How to Store and Organize Photos

Taking photos of events; family vacations, parties, and such with your loved ones is a lot of fun. My family has always been big on keeping a photographic record of everything. I mean we probably have thousands of family photos both old and new, not to mention all the 35mm slides we have.

When digital cameras were introduced, we started using those and now we have thousands of digital images as well. We literally have a lifetime of photographic memories and keeping them stored safely and organized is a must for my family.

For others, photo organization for hard copy prints is picking them up from the developer and throwing the envelope in a drawer after they’ve flipped through them. The problem is when they need a certain picture it is virtually impossible to find.

My current camera is digital. It stores images in order of the month the picture was taken. Not so helpful when it comes to actually finding a picture that I have in mind, so I will use an electronic filing method that works for me.

Keeping up with your pictures can take some time and a little know-how; especially if you want to organize them in a way that will enable you to retrieve the images you want, right when you want them.

Instead of relying on your memory of where in the world that particular picture is, have a storage and organizing method in place from the start.

Now when you get your printed pictures developed or just want to view digital copies on your computer you know just where they are. This way you can enjoy them in the years to come.

Storing Digital Photos

In today’s high tech world there are many options to consider for storing the photos you take with your phone or digital camera. Many people opt to organize and store their photos through online storage sites or organizing them on the computer. Both can be very helpful when it comes to keeping your photos in a neat and organized manner.

Online Storage for Photos

Websites services like icloud, flickr, smugmug and google are just a few. These allow users to store thousands of photos free of charge or for a small fee. From simply listing them by order of date or event to actually utilizing the sites other organizational options, you can keep your photos in any way you see fit.

Another plus to using these sites is your photos are safe from harm should your computer breakdown and can be kept safe even if a disaster strikes.

What to Look for in a Photo Storage Site

If you are going to store your photo on a website you should look for something that offers enough space not only for what you have but moving forward as well and one that is easy to navigate and allows you to create folders for your organizational style.

Does the site you’re considering offer family sharing so everyone can enjoy the pictures you upload. This way you don’t have to send a text or email to multiple people with the photos you want to share.

You also want to make sure the photos you upload are going to keep the high resolution image you created so if printing is something you want to do, it looks just as good as the digital image.

Storing Your Photos on the Computer

There are computer programs; for both PC and Mac computers that you can also use to organize your photos. Storing your pictures on your computer allows the user to bring up all photo files of a specific person, event, etc. without much hassle.

You can do a search on the internet for computer programs to help you store photos. You can also create folders under the Pictures section of your computer and organize them by year and you can take that one step further by creating folders under the year for someones birthday, anniversary, holiday events, trips and so on.

Storing Printed Pictures

For those who still like to keep traditional prints of their photos, organizing them can be done in a variety of ways.

Picture Boxes

You can find boxes specifically made to store your prints. Make sure you select a box specially made for pictures. They need to be in a box made with a low acid cardboard.

Photo Albums

• Always store photos in a photo safe acid-free album to protect them from fading and other damage.
• Store albums upright. The weight of laying them flat can damage your photos.
• Keep pictures out of extreme weather and climates. Never store pictures in the basement, attic or humid areas in the house. I keep my photo albums stored on a shelf in my office.
• Keep photos out of direct sunlight.

Scrapbooking

A scrapbook is a photo album that also contains mementos, decorations and many other types of items to create a highly personal record of an event such as a child’s early years, or other significantly cherished memories.

I love to scrapbook, especially with family photos. Really old photographs are nicely preserved and displayed from any collection type. (family, era, whatever the theme you choose)

Organizing Photos

Safely storing your prints is one thing, but organizing and keeping them organized are a whole other story. The big problem is being able to quickly find the picture that you are looking for when you need (or want it).

Figuring out the best method of organizing your photos may take a little thought. The important part is to select a method to use and then stick to it. Depending on your preferences and how you use your photos, there’s not a one size fits all method.

For instance, if you travel frequently, you may prefer to organize your photos by trip; rather than by year. But if you have five kids, it may be easier for you to organize your prints by child rather than by occasion.

I organize my pictures (in digital and hard copy prints) in albums by date. I suspect most people working with family photos do the same thing. The key to success is figuring out what method best fits your own needs.

Sorting/Tagging Options

The first step to organizing old photos (especially a lot of them) is to begin separating them according to a specific style.

The term tagging applies to digital photos to enable the same ability.

Date

By month or year when the photos taken – group photos from the same era together

Event or Occasion

Keep photos from a single holiday, vacation, event, and so forth piled together

Location

Group by where the photos were taken: grandma’s house; the beach; the city; inside or outside; etc.

Person

For instance, maybe you would like to take all of Aunt Jane’s photos and put them together to see how she aged over the years; or all of your sister’s baby pictures, etc.

Topic or Style

You could put all summer photos together or all the pictures of the cars you’ve owned or the pets you’ve had over the years together. Simply choose a topic and find all of the prints that fit.

A Fun Way to Display “Not So Perfect” Printed Pictures

I have all my old fashioned 35mm film and prints organized in albums right up to the time I switched to digital pictures.

My old fashioned prints that were not selected to go in the album (because someone’s eyes were closed or whatever) were stuck in envelops and stuck in the back of my closet, not to see the light of day.

That is until one Christmas when money was tight, I took out all my pictures that were not going into my album, cut out any part of the pictures that were still good to use and made a collage of my family and the gift receiver’s family together.

All I had to buy was a photo safe glue stick and an inexpensive picture frame to make a custom and cherished memento.

And it was so easy to do!

Storing and organizing your photos does not have to be a huge job, but it does require making a few basic decisions and then sticking with whatever system you choose.

Try these ideas to organize and quickly locate your special memories.