2023: It’s Time to Get Your Photos in Order!
*This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission if you purchase through the link. There is no additional cost to you.
Do any of the following statements describe how you feel about your photos?
My photos are a mess, I don’t know where to start.
I have too many photos.
I think there are tons of duplicates.
My photos are stored in 6 different places.
I can’t find my photos from 2012.
I can’t find the photos I’m looking for.
I am afraid of losing my photos.
I’m paying for 3 different cloud services to store my photos … why???
Make 2023 the year you take control of your photos. Put them in one place so you can find, share, and enjoy them. Stop worrying that you might lose them. Maybe once they are organized you can make that book you’ve been meaning to make (but one step at a time!).
Take the first step to organizing your photos - do this right now.
While you are sitting here reading this blog, take the first step. Open up your camera roll and clean out your December 2022 photos.
Remove screenshots,
Move photos of things to remember into Notes.
Delete the duds.
Keep just one or two photos from groups of similar photos.
Do one month at a time, and keep a note on your phone tracking your progress.
Pro tip: use the search feature to isolate the December 2022 photos and videos before you clean them out. Your mind will have a much easier time contemplating the 100-200 December photos than it will looking at your photo library as a whole.
An Ideal Photo Library is Accessible, Searchable, and Secure
An ideal photo library follows the 3-2-1 system backup system (3 copies, on 2 different media, with one offsite - see this post), and is accessible, searchable, and secure. You can access your photos from anywhere, find what you are looking for, and be assured that they are backed up. Visually:
If you primarily take photos on your phone, your ideal photo library might look like this:
Your camera roll: accessible and (potentially) searchable, depending on what you use.
Your backup #1: utilize the free photo storage offered by Amazon Prime, or on a service like Forever, where you purchase storage up front.
Your backup #2: export regularly to an external hard drive.
If you take photos with a DSLR and your phone, your ideal photo library might look like this:
My own photo situation is more complex as I have two cameras that I use regularly: my DSLR (mostly for travel, birds, and special occasions) and my iPhone. So my library looks like this:
My camera roll regularly cleaned out and exported into year-month folders to an external hard drive.
My DSLR downloaded to my computer, cleaned out and keyworded into the same year-month folders as my camera roll.
All accessible, shareable, and searchable, together in once place, on SmugMug. Because I take so many nature photos, and SmugMug holds unlimited photos and videos, this is ideal for me.
My additional backup copy is on Backblaze, which regularly backs up my entire computer.
I also keep a family archive of historical family photos on Forever. Because I take so many nature photos, it does not make sense for me to store all of my photos on Forever. But I keep some of my nature favorites on the site.
Hire a pro to help you.
If you don’t want to do this yourself, or you don’t have time, or you don’t know how to do this, guess what? I can help!
I hire pros to do all sorts of things. Sure, I could learn to fix the leaking sink by watching lots of YouTube videos, but I don’t have the tools, don’t want to, and am afraid I would screw it up because I don’t know what I don’t know. So I hire a plumber.
Similarly, if you are afraid of losing photos, or are not sure how to do it, or just don’t want to, that’s what I’m here for. I offer do it for you and do it with you solutions. Set up a call and we’ll talk about what is best for you. Photo organization is not a one size fits all process. Your needs might not be the same as someone else’s. I can craft you a solution that works for you and your lifestyle.