Tips For Organizing Your Digital Photos

Spring shouldn't be just an excuse to clean out your closets. It's also a great time to get your digital photos in order. I'm guilty of just tossing my pics into one jumbled and disorganized file (which makes it a pain to find a specific pic), but we can all start fresh and clean from here on out, thanks to some helpful tips from the pros. Bradly Treadaway, digital media coordinator and faculty member at the International Center of Photography in New York, shares how easy it is to keep your photos in order with just a little bit of proactive work.

Make it your mission this Spring to keep your photo library in order with the helpful tips below.

• Store on a dedicated external hard drive — Instead of storing your photos on your computer's hard drive (which takes up lots of space), buy a dedicated external hard drive to use as your digital photo library. Store it in a safe place, and you'll never be without your precious pics.
• Label your pics as you save them — Instead of dumping all your pics into one file and saving them, take the time to go through your images, keeping only the best of the bunch, and label with names, dates, and events.
• Stay organized with labeled folders — Create folders for each event you shoot, specifying the event name and date for each label. If you're taking random pics, create seasonal folders (like Summer 2011) so you can stay on top of your one-off photos.
• Routinely empty your SD card — By routinely moving your photos off of your camera's SD card, you'll ensure that you will never run out of space when trying to capture a family event, party, or video. Try moving photos and video files off your SD card at least once a month or, better yet, after every major event.