[Weekly Mojo Series] Photo Organization

Last week, I shared Laura Kurz' thought process on which photos to display or scrap versus which photos to put in storage, and this week's post expands on that topic a bit. I came across a great article a few months ago in Real Simple, which focused on getting your photos off of your phone or camera and getting them into your albums or onto your walls. I jotted down their suggested 6-step process, and I'm sharing it with you today, along with some great inspiration from Liz Tamanaha of Paislee Press Designs on getting your photos out of shoebox storage.

1. Download your photos from your camera or phone. It's best to funnel them directly into a photo-organizing program if possible.

2. Edit, edit, edit. Delete duplicate photos or poor quality shots. If you have a lot of photos to go through, break this step down into 15- to 20-minute increments until it's completed.

 (source)

3. Make folders to store your photos. You can choose to sort them in chronological or thematic order, or use a combination of both (begin with chronological folders and then create sub-folders by theme).

4. Rename and file your photos. This is a great place to take care of any basic edits (cropping, fixing red-eye, etc).

(source)

5. Back up your files, using TWO of the following options: an external hard drive, a online storage service, or prints. The article suggests using CDs or DVDs ONLY if they are archival-rated, but be warned that these can be pricey.

6. Delete the original files from your camera or phone.

Until next week, keep the mojo flowin'!