When we get back from vacation there are piles of laundry, unread emails and dozens of photos we took along the way. The clothes get washed and most of the emails get answered, all in good time. What happens to those memories called photographs?
Digital cameras are wonderful but it takes some work, not to mention discipline, to download pictures and organize them in some sort of usable format. Here are my 4 Hot Tips to help you make the most of your Cool Vacation Photos:
- Download photos to one location on your computer. It is easy to keep a file for every month of the year for each year. The pictures I took last week were downloaded into the June 2008 folder.
- Label each photo. Many programs will let you enter a name such as "Jones Family Reunion" and sequential numbers will automatically follow. The key is to avoid spending a great deal of time in the labeling process, but at the same time assign labels that will assist in future retrieval of photos.
- Back up. Back up. Back up! If you do nothing else, back up those photos. Use an external drive or an on-line system to duplicate the files. You may want to systematically copy photo files to CDs and store them someplace other than your residence. Just remember to update formats with each new operating system or software system that you use in the future.
- Share your photos. Send photos by email or by print to others. I use SendOutCards.com to make real send-in-the-mail cards with my digital photos.
How do you organize your vacation photos? We would like to hear about your experiences!
Ellen -
Great Tips! I have found that using numbers in my folder names makes it even easier for me to find things. Since my folders are automatically sorted by alphabetical order I would have a file called
2008-06-David Swimming
The Year first and then the numerical representation of the month and a quick note for me to know what is in the file. This way, over the years, all of one year sorts together and they are in month order.
Posted by: Stephanie LH Calahan | June 25, 2008 at 11:14 AM