I hope that everyone has had a good 2013 and is ready to have an even better 2014. To help make that happen one of the things we need to do as photographs is to make sure that our photo files are organized and protected.
One of my first images taken in 2013
Set up a photo file system
With each new year we should start with a new folder for the photos for the year in our main pictures folder or other location. This makes is easier if you need to transfer them to another drive or computer in the future. I use Adobe Lightroom and really recommend it for the organization of your photo library but even if you use some other program or method there are still some basics that we need to set up. My preferred method of file organization is by date with an added short description as the folder name as shown below.
This will be the location for your original files, which are hopefully RAW files and there should be no reason to move them. Think of your original files as you would buy finasteride paypal physical negatives that we got from shooting film, you would not cut the negatives apart and put them other envelopes by subject or other criteria, but you would keep them together by the original roll of film (Shoot Date). With lightroom and other software you can organize your photos using keywords, collections or albums, or other means.
This is the way I organize my image files and is by no means the only way to do it, the important thing is to “do it”.
Backup your image files
This is the time to be sure that you have sufficient backups of your images. I recommend at least two backups one that you can do frequently as you make changes to your library, and a second that is physically located offsite at another location.
External hard disk drives are very inexpensive.
Let’s assume a RAW file size of 20 mb
That’s 50 photos per GB
That’s 50,000 photos per TB
That’s 100,000 photos on a 2 TB Drive which sells for around $100.00
That’s .001 or 1/10 of a cent per photo
What are your photos worth?
One of my last images from 2013
Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
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