I have years of photos scattered across folders named things like `final2`, `new camera` and `August stuff`. Searching for a particular trip means opening dozens of directories. I want a simple structure I can maintain, probably date plus event, with keywords only for the images worth finding again. Before I reorganize thousands of files, what's the one decision you wish you'd made early: filenames, metadata, folder structure, or a proper catalog?
Organizing years of photos when folder names have become meaningless
- photography
- organizing
- years
- photos
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I’d put more effort into metadata than filenames if you can keep up with it. Folders get you to the shoot; tags and captions help you find t...
I’d put more effort into metadata than filenames if you can keep up with it. Folders get you to the shoot; tags and captions help you find the one image you actually care about later.
I’m slightly less enthusiastic about relying on tags alone. If the software changes or you switch systems, a boring folder structure is the thing that still survives.
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I ended up doing both, but with strict limits. Date, event, maybe location, then only tag the keepers so I’m not spending my life cataloging...
I ended up doing both, but with strict limits. Date, event, maybe location, then only tag the keepers so I’m not spending my life cataloging blurry snapshots.
1 reply
The one decision I wish I’d made early was a folder structure that never changed. Dates first, then a short event name, and nothing cute or...
The one decision I wish I’d made early was a folder structure that never changed. Dates first, then a short event name, and nothing cute or temporary.
Same. If the folder name still makes sense three years later, you’re already ahead of the game.