organising files

[ving]

I am starting to build up quite a collection of pics (which will need weeding no doubt). I currently just create a folder with the date they were taken and put them in there but i realise that if i need to find something it is near imposible...

how do you guys organise your pictures on your computer?

[MarkW]

For my filing I use a cascading system of

1. date (YYYY-MM-DD)

2. Major Sub Category (Diving / Vacation / Animals / Special Events etc)

3. Minor Sub Category (Location)

4. A very short description with number for similar photos

5. A letter for every modification (pp) that has been saved as finished


Notes:
All of the above is contained in the file name - thank who ever it is for 250 character file names. The above is also used in the folder names for 1 to 3. Theres also another major category above the above for film/digital/scan/others

The date as part of the file name is important as when you decide to save a file after PP obviously the Windows file date will change to that date. The file name is left as is.

The date is necessary in reverse order so that it can be successfully sorted under windows.

[ricktas]

mine is:

Year / month + main topic / file name

ie: 2007 / 04 great barrier reef / hamilton island 1234.RAW
2006 / 07 east coast tasmania / maria island 4567.RAW

I keep the original raw file number in all future versions of the image as that way i make sure i locate the right raw file in need. Using 04 (rather than april) means i can easily sort them into month order. edited versions are kept in a sub folder, inside the main one, these subfolders are called "TIF files" and "JPG files" and retain the naming convension.

I make sure i tag all my images when they are uploaded from the memory card, this makes finding shots a LOT easier. I use Abobe Lightroom to upload, tag, and add copyright data all at the same time.

If you are fastidious about Tagging images really well, in theory you could have all your files in one big folder, but i wouldn't recommend that.

[ving]

do you find having them first under date makes it hard to find a photo if you are after a specific topic? let say you are after a dandelion shot... woulnd you have to guess what date you made the shot in order to find one?

[MarkW]

do you find having them first under date makes it hard to find a photo if you are after a specific topic? let say you are after a dandelion shot... woulnd you have to guess what date you made the shot in order to find one?

Ving
In my system, "flora" is a level 2 catagory unless it was taken on a holiday somewhere or during a special event etc (here you need to make a little rule of your own). The word dandelion would be in the description - level 4. If all else fails you use a standard microsoft search through explorer on the word "dandelion".

In the end what ever you choose, you have to stick to fairly rigidly and you really need to develop your own, taking whats best from everybody elses ideas. I did the same after reading some Pro books and used some - not all of their ideas. Mine and Ricktas are very similar but not quite the same. We each use different programmes that work in different ways.

[MarkW]

PS

Ving
I would suggest you make a fairly thought out descision as early as possible because if you decide down the track that what you have doesnt work well, its a real PITA to change file names on a batch basis even with programmes that do batch work.

[Craker]

Have thought about making a thread on this topic for a long time but didn’t know how to put it in to words.

I did the same after reading some Pro books and used some - not all of their ideas.

Just interested in what pro books you had read on this topic? Would love to get some good books with more info and ideas on this.

[arthurking83]

I have a system where I use a main heading/topic folder, and then within that, I'll have subfolders with various dates and variations.

We all shoot differently, and I have a vague recollection of where I took a particular image.

Because I'm on the road all the time, I have a 'location based' structure and put everything under where it was taken.

But as Rick and Mark pointed out, you can make a folder and call it Topic_YYYYMMMDD

Another thing handy for viewing Nikon NEF files quickly is Nikon View 6.
You get an explorer style window(Nikon Browser), thumbnails load super fast, and double clicking an image brings up Nikon Viewer which is fast in loading the image and zooming around...

Very handy program for NEF's!

[mpot]

I use the following:

\2007\2007-07\24 some descriptive name\raw\
\2007\2007-07\24 some descriptive name\print\
\2007\2007-07\24 some descriptive name\web\

That allows me to search by date, as well as search by any word in the description, and I keep copies of the raw and processed images.

Cheers,
Martin.

[ricktas]

do you find having them first under date makes it hard to find a photo if you are after a specific topic? let say you are after a dandelion shot... woulnd you have to guess what date you made the shot in order to find one?

that is where 'tagging' your images helps. if i wanted a dandelion shot, i would search my tags for 'dandelion' and it wouldnt matter when the shot was taken or where it was filed in my file structure, i could locate all of the dandelion shots.


for example, if you go to www.redbubble.com and do a search with the word 'dandelion', the image results you get are because the members tagged those images with the word 'dandelion' and not because of their own or redbubble's file structure.

I believe efficient, effective and accurate image tagging is MUCH more important than your actual file structure.

[ving]

thanks, you would make a good librarian

i guess i'd have to be able to identify what i am shooting and thats probably where i'd fall down...