A Photography forum. PhotoBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » PhotoBanter.com forum » Digital Photography » Digital Photography
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Folder Structure Organization



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old June 24th 04, 12:17 AM
Jack
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Folder Structure Organization

You need a relational database so that the same file can be indexed many
different ways (date, subject, type, event etc.) and only exist as a file in
a single place. I think there are image database programs out there. If you
need one use one. Organizing to the extent you are talking about by using
folders is a bad idea.

As for scanned stuff. Scan only what you NEED to have in your database.
Leave the crappy pics in the box. You are never going to look at them again.
And if you need to they will still be there when you need to. As for what
the source is, who cares whether they were scanned from print, slide or neg?
You aren't going to do anything different because of that are you?

-Jack


"Grant Robertson" wrote in message
...
Naturally, the first question that comes to mind when organizing one's
image files is what folder structure to use. I have read some old posts
on the subject but I still have some other issues that I can't quite work
out. In reading these old posts, I got the idea for the following basic
structu

2004
--01-January
--02-February
--.
--.
--.
--12-December

Then, for each month, subdivide any large groups of images into their own
separate folder named for the occasion like "Craig's Party" or "Fishing
with Dad". Random images that really don't have a specific occasion
associated with them will just go in the month folder.

Well, this system works fine for all the new digital images I take but
there are lots of other images that I possess that don't fit into this
simple system. So I added another level above the year level to handle
some of the other types of files I will have. I use a separate partition
on my hard drive for all of my data. In the root of this partition I
created a folder called Media. Here is the structure I have created under
that:

Media
--Graphics (I still haven't decided if I will use a database for these.
If I do it will definitely be a separate database from my
photos.)
----Cartoons
----ClipArt
------(Lots of different directories here.)
----Icons
----Web Graphics
------Animated GIFs
------Backgrounds
------Borders
------Bullets
------Lines
------Stationery
------WingDings
--Graphics, By Me
--Music (Naturally, a separate music database will be used for this)
--Music, By Me (One can always dream.)
--Photos (General photos that I didn't take myself.)
----Found (Sometimes I find old negatives or pictures and like
to keep them. It is a weird type of collection, I know.)
----From xxx (pictures given to me by various people)
----From yyy
----From zzz
----Humor
----(Various other topics)
--Photos, By Me
----!NewYear (Empty folders as a template to easily copy into a
folder for a new year.)
------01-January
------02-February
------.
------.
------.
------12-December
----!Portfolio (For copies of my favorite images. This folder will
be synchronized to my Tablet PC so I can easily show
off these images to friends.)
----2000 (These are all my old scanned film images.)
----.
----.
----.
----2004 (These are all the digital images I will be taking)
------01-January
------02-February
------.
------.
------.
------12-December
--Photos, Family (These are organized by the last name then the
name of the parents in a family. Once a child
gets married and has a family of their own then
they get their own folder. Remember, these are
for pictures I did not take myself. So all
professional portraits or pictures taken by
others would be in here.)
----Leirer, Clifton & Lydia (My grandparents on my mother's side.)
----Robertson, Clarence & Faye (My parents)
----Robertson, Grant & Michelle (Me and my ex-wife)
----Robertson, Grant & Whoever (If I ever get married again)
(Pictures of just me that have no relation to a particular
family will be put under the plain 'Photos' folder organized by
who took them or gave them to me, depending on how much I know
about the origin of the photo.)


Well, with all that organization you would think it would cover every
conceivable situation but I am still stumped as to the best way to handle
a few things. I would like to ask the advice of others who have been
doing this for a while.

First Question:
For all my old film that will be scanned I don't really have reliable
dates as to when most of them were taken. The slides have dates imprinted
on them but I have a terrible habit of not developing film for quite some
time after I have shot it. However, I did keep track of roll numbers for
every picture. I am wondering if it might be a better idea to create a
different folder structure for these scanned images. Perhaps a good guess
as to the year then just a different folder for each roll? Something
like:

1984
--Roll 001
.
.
.
--Roll 025
1985
--Roll 026
.
.
.
etc.

What does everyone else do?


Second Question:
What about prints that I don't have the negatives to any more? How can
I keep track of them?

Even more questions:

Should I organize scanned slides separately from scanned negatives?

What about any scanned film that I take in the future? Should it have a
separate folder structure or should I find some way to indicate scanned
images in the database? Could I use the EXIF data in some way?

How do you organize the physical prints that have been given to you by
other people so you can find them if you need to do a better scan later?
Do you mark them with some kind of serial number to make them easier to
find?

How do you organize all the different versions of the files you end up
with as you work on an image to get it ready for use or just showing off?
Would it be better to just use categories within the database for these
to reduce the depth of the folder structure?

I appreciate any suggestions anyone can make. I just know I am leaving
something out. Can anyone think of any holes in my system?



  #3  
Old June 24th 04, 01:43 AM
Frank ess
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Folder Structure Organization

"Grant Robertson" wrote in message
...
Naturally, the first question that comes to mind when organizing one's
image files is what folder structure to use. I have read some old

posts
on the subject but I still have some other issues that I can't quite

work
out. In reading these old posts, I got the idea for the following

basic
structu

2004


snip


I appreciate any suggestions anyone can make. I just know I am leaving
something out. Can anyone think of any holes in my system?


It's great to be organized. It's great to have stuff to organize. It
would be great to have time to get all the stuff you want and to
organize it, and to be able to put your hand on any bit of stuff,
instantly.

My sense of this is: the organization has overwhelmed the content. For
any substantial number of images, there isn't enough time to digitize
and organize them, and to appreciate them. There isn't enough time.

You pays your money and you makes your choice: while not mutually
exclusive, there is something non-photography about over-organizing.

I gave up most of my organizing time to spend more time making and
enjoying. It was actually kind of painful, for a while, but for me the
benefits are much greater than the loss.


Frank ess


  #4  
Old June 24th 04, 06:10 PM
PeterZiminski
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Folder Structure Organization

check out a free demo of PhotoLibrary at
http://www.PhotoLibrarySoftware.com/

and the Open Directory which has a list of Image Management Software at
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/G...e_Cataloguing/

See this review too.

http://www.photosource.com/tools/software/

Pete
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:48 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 PhotoBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.