for each month. (Memory Manager 4.0 now calls the boxes folders and the folders tags….just in case you use the software and want to keep up with the current terminology.) If your software doesn’t offer this option, a folder for the year would be plenty sufficient. Here is what mine looks like:

Artisan Software

You could also use a free software, such as Picasa. If you use Picasa, it will automatically organize your photos by year if the photos are put the folder you tell it to look for photos in. Picasa looks like this:

Picasa

2. Make sure you make a backup of the photos on your computer periodically. You can make this automatic by setting up an account with a company such as Dropbox. It will automatically search for new files in the Dropbox folder on your computer and put them in your Dropbox account. You don’t have to do anything beyond the set up of your account. I’m not going to go more into that now however I could do a tutorial on that if you are interested. There are other sites like Dropbox as well, so pick what you like. You need to know they all have a limit to the amount of free storage you get. After that you will need to pay.

That is it…you are done.

1. You have taken your photos from the camera to a printed form.
2. You have put your photos files onto your computer.
3. You have simply organized your photos by year or my month and year to make them easier to locate in the future.
4. You have created some system to regularly back up those files(preferably automatic). You may now erase your memory card to make room for new photos.

Simple and Done! Two words I really like!

I hope this simple method will help some of you to get those photos off your camera and into your hands as well as make sure you have them simply organized and backed up for future reference and preservation.

Next, you can see my medium photo organization plan. Until then, Happy photo days to you!