Organizing your photos is the key!

You took these photos because you wanted to capture a moment in time. Something looked awesome, felt wonderful or was a one in a lifetime moment. Maybe you knew this moment will never duplicate itself (your baby's milestone) even though, if you really think about it, no moment repeat itself exactly. You might celebrate Thanksgiving with the same group of people at the same place and date, with the exact same traditions every year but so many components did, are, and will keep changing. So the Zen people were right - it's definitely not the same river and we should live in the 'now'. That's precisely what you'd like to capture in your photos - the NOW,encapsulated, to view later and remember, to cherish... sounds like catch 22 doesn't it?

Photos are treasures, and as such they should be kept well.


Here are some ideas to get organized, cherishing treasured moments:

Organize your photos by name -example: I have a file for each one of my kids.

Organize your photos by date - birthdays, school years, months, chronologically etc.

Themed folders, with dated photos in them: holidays, events, outdoors, school, etc. That way, you can retrieve photos for later use at presentation DVD for Bar/Bat mitzvah, a gift mini album for Thanksgiving, grandma’s birthday, etc.

Faces - believe it or not, there are face recognition photo management software out there. sample some at Picasa, iPhone.

Places - if you tend to travel a lot, this is the way to go. Create a folder for each place you've visited.
Divide your photos into subjects - work, home, family, friends and have sub categories files in them.

If you are organizing printed photos make sure all products involved are archival safe. Products with lignin and acid in them (sticky notes, sandwich bags) could damage your photos.