Have you ever found yourself struggling to locate a photo from a fantastic vacation just a few years back?
Shoeboxes of prints are a thing of the past. Nowadays, nearly everyone’s smartphone is capable of capturing brilliant digital shots. Though it’s great we can snap away, managing the flood of digital photos and videos can become overwhelming. Here’s how to get this task under control:
STEP 1. BACKUP YOUR PRECIOUS PHOTOS/VIDEOS
Your travel photos are some of the best souvenirs you'll bring home. They encapsulate moments you'll cherish forever, especially for families with young kids. Before you even think about organizing these memories, back them up on an external hard drive and in the Cloud. This way, you won't lose it all if your device malfunctions or you fall victim to a hack. These files can consume significant storage so that a backup will free up space for new captures.
Back-Up Your Photos to the Cloud
Subscription services like Dropbox, Google Photos, or iCloud offer affordable options to keep your photos safe for the long haul. Did you know Amazon Prime members get unlimited photo storage with their membership? The Amazon Photos app allows full-resolution backups. Keep in mind this isn’t the best option for videos.
Back-Up Your Photos to a Hard Drive
In addition to cloud backups, a 4TB external hard drive (price range: $100-200) is a reliable option. Memory costs have dropped drastically, making this step affordable.
STEP 2: SORTING, DISCARDING, & ORGANIZING
Sorting
Begin by loading all your images into a “to-be-organized” folder. This serves as your central repository for imported images from various devices. Sort these photos logically—thankfully, most smartphones and digital cameras record information such as date and location.
For printed photos, use Google’s free PhotoScan app to digitize and upload them to your “to-be-organized” folder.
Discarding
Go through your collection and delete blurry, dark, or otherwise unneeded images. This step helps maintain a manageable photo library. The Photosync app is useful for finding and deleting duplicate images.
Organizing
Create high-level folders for each year. Within these, make subfolders for the months and countries visited. If you have an extensive collection from a single trip, categorize them by city or event.
For instance:
-2019-Mexico
- Los Cabos
- San Miguel de Allende
Rename the files with information on when and where they were taken (e.g., 20191112Guanajuato1 for a photo taken on November 12, 2019, in Guanajuato, MX).
The free Adobe Bridge program is a lifesaver for batch renaming. If you capture both RAW and JPEG images, organize them into separate folders for better management. Apple Photos users can organize their collections on the desktop version, which allows for folder creation and multiple album placement. These folders will sync with your iPhone and iPad for easy access.
STEP 3: EDIT YOUR TRAVEL PHOTOS
Once you’ve culled the images, it’s time to make them shine. Several excellent, free editing tools can significantly enhance photo quality:
Apple Photos: Ideal for making most basic adjustments.
Google Photos: Great for PC users, offering built-in editing tools and smart filters.
Adobe Lightroom: Popular and powerful. Presets are available to save time, adding unified effects to entire folders of photos. Many online tutorials can guide you through its features.
Snapseed: Developed by Google, this app provides 29 tools and filters.
Adobe Photoshop: The go-to for robust editing needs (subscription required).
STEP 4: STORAGE
With your photos edited, back up your progress and establish a system for future storage. Use both an external hard drive and a cloud-based service. Ensure your chosen cloud service doesn’t compress original files, which diminishes quality and resolution.
Cloud-Based Services
BackBlaze: Starting as low as $9/month, this service provides unlimited storage and auto-backup features. Bonus: it also backs up your entire computer!
Google Photos: Unlimited free backup for images up to 16 megapixels and videos up to 1080p resolution. Videos and pictures with higher resolution will be compressed unless you opt for additional storage.
Amazon Photos: For Prime members, this offers free, full-resolution backups and automatic photo storage.
STEP 5: MEMORIALIZE YOUR PHOTOS
Miss flipping through physical photo albums? Consider printing your favorite digital photos in an album. Services like Shutterfly and Snapfish offer excellent options for prints and custom photo books. With its integration with Adobe Lightroom, Blurb is another popular choice for creating beautiful photo books.
There you go! With these tips, you’re all set to get your travel photos organized and easily accessible. Feeling inspired to plan your next big adventure? Stay Balanced Travel is here to help you create unforgettable journeys. Let’s make some new memories together!
Happy organizing and safe travels!
Comments