Is your desktop a mess?
Are files scattered everywhere on your hard drives?
My friends, that’s digital clutter.
I don’t do clutter. Keeping my digital images organized makes it easy to find what I’m looking for, and deleting images I don’t want keeps my hard drive from looking like an episode of Hoarders.
I import my images through Adobe Lightroom and apply five stars to my favorites, four stars to the good ones. (The image doesn’t have to be perfect to earn a star, it just needs to make me happy!) Then I delete every unrated image. I have a strict policy of keeping just 200 personal images per month. If my four- and five-star images surpass the limit, I cull even further (unless, of course, there was a special event, like a vacation).
In my file system, I group my folders by year, and begin the titles of the folders with the number; for example, “01-January-2014.” This way my folders are listed in sequential order rather than alphabetically.
If we have a special event, I make a new file folder in the appropriate month and name it for the event; for example, “Panama City Vacation.” My client images are organized by year, then last name of the client and date of the shoot. A solid and easy workflow makes my life so much simpler.
Having a mess of files isn’t such a big deal when you’ve been shooting for two years, but after 20 years, it’s madness! Don’t allow it.
In the past year, I started assigning keywords to my images upon import. Lightroom makes it quite easy; you can label the imported images all at once, or use the Painter tool and essentially “spray” your keywords onto certain images. When I later search for a photo, I input my keywords and immediately see a list of images that match my keyword search. Such a time and sanity saver!
And don’t forget to back up your files. Here’s a few trusted archiving tools:
- When you’re on the go and need rugged portability: LaCie rugged Thunderbolt
- When you’re back at the office and want disaster-proof storage: ioSafe 214
- When you want safe-keeping in the clouds: CrashPlan
Thanks for the info!! I am out of space on my laptop and have no idea what to do.at this point. How do you move files off your computer but have them accessible for later use? I feel like lightroom doesn’t plat nice with that.