When you are a photographer, being meticulous about how you organize your photos is easier said than done, but will save you from headaches and wasted time in the long run.
Although it may seem like an overwhelming task, by taking it one step at a time, and with some helpful organization tips, you’ll be on your way to creating a productive workflow that makes the task easier.
First step, cull your photos.
This should be the first step in your workflow. Culling is the process of selecting which photos to keep and which to discard. By starting with identifying your favorite photos and removing the ones that don’t suit your goals, it’ll make it easier to focus your energy on the best images. It can even be helpful to begin organizing your photos while you’re in the culling process to save time in the long run.
If you find yourself hesitant to delete files, it's helpful to keep in mind where the images will be viewed. Ask yourself if each photo you save would be impactful enough for someone to keep hanging around on their walls (or screens). If you have a group of similar photos, that can be an easy place to begin removing excess files. And if you’re still nervous about getting rid of photos, consider making a “archive,” “outtakes,” or even “deleted” folder so your unwanted photos will be safe, but out-of-sight.
Choose a format for your photos.
You might be wondering, "What format should I save my photos in?" There are several options, but one of the most common is JPEG (pronounced "jay-peg"). JPEG is a compressed file format that allows you to keep all your image data intact while saving space on your computer. It's also a great choice if you don't want to deal with additional software since many photo editing applications can open and edit JPEG files.
Another option is RAW, an unprocessed form of an image file captured by a digital camera sensor. The benefit of using this type of format is that it preserves all image data from when the photo was taken — even things like white balance and shutter speed — but comes with some disadvantages: RAW files are usually much larger than JPEGs, making them harder to share online; they're also not supported by older apps or operating systems. They're useful if you want complete control over all aspects of post-processing your photos but don't want any lossy compression applied before exporting them as final products.
Store original files and use a second copy for edits.
It's important to have a copy of your original photo that isn't edited, in case you want to revert back to it later. If you modify your photos in ways that effect the tone and style of the image, like applying filters, you may find that later your editing preferences change and you want to adjust old work to fit your new creative direction.
You also may need to start fresh on an edit, or use part of the original photo that is modified. Whatever the case may be, once you edit a photo it will never be the same as the original again, so in our opinion it's better to be safe than sorry even if you can't foresee a need for it now.
Back up your photos.
This is a no-brainer, but it's important to note that you should back up your photos regularly. If you have a local backup, it's best to back up to an external hard drive or cloud service, and then make sure that the two locations are separate from each other—in other words, don't keep them both on your computer or in the same location.
The Afterify Studio is a great cloud-based storage option for your photos. Saving your photos in an online format guarantees they can’t be lost because of damage to a physical storage device. It also makes it easy to share your photos through social media, with clients on client sites, or on your own custom website. It’s both a safe backup and a digital portfolio in one — win/win!
Create a consistent structure for your photo storage.
Being strategic with your storage structure will save you time when you need to locate photos, and will allow you to group the photos that fit best together. You may want to start your structure with high-level groupings such as by client, location, company, brand, year, etc. Within those types you could create sub-groups such as event types, activities, products, dates, and so forth. By being consistent with your structure, it will be easier to navigate through your work to find what you need.
Within the Afterify Studio, you can organize your photos in three levels ⎼ by Client, Project, and Collection. Clients are the highest level of organization, and projects are folders of photos that are grouped within each Client. Within projects you can create dividers called Collections; these let you organize pictures while keeping them together in the same folder.