Filing system keeps images in order

An image management system doesn't need to be complicated to work.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
The thrill of owning a digital camera can quickly give way to despair once the images start piling up in a disorganized heap on your hard drive.
Digital camera owners shoot as many as 66 photos a month, on average, or 80 billion a year worldwide, according to Lyra Research.
That's a lot of photos. And it presents a daunting challenge to anyone needing to scour their computer for a picture of their kid's first day at school, or that Yosemite rock-climbing trip from two years ago.
"Many people buy a digital camera, and the nightmare begins," said San Jose, Calif., photographer Uwe Steinmueller, editor at www.outbackphoto.com. "I don't think you'll be successful if you don't do some ordering."
Add to that the challenge of figuring out how to share the photos with friends and family. Is e-mail best, or should you upload them to a Web site service, where they can be viewed and printed by others?
Alas, there are no easy answers.
If you plan to shoot many photos and save them on your computer -- as opposed to just printing and deleting them -- then file organization will be your first challenge.
Imagine if all the books in your local library were labeled only with Dewey Decimal numbers -- no titles or colorful book jackets to give clues to the books' contents. That's the dilemma many digital camera owners face as their hard drive folders become stuffed with photos with file names such as IMG-1074.jpg.
The key to sanity is to create an image management system. It doesn't have to be complex, just something that fits your needs and organizational style.
"The thing to keep in mind is that your system is not about storing images, but finding them," writes photographer Dennis Curtin in his online book "Textbook of Digital Photography."
"Ask yourself where you'd most likely look for pictures of interest a year from now, long after you've forgotten where you stored them."
The system can be as simple as creating folders on your hard drive labeled by date or event. Curtin, for example, downloads all his photos to one main folder and then drags the images to their appropriate folders based on the date they were shot. Since many of his photos are nature shots, he'll sometimes label a folder with the name of a particular flower.
The advantage of this type of system is that it mimics the shoebox storage habit familiar to most people. It's also simple and does not require any software. And Windows XP users can easily browse thumbnail versions of the images by right-clicking on the folders.
Such a system may not be right for everyone, though, particularly those uncomfortable with their computer's file management system. What's more, the system lacks key features, such as the ability to e-mail images to friends.
Software programs
Virtually every digital camera these days comes with some sort of image management software that will allow photographers to browse photos, resize and print them, or prepare them for e-mailing. For casual users, this will probably be enough.
But if you plan on using more than one brand of camera, or want more powerful features and a better user interface, there are literally dozens of after-market software programs available.
"Most of the applications that come with cameras allow simple browsing, but they're not that exciting," Steinmueller said.
Macintosh users are lucky; the iPhoto software that comes with OS X is considered one of the better consumer-oriented photo management tools on the market, Curtin said.
For Windows users, Adobe Photoshop Album, Picasa (now owned by Google), ACDSee and Ulead Photo Explorer are just a few of the many options. Steinmueller favors ThumbsPlus by Cerious Software. All the products can be had for under $100. Picasa is now free, and may be a good bet for those wanting to get a feel for this type of software.
When shopping for software, consider the features that are important to you. These may include the ability to crop and resize images, rotate thumbnails, create slide shows and photo albums, burn copies to CDs and DVDs, and send images as e-mails or post them to printing and photo-sharing Web sites.
Those who expect to amass large collections of photos may also want to look for software that has a built-in database. These programs store detailed information about each photo -- such as the date and time it was shot and the shutter speed -- in a database, allowing for sophisticated sorting. They also make your collection of images searchable, a big plus when your portfolio grows beyond 1,000 photos.
Some photographers may be tempted to rename their image files to reflect the content of the pictures. But Curtin and Steinmueller both advised against this. Bottom line: it takes too long, and if you have your images organized into logically named folders, it's not necessary.
Some programs, however, do allow you to attach keyword tags to your files, which is a time-saver.
Web sites for sharing
Once your images are neatly tucked away on your hard drive, you'll want to share them with others. Fortunately, the landscape here is easier to navigate.
Shutterfly, Ofoto, Yahoo Photos, SnapFish and SmugMug, while designed primarily as printing services, allow you to upload images to their servers and create photo albums that can be viewed by friends or family members. Those services are free until you decide to order prints.
For the fastest printing, local photo processing centers now allow you to drop off your camera's memory card (as you would a roll of film) and pick up your photo where people can talk and share pictures. Viewers can leave comments about your photos and add notes and tags to various parts of them. The service allows various privacy settings, so you can restrict photos to one person or expose them to the world.