Mastering The Art Of Photo Organization And Storage

Photos have experienced their own evolution over time, graduating from instant polaroids and film that needs to be professionally developed to digital snaps taken on phones. That ease of use has not only made photos more accessible, but it has increased the volume the average person has to manage.

Industry statistics reveal that the average person takes 22 photos per day, which certainly reflects the evolution of digital technology and a social shift related to social media engagement. Put simply, we document every part of life with photos, from the mundane to the adorable to the spectacular. And, in contrast to previous decades, most of those photos live in a permanently digital state — never making it to a print version of itself. 

With that in mind, it’s important to understand photo storage options for PCs. No one wants to spend hours looking through thousands of photos to find the one they’re looking for. No one wants to lose photos in the event of a computer hardware failure. And, everyone wants to make the most of the photos they’ve taken. 

Here are three steps to preserving precious memories on a PC.

Uploading. Digital photos, whether they are from a phone or a camera, need to be uploaded to a central location either by syncing a phone to a computer or by inserting a memory card into a computer and selecting which images to save. Hard copy photos, including the faded ones found in old albums and dusty shoeboxes, need to be scanned and then uploaded. To scan hard copy photos, use a photo scanner, a photo scanning app or — if you can swing it without capturing glare — take digital photos of the hard copy photos. 

Organizing. To easily navigate and search the photos you’re uploading and saving, it’s best to utilize folders that are labeled in a way that makes the most sense to you. Some may label photos by events while others may label photos by a subject’s name — if, for example, you’re saving school and athletic photos for each of your children. Folders help immensely with organization and future search efforts, which is also made easier by adding metadata. PC users need to right-click on an image and select Properties to access metadata, while Mac users should control-click and select Get Info on images to access metadata. Once there, users are able to add descriptions, titles and keywords to photos, which makes it easier for search engines to discover it. 

Backing up. This is the most important stage of the process for sorting and organizing photos. Backing up photos, to protect them from being lost in the event of a system failure, is essential. It also frees up space on a computer if the files, which can be big, are stored safely elsewhere. There are options when it comes to back-up storage, and they include the use of external hard drives or photo storage apps. External hard drives act as a digital shoebox, with more sophisticated organization and technical specs, allowing users to safely store photos and retrieve them when you need them. Photo storage apps, like Google Photos and Flikr, keep the photos safely available as a backup to the internal hard drive while also being accessible at any time. 

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