Jainkz

Can anyone recommend a good program to store and organize photos. Mine are all over the place on my computer with too many duplicates.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

LightRoom. Someone else might have a suggestion on a program to find and delete duplicates.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I use PS Elements. It’s catalogue is like LR's since they’re both Adobe products. As for duplicates, there’s probably a file utility for that. I’d suggest running it and delete the dupes before you import any photos into Elements or LR so they’re not included. Do a little research on how the LR and Elements catalogues work and save yourself some heartache if you go that route. They don’t "put" photos anywhere or make extra copies, they just keep a record of where the photos are and any edits you make to them. Hope this helps.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I use Lightroom. It catalogs, and is an editer.

Faststone is free and does more than catalog. It's my second choice after Lightroom. You can get it here.

https://download.cnet.com/FastStone-Image-Viewer/3000-18488_4-10324485.html

I found info here, https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/remove-duplicate-files-windows-10



CCleaner will find dup's. If you use Windows 10, you can use the file browser to do it. CCleaner can be had for free here https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner

How to Find (and Remove) Duplicate Files in Windows 10
By Bryan Clark | July 2, 2017 07:00 am

Duplicate files are the bane of my existence. Aside from using disk space, these files do nothing but clutter up your drive, make your PC run slower, and increase the difficulty level significantly when it comes to finding the right version of a specific file: is it the one I just updated, or the other one?

How to Find (and Remove) Duplicate Files in Windows 10
Choose Duplicate Finder.
For most users, running the scan with the default selections is fine. ...
Choose the drive or folder you want to scan.
Click the Search button to start the scan.
Select the files you'd like to remove (carefully). ...
Click the Delete Selected button to finish the operation.

Using a free program that comes pre-installed on a lot of PC’s, CCleaner, you can perform advanced search and destroy missions that free your drive of unwanted clutter. You don’t have to install the Pro version to clean these files, any version will do. We’re using the Free version for this tutorial.

1. Open CCleaner.

ccleaner

2. Select Tools from the left sidebar.

3. Choose Duplicate Finder.

4. For most users, running the scan with the default selections is fine. You can, however, alter these searches by checking or unchecking the provided boxes, and selecting new sizes in the drop-down menus.

5. Choose the drive or folder you want to scan.

6. Click the Search button to start the scan.

7. Select the files you’d like to remove (carefully). Once you complete the next step, there’s no turning back. These files are gone.

8. Click the Delete Selected button to finish the operation.

delete no

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Unless you know exactly how the Duplicate Removal programs tests for duplicates decides if a photo is "duplicate" or an intentional copy for editing, I think I'd rather review and make my own deletions rather than lose a photo that you have spent time editing.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Best, as far as I am concerned is Lightroom. But you need to let Lightroom manage them....sometimes easier said then done :)

You are free to specify where your photos are stored (I would recommend a large external, fast drive with a good tested backup of both the catalog (database) and your images.

Lightroom then allows you very quick indexed searches of pretty much any metadata you like attached to each image in the database as well as virtual collections - group images together regardless of where they are located. 1 image can be a member of many groups, using no additional disk space, just an entry within the Lightroom database.

FWIW, I currently have over 60,000 images in my Lightroom database, all stored on my external drive, backed up locally to my Time Machine disk, plus backed up to my off site cloud storage site, and for added safety, mirrored monthly to an external drive kept in the fire proof/water proof box. I don't sweat at night ;)

As for duplicates.... there are several plugins for Lightroom that can help with that, once images are cataloged, consolidated and organized. I make use of Teekesselchen http://www.bungenstock.de/teekesselchen/ but, just making use of Lightroom alone gets everything under control.



All 60,000 images are searchable by metadata such as keywords, aperture, date taken, time taken, lens used, camera serial number, lens serial number, GPS location, shutter speed, focal length, and lots of other criteria. A search of my entire collection will return results within 1 second of initiating the search.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Good point.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

The program only finds the duplicates. You then choose which ones to delete. If I am unsure xx I will manually compare the two or three...... At least three ones I use work this way.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have one folder will all my pictures. It's called "My Pictures." Inside that, I have specific folders, like Travel > USA > New England > Florida, etc. There are an infinite number of ways to organize your photo collection. Look over this substantial list of links, and pick one that's right for you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_organizer
http://www.toptenreviews.com/software/multimedia/best-photo-organizing-software/
Basic ideas -
http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/using-a-controlled-vocabulary-to-organize-digital-photographs--cms-23344

Lots for free -
https://www.digikam.org/
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-digital-photo-organizer.htm
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/10-free-photo-managing-software-you-should-at-least-know/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/412-best-free-photo-management-software.html

Or not free -
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402024,00.asp
http://photo-organizing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-way-to-organize-a-lifetime-of-photos-1429637857

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

I use Windows Explorer - doesn't have any automatic features I have to tell it where to put my images - can do it one image at time or by a mass move. I create my own directories - here's a brief look at how I structure (the dots are needed to maintain the outline structure):
Pictures
..Cities, towns
..... Baltimore
........Federal Hill
........... 8-10-16
..............)image named)
...............(image named)
............9-25-18
........Lexington Market
........Inner Harbor
...... Annapolis
...... Frederick

akamerica

That may be fine for one hard drive, however will it work if you have two backup hard drives and want one clean copy of the latest modified picture?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I don't see why not. You are in control. You decide what goes where.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

There is a Lightroom plug in that will find and mark all duplicates, so long as the exif data has not been changed.
https://havecamerawilltravel.com/lightroom/find-duplicate-photos/

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

If you are talking to me...
I have 2 external hard drives that are for PRIMARY storage - when I save or save as I save to a file on one of those drives. The only thing what is saved to the C drive are files automatically saved by the program I'm using. One external is for photography, the other for non-photography. Each is individually backed up by a 4tb Seagate portable hard drive; back up is automatic using GoodSync.

When I'm going to transfer images I using Windows Explorer. I open the drive holding my photographic stuff which is labeled as Drive Q. I then go to the top directory and open the one labeled Pictures and then establish where these images on my card are to go - as described I my previous post - if I need an additional, new folder I make it.
I take my card from the camera, put it into a card reader. Then using Windows Explorer, access and open the card, which is displayed by Explorer as a Device. I find on the card where the images are, open that file. I then highlight the images to be moved and using the Edit function of Explorer I select Move to folder - which opens the file structure so that I can find and select the folder I want the images to go. The images as they are on the card are moved to that folder - they are NOT modified in any way - JPEGs, Raw, doesn't matter. They are in the folder as they were on the card.

don26812 Loc: South Bay of Los Angeles, CA

Rightfully so, most of the comments here will recommend Adobe's Lightroom CC Classic. From your post it does appear that you are just starting out. True, Lightroom is both a very powerful organizer and photo editor in one integrated package. However, in my opinion, it has a somewhat steep learning curve, especially using the Library module effectively.

I would recommend starting with Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2019. It also includes a photo Organizer, and Photo Editing. It works on the same database principles as Lightroom for managing our images. It's Photo Editor is built on the same engine as Photoshop CC. But like its similarity to Lightroom, its capabilities are simplified making them easier to use for the new user.

Both Lightroom and Photoshop Elements have hundreds of tutorials on YouTube. I would first go to Adobe, and look over their website to get the feel of both programs. I notice there is also a large number of helpful links in this thread as well.

Photoshop Elements 2019 will cost $100 or less. To buy Lightroom, my suggestion is to sign up for the subscription option that includes Lightroom and Photoshop for $10 a month. Lightroom 6 can still be bought on CD, but support for it has basically ended.

And by the way, if you start your Organizing with Photoshop Elements, and later want to step up to Lightroom, there is a Lightroom command that converts the Elements Catalog to Lightroom.

FWIW

I have a blog and website that includes a lot of Photoshop Element tutorials, as well as other digital photography related articles that might be of some help.

https://don26812.wordpress.com/photoshop-elements-tutorial-series/