Let's Get Organized To Create a Yearly Family Album
Does the thought of creating a family album seem overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be if you have some organization in place. Since it is the beginning of the year, it is a perfect time to start fresh and put a plan in place for your 2019 Family Album. You can create a document of all your family’s events and milestones into one fantastic keepsake. I know this project can get away from you if you do not have a plan, I am at fault here too. This year, my goal is to help keep all of you inspired and motivated in creating a tangible memory displayed in your home so all your pictures can be enjoyed by family and friends.
OVERALL ORGANIZATION: Have a way to sort your images. Digital photography is wonderful, it allows us to freely document all sorts of activities and occasions. However, all those images need to be sorted and organized so the task of creating an album can be accomplished without too much stress! With digital cameras and phones we take so many images - it can be overwhelming to locate and organize the 100s and 1000s of pictures we take. Create a filing system and stick to it! I use the following hierarchy:
YEAR_MONTH_DAY_ACTIVITY
Here you see my overall hierarchy. In addition, I like to name each folder by Year_Month_Day_Activity. You can see this if you look at the 4th column. I create these folders upon import. Once this hierarchy is established is is easy to maintain throughout the year and gives you some easy and intuitive organization.
As a quick note, your phones are also set up with a similar hierarchy.
PHOTO ORGANIZATION PROGRAMS: There are software programs you can use to help categorize, sift through, locate and edit your pictures. There are many options from which to choose with varying levels of complexity. There are powerful software programs such as Adobe Lightroom or simple ones such as iPhoto. Do a quick google search to find reviews on these software programs to find one suited for your needs.
You can make the investment and purchase one of these programs or just take your hierarchy and apply it to the built in photo manager in your computer. For example, iPhoto can work well and has some basic search and categorization tools. If you use this app, it will also pair easily with the images organized on your iPhone. My photo library is catalogued using Adobe Lightroom Classic. This is a powerful program with fabulous tools to organize, search and edit pictures. There is a learning curve to this software and I recommend tutorials or an online class especially if you want to use the editing module.
CONSOLIDATE ALL IMAGES: Combine the images from your phones, tablets and desktops. It is easiest to work with your images, if all photos are in one location. Upload all of these into your photo organization program with a solid intuitive hierarchy.
CREATE A FAMILY ALBUM FOLDER: This folder is set up in your yearly photo album. You can also break this folder into 12 month segments. As you take your images, put your most favorite images into this folder. Some photo organization programs may have “smart collections” and you can set up criteria for easily adding to your “family album”. In Lightroom, I just need to hit one key and my choice images will be added to my album. Here is an example of how you can create something in iPhoto: I always try to incorporate “ratings” into my editing and workflow. You can then take your highest rated images and add them to your family album. Here is a super quick way to locate and put all your highest rated images in one spot using “Smart Albums” in iPhoto:
You have the starting of a plan to create the coveted yearly family album! It only takes a few minutes to set up the hierarchy folders on your computer. Just stick to it as you import your images!
Be sure to follow my BLOG and sign up as a preferred client so you do not miss my next installment. I will review setting up a workflow to help cull through all your images. I will also discuss choosing an online print lab for your family album!
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!
Nicola