17 September 2011

Photo organisation: first steps

For about a week I've been thinking about my many digital photos stored on this computer - how can they most easily be organised? That sick feeling about needing to organise them and yet not knowing how to start - it's passed, and I've started in a small way ... a very small way - but, great oaks from little acorns grow, and all that ...

The hard part isn't necessarily the physical doing, but deciding how to do it. If it took the compiler of the Oxford English Dictionary until the letter G - or was it M - to get the organising method for the many words and definitions right, what hope is there for lesser mortals?

On we go, though - "start small, start now".

One important task is to retrieve and amalgamate all the photos that relate to my current coursework. I started with those already on the blog, which already get archived in subfolders, and accumulated (copied) them into a subject subfolder in the Blogging folder. They are small files so I don't mind having several copies taking up room. They are labelled by date downloaded, so I can probably find the high-res file easily if necessary - if it survives the high-res purge that is (surely) to come.

So now I have a "book du jour" file, which includes any and all completed books -
 and a "textile printing" file, which includes screenprints on paper -
I'll move these subfolders into the "bookarts" uber-folder and add to them systematically (or else!). Filenames remain as they are. These pix have no tags or labels.

Going through the archive files (confined to the past year, while I've been on the course) has given me an idea of the kinds of further subject files that will be useful.

Relevant photos from these subfolders can now be selected to put on my website. Some of the little books are there now; what a pleasure to be able to choose them so easily, instead of realising something is missing and not being able to find it ... indeed, getting sidetracked instead.

2 comments:

Cate Rose said...

You're doing now what I did a long time ago. It's served me well. For instance, I have a Surface Design folder that gets images from the current year and within the folder are subfolders for the past 2 years. Next year I'll move all of this year's images for S.D. into its own folder. Ditto for Art Quilts and much of everything else I photograph.
Also, when I'm doing the original Photoshop work on each image, I create a 72 dpi version to upload to the web. The bigger images go into their own folders, the smaller dpi version stays in the Upload folder. In fact, I initially download all photos into the Upload folder, then fix them, move them, etc. I also have a Blog Images Not Used folder within Upload to store images to use later online, if/when I run out of current stuff to upload.
Did you even need to hear all this?
xo
p.s. I was thinking of you last night...I was mentally setting up a European tour of blog pals I want to visit in the flesh someday. It'll likely never happen, given my finances, but it's a fun exercise. You were right at the top!

Cda00uk said...

As so often, I'm inspired by your example - may I ask which program you are using for this? I know you mentioned Bridge before - do I have to screw up my courage and tackle it?