Naming & Filing of picture

glm

Hi All,

Just setting up a nw PC and I'd thought it would be a good idea to put some structure to te way we save our pics.

I would be interested to hear how other people name and file their pics.

Malte

glm wrote:

Hi All,

Just setting up a nw PC and I'd thought it would be a good idea to put some structure to te way we save our pics.

I would be interested to hear how other people name and file their pics.

I just use may camera's naming scheme and I've set it to never reset its image counter.

Malte

aj986s

I'm not a pro, but I take a lot of pics. I initially use the filenames used by my camera. I then (using Import in Lightroom) file the original images to a USB harddrive, using a directory scheme that's date based. I have a folder for each YEAR (Like "2008). Then I have a folder for each MONTH; I use year/month so that is sorts properly (like "2008-10"). Then within each month, I have a separate folder for each EVENT (like "Picnic at XYZ park"). Lately, I've also started adding metadata words during the Import process to further help find pics.

After culling out the worst (I start with RAW pics), I Export them (again in Lightroom) in JPG formalt to another network harddrive I have for our family's home network. I use those copies to upload to Smugmug online. Periodically, I also backup by RAW photo directories to DVD's, which I also maintain by Year & Month. At some point, I'd also like to setup a 2nd USB harddrive to mirror the 1st one.

ivar

aj986s wrote:

I'm not a pro, but I take a lot of pics. I initially use the filenames used by my camera. I then (using Import in Lightroom) file the original images to a USB harddrive, using a directory scheme that's date based. I have a folder for each YEAR (Like "2008). Then I have a folder for each MONTH; I use year/month so that is sorts properly (like "2008-10"). Then within each month, I have a separate folder for each EVENT (like "Picnic at XYZ park"). Lately, I've also started adding metadata words during the Import process to further help find pics.

I use a similar structure on my hard drive; First a folder with the year, then folder named year_month_day_subject (so it automatically sorts chronologically in finder and pretty much everywhere else) that holds the images:


I use my camera filenames, simply because I don't see a reason to not use them. I tag all my photos with keywords which enables me to find them if I need them. Plus the structure on my hard drive allows me to find stuff pretty easily, also. I also use LightRoom.

aj986s wrote:

After culling out the worst (I start with RAW pics), I Export them (again in Lightroom) in JPG formalt to another network harddrive I have for our family's home network. I use those copies to upload to Smugmug online.

You know you can also export to SmugMug directly from LightRoom, right? I never export them as JPG, really, unless I want to give someone a copy.


Welcome to the Digital Grin forums, glm

jasonstone

Year \ Month \ Description

Because I may shoot a ton of different pics of my kids in any one month but then if I go for a day trip I know which year and month it was

As for filenaming - I used to use the standard out of the camera but now I rename using

YYYYMMDD--nnnn
e.g. 20081013-Rohans2ndBirthday-0001

This is working MUCH better than anything I've ever used as I'm not pro so I don't go on shoots

And in any one day of photos I may shoot many different points of interest and so it doesn't help to put them in shoot category folders

Where do you file something that you took on your holiday, in Yosemite National Park, with your wife and kids in teh photo?
Is it Nature? Is it Family? Is it Holidays? etc.
Just doesn't work for me at all

Just my $0.02c

oh and Lightroom 2 makes this so easy to do - just set it upon import and change the day to the Description

Cheers, Jase

Richard

I rename all files in Bridge as soon as I upload them. I use yymmdd_nnnn as a naming convention, where nnnn is a four digit sequence number that Bridge creates. I don't rely on file or folder names to carry any information at all, as I use a database program to search for pics by keyword, subject, date and a host of other variables. I always keep two copies of everything on separate media, and I limit the folder size to whatever fits on my optical storage disks (currently, a 4GB DVD). Using file and folder names to find pics is OK if you don't have very many, but if you shoot a lot, over the years it becomes impractical to find things that way. You might want to look at this review of Peter Krogh's The DAM (Digital Access Management) Book for an introduction to the issues in catalog management.

glm

Thanks
Guys,

The reponses give me a lot to think about. I'm really trying to be ordered and structured about how i handle this with a new pc.

thanks again and keep the tips comming

ivar

glm wrote:

Guys,

The reponses give me a lot to think about. I'm really trying to be ordered and structured about how i handle this with a new pc.

thanks again and keep the tips comming

I think what is important, is that you find a solution that works for you. Everyone has a different approach to these things, and you need to find a structure that allows you to easily find your photos again.

I found a way that works best for me (and I've changed it in the past, too), but it may not be the best way for everyone.

jasonstone

ivar wrote:

I think what is important, is that you find a solution that works for you. Everyone has a different approach to these things, and you need to find a structure that allows you to easily find your photos again.

I found a way that works best for me (and I've changed it in the past, too), but it may not be the best way for everyone.

Soooo true! I've just changed how I'm filing - luckily Lightroom2 allows you to move and rename very easily

aj986s

Do remember to include backing up files in your strategy. I've not lost any yet, but had some close calls. Am much better these days about having in multiple locations, even if all aren't the largest RAW files.

I like the approach of directories by YEAR and MONTH, because when I think its time for a formal backup, I look at my DVD's to see which Month was done last. Then I see if from then to date has enough to reasonably fill a DVD. If not, I'll wait a bit longer. I like to backup entire Month directories, rather than split.

jasonstone

Backing up is crucial... i'm somewhat paranoid...
on external drive
then on 1TB drive on another computer
that's backed up to another 1TB drive which isn't always turned on
which is backed up 1/week to 1TB kept off site
and I upload all my selected photos to smugmug
and smugmug backs up to 3 other data centres

I think that might be sufficient backup but I guarantee that there is still a chance to lose photos even with all that backing up!

Have fun

glm

Thanks
Have just gone out and purchased an external back up drive.

glm

jasonstone wrote:

Backing up is crucial... i'm somewhat paranoid...
on external drive
then on 1TB drive on another computer
that's backed up to another 1TB drive which isn't always turned on
which is backed up 1/week to 1TB kept off site
and I upload all my selected photos to smugmug
and smugmug backs up to 3 other data centres

I think that might be sufficient backup but I guarantee that there is still a chance to lose photos even with all that backing up!

Have fun

eoren1

My setup (FWIW)...I was never into a year/month/date scheme except for initial import. I have an external drive where I keep all photos in roughly a Person/Place/Things catagorization scheme. Under each person I have one of my kid's names and then their directory is kept in a year/month scheme. For Places, I have states listed then cities for directories underneath. This is probably a silly setup at this point as I use Lightroom and, with metadata and keywords, I get the same effect...
I do change the name on import to get past the 4 digit limitations. For my Canon 350D, I have it renamed to IMG_1(filename number).cr2. I have to remember to change that leading number every 10000 shots.
The really important thing in this day and age is to be systematic about ratings and keywording which is far more powerful than any directory structure.
E

Art Scott

I also use a date-name scheme......
If your just starting to use LR....the new book by Scott Kelby ...Lightroom 2 for Digital Photogs...sorta walks you thru the file naming process also...

jasonstone

Art Scott wrote:

I also use a date-name scheme......
If your just starting to use LR....the new book by Scott Kelby ...Lightroom 2 for Digital Photogs...sorta walks you thru the file naming process also...

I definitely recommend the book by Scott Kelby - it's helped me in a few critical areas to just get my head sorted on how I want to do things and has saved me some time for sure

Cheers, Jase

pmbpro

Richard wrote:

I rename all files in Bridge as soon as I upload them. I use yymmdd_nnnn as a naming convention, where nnnn is a four digit sequence number that Bridge creates. I don't rely on file or folder names to carry any information at all, as I use a database program to search for pics by keyword, subject, date and a host of other variables. I always keep two copies of everything on separate media, and I limit the folder size to whatever fits on my optical storage disks (currently, a 4GB DVD). Using file and folder names to find pics is OK if you don't have very many, but if you shoot a lot, over the years it becomes impractical to find things that way. You might want to look at this review of Peter Krogh's The DAM (Digital Access Management) Book for an introduction to the issues in catalog management.

Same here! I use the program called "A Better Finder Rename" on my Mac (http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename), to rename my images on the desktop immediately after copying from my card. I do add my initials in the front though, because I also send images to clients. When they see my initials, they'll know which images are mine in their collection by just looking at the name in their lists. So my labeling ends up like this: PMB_YYYYMMDD_#### . My 4-digit number is generated from my camera.

I also have Peter Krogh's book and visit his forum regularly.