Step-by-Step Guide to Photo Organization
Easy tips for getting pictures from memory card to album.
By Lexy Schmertz
- Commit to one online photo site
Start your own photo library.
My favorite site, Shutterfly offers unlimited free storage, an easy, logical system to catalog your pictures, great touch-up options, and numerous card and gift ideas.Upload your photos regularly.
Pick a time and stick with it. Maybe during your favorite weekly TV show or every other Sunday morning.Create a new album every time you upload photos.
Be sure to use a title that notes the year, month, and event. Immediately label any individual photos you may not remember in six months.
- Share important photos right away
E-mail your online photo albums.
You can add special messages and captions. Set up an e-mail list of regular recipients, so mass mailings can be done in one click.Create flip books for special events or tech-impaired relatives.
These simple, inexpensive photo albums (from $13, Shutterfly.com) make great gifts. But don't overdo it. For about a year, I ordered flip books every time I uploaded pictures. Eventually, I had boxes overflowing with them. Better to use these selectively.
- Create and order custom digital photo albums for each year
Edit.
In January, name the album something obvious, like Smith Family, 2009. Every three months, fill the annual album with your favorite photos from your monthly folders. (It's also a good idea to do this before a big holiday, so you're all caught up before having to organize the huge new batches of photos.)For a polished look, stick with one style.
Choose your favorite size and design, and be sure to put the year on the binding.
- Print your own photos
Invest in a compact photo printer.
Canon's Selphy CP770 ($150, Amazon.com) is superportable—it comes with its own handle and stores the prints in the bucket. It's also great for making postcards from your vacation photos!
- Organize your printed photos
Get them out of boxes and into albums.
Order a set of albums with easy-access photo pockets. Exposures has classic leather ones ($60). Have the year printed on the cover and binding. Want separate albums for each kid? These 8-by-10-inch scrapbooks can accommodate pictures, drawings, and other memorabilia. Kate's Paperie offers inexpensive spiral-bound books (from $23) or elegant leather albums (from $22). If you're into saving holiday cards and photos, it might be worth your time to make a holiday album each year.Or transform your paper photos into digital ones.
ScanDigital is a Web service that will convert your photos, slides, negatives, or old cassettes into digital format. Then you can merge these with your other electronic files.
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