Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

I am soliciting members to capture ideas on how they organize photos on their computer to a) locate them in the future and b) know where a particular photo is shared on multiple media or websites, and c) do so without being totally software dependent. (note: as I write this topic I begin to see a possible solution ... but I continue)

Background: I have a folder heirarchy on my PC under My Pictures that starts with 00 Transfer (for imported camera photos), 10 Dropbox (for mobile Camera Uploads) and continues like this: 20 Family, 30 Trips, 40 Nature, etc. etc. I share photos on albums in Flickr and Google+ and also created several photo gallery websites in Weebly (first site free).

I am comfortable with the PC folder hierarchy I have, but when I use post processed images on the other sharing forums, I get lost trying to understand or find 'where did I file that photo of the bird on the PC that I used in Weebly website link to my Flickr album called My Photo Journey at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobkyle/sets/72157644123109294 ... was it in Nature, Sunsets, Local Scenes, where?

As I write this post it appears that creating a folder and tag cross reference map may ?? be the answer. All suggestions welcome.

Thanks, Bogin

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

Sounds very very complicated when a PP program like Lightroom is perfect for this task. Just use Keywords and collections. Click search, and the photo I want is onscreen in less than one second.

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

You are using the Dewey Decimal Classification System, a method used for cataloguing books by libraries around the world.

It works very well for books because the classifications can be defined, i.e fiction, author, title, but when it comes to photos, it can get cumbersome.

A photo containing an eagle and also Aunt Alice can be a problem to classify, it is Family, Relative, Female and also Wildlife, Bird, Eagle.

One way round the problem is to duplicate the image and classify it twice, not a good solution.

This is where Cataloguing software comes into its own. I use Lightroom, but there are plenty of others that work in a similar way.

Your folder structure can still be used, but the Eagle and Aunt Alice Photo can have two entries in the catalogue via collections - and this still with only one original which is in your preferred file structure.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Bogin, since you explicitly state that you don't want to be dependent on software to figure out what an image is about (a sentiment with which I agree) I suggest that you rename the image files after copying them over to your computer. My workflow includes this renaming function (I use a Mac, but that doesn't matter here) - after copying RAW files to my hard drive I use a utility called "A Better Finder Rename 9" to mass change the image names from the default "DSC_1234" into something human- readable. In order to easily sort by date, I rename them to this configuration:

YYYY-MM-DD-name-nnn

That is, the date from the image file (that the utility reads from the EXIF file), a name that describes briefly what the shot is of ("flowers", "JoesBday", "SmithWed", whatever) and then the sequential numbering system 001-999 (or however many digits you need).

I then usually use DxO to process the images, and it of course names the JPEGs it produces with that same name and the JPG file type rather than NEF or whatever the RAW file extension is. THEN I import into Aperture (equivalent to Lightroom) and can still apply keywords and all that stuff, importing them as "referenced files" so the images sit in folders I set up external to Aperture and Aperture just points to them (again, LR can do this) - but now when I browse through my finder windows I can see, without opening Aperture, which images are the ones i took at the beach on January 12th.

Hope that helps

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

BTW, the only way to not be dependent on software is to print out and file in a cabinet. You see an OS is software! so you are already dependent on software, your just using the incorrect software. This is NOT what an OS was designed for.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Computers and software excel at searching databases. Lightroom catalogs your images, into a searchable database that tracks file names and locations, gps coordinates, keywords, EXIF data, lens information, what has been published to a web site and can included web links to photo sites, ratings, color codings, almost anything you can think of. And it does it easily.

FYI: My system is as follows:

Import raw files from SD card as NEF file (Nikon raw)
Apply basic keywords to every image as a batch while importing
Rename files from the DSC_XXX name to "DNG-20150101 - 02-10-15" file name consists of initials - yearmonthday - hour-minute-second
Once imported into Lightroom, files are flagged quickly as editable or trash
Files flagged as trash are deleted from disk
Files flagged as editable are converted to DNG within Lightroom, NEF's are deleted
Converted files are edited, additional keywording done, files may be edited in Lightroom and/or Photoshop
When possible GPS co-ordinates are attached to images
Images that get uploaded to my Flickr will site contain the web link in EXIF metadata
Apple's Time Machine runs 24x7 on my Mac, so everything is backed up every hour. Monthly I do a complete image library backup to another external disk

I also make use of collections in Lightroom, meaning that images with specific data will be added into a collection in real time as soon as the data is put in EXIF, such as the flickr web link.
I can put my hands on any image with a quick search within seconds by searching the metadata fields, or by simply clicking a collection.

I have no idea how a manual system could even come close.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Well, how clever you are for pointing out the obvious! And here I was, assuming the OP meant ancillary software above the OS later

Thank you ever so much for that clarification

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Thank you all for suggestions:
.. my desire not to be dependent on software was really meant to mean that I did not want to be limited to software or features other editing software cannot read/use. Therefore I will probably use tagging/keywords that Zoner, XnView, PSE, Picasa all can read

.. I like the suggestion (f8lee) of renaming file names (since my most important sharing is in the Weebly site) ... recording specific memories for the family and grandchildren - so the number of 'must keep' memories will be manage-able and always have a backup or two of all photos anyway.

.. Last - I am sort of Scottish (really - along with German, Irish and English) so I do not like spending hard cash where I may not need to - but maybe I need to explore Lightroom and others that Searcher referred to.

Next Action: #1 Tagging, #2 Renaming step in Post Processing, #3 look into catalog/organize software http://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-lightroom/

Again, thank you all
Bogin Bob

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

I've kept it very simple for myself:
Main folder: PHOTOS
Sub-folders: one for each year
Sub-sub-folders: one for each month.
Sub-sub-sub-folders: Events.

For example, our granddaughter's wedding was in August of 2013. The photos for that wedding are in:
D:\PHOTOS\2013\August\K-wedding

If an event overlaps month's end/next month's beginning, it goes under the month where the event started.

These photos are all originals, photos I've worked on do go into the same folders when I'm done, but get "-ed" added to the filename. Scrapbook- or photobook pages also go into the correct folder for date and event, with appropriate file names.

"Loose photos" just go into the month-folder for when they were taken.

I think I still have a pretty good idea of when photos were taken, and rarely does it take me more than a minute or so to find a photo. Using a thumbnail display in Windows Explorer, FastStone Image Viewer or Olympus Viewer 3, helps.

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Morning Star - thanks, nice simple model. Clean handling of 'loose' photos and for me the '-ed' would denote 'final processed'. Then if I so desired, I could easily add unique suffix to identify any other site or location I may have placed them on (if I decided I won't use tags/keywords ... so in your example
D:\PHOTOS\2013\August\K-wedding-F#1 says it is shared on Flickr Album 1 ...

Thank you all again, Bogin Bob

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Foregive me please, but I cannot help myself. What about that Wild Animal Aunt Alice?

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

It appears that both the Eagle and Aunt Alice have both been left sitting (perched) on the fence.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I file my photos based on a naming pattern:
Camera code-date taken-"roll" number-image number

This allows a unique identifier for each image. Afterwards, I enter the image identifier and associated data into a data base. From there I can search and sort based on a number of variables.

Of course, having a background in database design and programming helped in this venture. What I was looking for was a method to catalog images without having an associated image processor application. There were none that I could find on the web and thus designed my own.
--Bob