How To Store Photos Digitally and Keep Them Organized

Most of us grew up flipping through old photo albums, reliving memories or learning more about our friends and family members. Those photos provided a unique connection with the past for everyone viewing them. Then a few years ago, those photo albums transitioned to scrapbooks that still hold some popularity today. But unfortunately for most of us, we just don’t have the time to print off photos and organize them all in albums or scrapbooks. Now that we live in the digital age, an easier and faster option is digital photo storage.

Storing and organizing digital photos makes it easier to find the images you want, when you want. You’ll just want to make sure you systematize them properly. To help keep your pictures organized, follow these tips for storing and organizing digital photos.

6 Tips for Storing and Organizing Digital Photos

1. Title your pictures

It can be overwhelming to try to name every picture something unique. Instead, title all the photos from a specific day or event with the same name and then add a sequential number. For example, all of the images from your niece’s wedding could be titled, “Sam’s Wedding 01,” “Sam’s Wedding 02,” “Sam’s Wedding 03” and so forth.

2. Use folders and subfolders

Everyone’s brain works a little differently, so it’s up to you how this looks. The overall idea is that folders and subfolders can help you find what you’re looking for more quickly. If you prefer chronological order, you may have folders set up by year, followed by month, then event. If you take a lot of different pictures, you might choose to set up folders with titles such as “Landscapes” and “Family.” Just be sure that the folders and subfolders you create make sense to you later when you want to find something.

3. “Favorite” the pictures you want to reference frequently

Photo storage on your phone or in an application like Google give you the option to indicate what your favorite pictures are. This selection generally drops these photos into a folder titled “Favorites” or something similar. This is quite handy for finding images you want to pull up frequently, but be careful not to overload this folder. You may find yourself “favoriting” too many pictures, and then you wind up with a folder of 425 pictures to sort through again. Be sure to clear it out occasionally to keep your current favorites handy.

4. Don’t be afraid of the “Delete” button

It’s easy to want to keep every photo you take, especially when they’re of important things like your kids and grandkids. But what if many of these photos are duplicates or are blurry? That leaves you with an excessive amount of photos that take up your storage space. Set aside some time every so often to clear out images that hold no significance or are just repeats of the same shot.

5. Keep photos in the same place

This doesn’t mean drop your photos in the same folder and say, “good enough.” Find a place to keep them that’s easily accessible, durable and easy to back up. This may be a location like Google Photos or an external hard drive. If you choose an external hard drive as your location, be sure to invest in something that’s going to be reliable and long-lasting. And always remember: you’re going to need more storage space than you think.

6. Keep organizational habits

Following all these tips is well and good when you have a mass of disorganized digital photos, but it’s going to be all for naught if you don’t follow through on maintaining the process as you add new photos. If you go back to dumping all of your new photos onto the computer, you’re going to end up spending time over and over again going through the reorganization process. Instead, form good organizational habits as you go, so your photos always stay organized.

Keep the Rest of Your Austin Home Organized with Crampt

Your digital photo storage may not be the only part of your home that needs some organization. If you’re feeling cramped by the belongings you’re surrounded by, turn to Crampt! We’re here to help you store your items until you’re ready to swap them out later. We make it easy by bringing you storage bins (and packing assistance if you need it), picking them up when you’re ready and storing them in our secure facility. To make keeping track of your items and getting them back stress-free, our easy-to-use customer portal allows you to quickly see what you have in storage and request drop offs.

Ready to get started? Get a quote today!