Monday, October 16, 2006

Photo Organization

If you're like me you have piles of photos just waiting to be sorted. If you're like me you have trouble deciding how to sort them - albums, boxes, scrapbooks, frames? Here's how I like to go about sorting my photos:

  • Boxes - As soon as photos are developed I try to put them in labeled photo boxes. I have five main boxes: Family, Friends, Events, Vacations and Miscellaneous. A set of photos from a birthday party, for example, would go directly into the Events box. A set of various photos would quickly be sorted into the appropriate boxes. Some judgement calls will apply - do you put the family reunion photos in the Family box or the Event box? Don't take too much time to make these decisions - this is just a rudimentary sorting to make future organization easier.
  • Albums - Set aside an afternoon once or twice a year to take the photos from your boxes and put them into albums. Have your albums ready in advance and make sure you know what type of photos you'll be putting in each album. You may want to organize specific albums first, such as "Grand Canyon Vacation." You'll clearly know which photos go in these albums. Save the general albums for last. If you have family albums that you try to keep updated, just pull your favorites from the Family box.
  • Scrapbooks - If you're a true scrapbooker this post isn't for you. This is for anyone who likes the look of scrapbooks but doesn't spend the time picking out just the right photo for each page. If you want a scrapbook for each of your children, for example, write each of their names on a manilla envelope. As you sort through your photo boxes select the photos that might be scrapbook-worthy and put them in the appropriate envelopes. As you come across paper or other scrapbook decorations that fit each child's personality, stick them in the appropriate envelope. Sit down one day, empty the envelope, and, voila, you're ready to scrapbook!
  • Frames - This is an obvious one. As you go through your boxes have any available frames next to you. As you find photos that you want to display, find an appropriate frames and put them in.
This is just my method of sorting photos I've had developed. Digital photo organization is a story for another day...

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