Here it is, my honest, “you just have to have one” getting photo organized list. I talk about a lot of photo organizing products, but the truth is, some are a lot more important than others. Here are four that I think you absolutely have to have if you want to get that mess of photographs organized. I put them in order from least to most important. Check them out and let me know what you think is a photo organizing must have!
4. Photo Scanner – if you have old prints it’s imperative that you get a digital copy of each of them. An only copy of a print photo is at risk of being destroyed. From disasters like flood or fire to just the effects of time, print photographs are not safe without a good scan as a back up. Here are the scanning methods I suggest:
This app is a great, affordable and simple way to get a good back up copy of any photograph.
If you have the budget to buy a great scanner with an auto photo feeder, this Epson FastFoto is the Cadillac of home scanners. I use mine almost daily and love the results it provides:
I love this scanner because it has a photo feeder. It allows you to scan stacks of photographs at one a time. I have found it to be the quickest and easiest way to get digital copies of old photographs and to get photo organized!
If you are on a budget, check out this Plustek Scanner as a more affordable option. It is a little slower, but still provides a high quality scan:
3. An external desktop hard drive – If you are going to save all of your pictures to one location, you need a great location! This is the BEST place to store digital photographs (both those phone pictures AND the scans that you get of the old prints)
2. A computer – You can try to get away without having a computer and organizing your photographs, but I promise you it won’t be an easy task. Here is the good news though, you don’t need to have the top of the line machine to move pictures around. I have a fancy Mac that I use when I’m knee deep in some heavy Photoshop editing, but truth is, I also have an el cheapo laptop that works just as well for the photo organizing mission. If you don’t have a computer or you’re on a 10 year old one that is on the fritz, check out something simple like my laptop to get back in the game!
1. Cloud Storage – There it is. The very first thing I would get if I were thinking it’s time to get my photographs organized. This is what you need to do step one, back up your phone pictures! This is a storage option that is IN ADDITION to iCloud. iCloud alone just mirrors what is on your phone. If you accidentally delete something, it’s gone on iCloud too. That poses many problems, but there is a good solution. I use Amazon Photos, if you are already an Amazon Prime member it’s free to download that app and start backing up all of your phone pictures. YES, all 26,843 of them backed up and included with your Prime membership. And bonus, when you do get that photo scanner those digital files can be stored there too!
As a professional photographer for over 25 years I’ve managed millions of photographs going back to the film days. I know how challenging it can be to get that all organized, especially if you are starting with several years of pictures! But there is good news, it can be done, it can be a fun project and I KNOW you will appreciate it when you are finished! So start today and begin getting your photo life under control too!
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