Hi Beth, I actually don't use anything special for organizing. I let the windows software download any recent pics off the camera and all the one's that I scanned in I just used the software for the printer/scanner. I did create a directory under my pics folder and label if for the year and then put monthy folders under that year so I know when I took the pictures. For all the photos I scanned from past I created folders under "Mypics" breaking them up into catetorys like "Wifes family" "My Family" "the dogs" "vacations" etc. That make them easier to find. I had gotten some software with the camera called "Camedia" but like you am not convinced it is anything great, so I just use whatever windows selects for viewing and also set my desktop to use my pictures for a slideshow screensaver.

 

Something else important you should do. We got copies of all our medical records and I scanned all of them onto the computer and created folders and sub folders breaking them down into like "My doctor visits" 'Wifes doctor visits' 'bloodwork' 'Er visits' 'cardio records' etc, so they can be easy to find in an emergency. I then make a complete copy of all those records onto a thumb drive or jump drive whatever you want to call it and keep it handy for emergencys. With traveling you never know where you will be so having your records with you can be a life saver in an emergency. It is easy to tuck away in your purse or I actually keep it hanging by the door, although I am going to make an additional copy to keep in the truck. Seperating the folders would make finding the right info much easier for the doctor should he need to access the files. I think ALL fulltimers should do this, especially if you have any ongoing medical issues. I know I have a little ekg thing that could have saved me a couple of thousand dollars in an emergency visit if I would have had the drive with me! But I could not tell the doctor at the urgent care if what he saw was what I already had and was sent to the er room to be safe. Dummy me! Hopefully one day soon a credit card sized storage media will be used and you can transfer the info to that and just keep in your wallet.

null

 

-- Edited by Tmcblane at 08:04, 2007-01-24

Beth, I keep a backup on a thumb drive and also occasionally burn info to Cd's. I use to use a zip drive but it was not dependable  and after a computer crash I tried to backup from the zip drive and the discs were junk and could not be used for restore.  We lost a lot of info. Don't want to do that again.

  Hi Beth

  I also use windows to download from the camera, name (I use the date as the name of the individual photo), and store in the correct folder.
  I also use Picaso. With Picaso you can do the photo editing and it doesn't affect the original. If you decide the edited picture is better you can save it the windows folder and erase the original.
                                          Tom

Let me preface by saying I consider my self semi-pro photo wise and my "workflows" will be considerably different.

I started out with the freebies. I used the GIMP graphic software as well as Corel Draw and Corel Paint. No longer.

My camera and probably yours comes with photo download software, for example Canon Camera Window. This software will dump your pictures anywhere. The are equivalent Nikon, Pentax??, Olympic and other manufacturers software. Canon also provides semi pro software called DPP (Digital Photo Pro). I find Canon's software great for batch processing. For a long while I used the Canon software and Photoshop Elements to raw process and fine tune the pictures.

I had a lot of pictures on my computer. I have backed them up on a semi regular basis to a external hard drive. As my files grew in size, I would typically burn 1 memory card onto CD, I use 512mb cards because they match CD size. I use CD's because too many pics at once are hard to sort and reflect on. I am now moving some groups of photos off to DVD. The 4gb+ storage helps.

I am glad I had the photos backed-up because my laptop was stolen. I lost no images from that because of the backups. I did find that I lost some shots because the CDs had failed, they are not fool proof.

I do use a MAC. I used a PC for 20 years. That is a benefit because Apple's latest photo software, Aperture, is great. I use Aperture like I used to use film darkroom tools. I often move some shots out to Photoshop CS2 for final processing. PS does somethings that Aperture can't do. I now find that Aperture and Photoshop communicate well and I use Aperture to move the photos out to smugmug where I keep the best shots, hoping some one might actually buy one, haha.

My gallery

I have just down loaded Picassa Web tools for the Google/Picassa free gallery space for try out.

The MAC comes with iPhoto, a nice organizer and minimal editor too. My wife uses that exclusively.

Warning: I was a semipro portrait and wedding photographer and had a complete dark room for years. I also taught photography at the local junior college and worked the art show circuit. My taste and work flow may be more intense than you wish.

Feel free to question me via email. Your mileage will vary.

Mike

Boy, what great info. You all seem to have answered a lot of the questions that I have. Thanks for all the input.

Mike, I checked out your galleries and your work is fantastic. It must have taken you years to develope the knowledge and abilities that you have. Keep up the great work. I even bookmarked your gallery to view from time to time. Hope to see more. Thanks.

 

Ray Scrafield