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Oct
22, 2007
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Newsletter
#34
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Hi,
In past newsletters I've covered photo editing, printing, and other topics, but a lot of people wonder how to organize and manage their growing digital collection. It's easy to get behind if you don't take a few minutes to organize newly downloaded images on your computer, and my big pile of printed photos yet to be put in albums or frames is another story!
My mother always told me that if you clean up dishes as you go, you won't have a big mess in your kitchen to clean up later. The same is true for digital photos: if you do a little organizing now you won't be faced with a mishmash of hundreds of pictures all named something like 0033748.jpg. So I've put together some tips that will help you keep track of your photos and make finding specific images faster and easier.
Holiday cards are now available from the major online photo companies. I like personalizing my Christmas cards with my own photo and greeting, and it's so easy to do. Just upload a photo, pick your design and add your personal message. There are many card styles as well as inexpensive photo postcards to choose from. Best of all, there are discounts galore. Many of them are good through early November, so you can save when you get your Halloween pictures printed. Check out the photo printing services below for the best deals.
Also, I have a review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, still my favorite software for editing and organizing my photos.
Tips on Organizing Your Digital Photo Collection
Review: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6
Photo Printing Services Sales & Promos
Digital Cameras & Accessories Sales
| Organizing Your Digital Photos |
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NOTE: For brevity's sake, this is a synopsis of my tips on organizing your photos. The full article with more detail and examples is on my website. You can read the entire article here. If your hard drive is jam-packed with photos, take a little time to organize them so you can find them and enjoy them. Purge Unneeded PhotosAs soon as you download images, go through them right away and delete the ones you don't want. Name Your PhotosWhen you download new photos, put them in a new subfolder to My Pictures. There are several ways to name and structure your folders. I like to organize my folders chronologically and put all photos for a particular year into subfolders under that year. Keyword SearchTo help you search for and find specific photos, you can use your photo software such as Photoshop Elements or Corel Paintshop Pro to tag images with keywords. You can tag your photos with a variety of attributes such as place, date, occasion and person. The organizing features in Photoshop Elements 6 are especially strong. The new Smart Albums feature automatically groups photos based on up to 10 search criteria that you can designate. Clean up Your FilesIf you already have a bunch of unorganized photos under you're My Pictures folder, take a few hours to sort them into folders and delete the ones you don't need. Batch RenameRename existing files using Batch Rename. This tool will save you lots of time. Your photo editor or manager (Photoshop Elements or ACDSee Photo Manager, for instance) has this function. Back Up Your PhotosProtect your photos! Burn them onto CD or DVD. It is very easy and cheap insurance. Most PCs and laptops come with CD-DVD burning software. If you have an external storage drive, back up your photos there. Print Your Photos and Put Them in AlbumsPrint your photos as soon as you've downloaded them. Don't wait, or you may forget about them. As soon as they're printed add them to your album. Show Off Your PhotosUse your software program to email your favorite photos to family and friends. Software like Photoshop Elements and Corel Paintshop Pro make it easy to create slide shows complete with transitions and music.
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| Review: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 |
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With the perfect mix of power and usability, Adobe Photoshop
Elements 6 is fun to use, for both beginners and intermediate
to advanced photo enthusiasts. You can download
a free trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 There are two work areas: the Photo Editor, for editing and enhancing images, and the Photo Organizer for gathering and managing your images. Photoshop Elements 6 has improved the editing interface with uncluttered screens and new tabs that give you quick access to features. The enhanced assistance feature walks you through the editing process for such common tasks as blemish or scratch removal. New FeaturesAdobe Photoshop Elements 6 offers users three edit modes
geared to novice, intermediate and advanced skill levels. The Quick Selection tool is now much easier to use. You can select adjacent areas with similar color and modify them, such as changing the color. Other FeaturesThere are endless fun projects you can create, from animated slideshows to printed projects such as cards, photo books, scrapbook pages, and CD/DVD labels and e-mail. While there is some crossover between the creating and sharing functions that can be confusing at first, once you figure out how it works, it is not a big deal. I highly recommend this excellent software for just about anyone, from beginner to advanced user. System requirements: Intel®
Pentium® 4, Pentium M, or Intel Centrino® 1.3GHz processor
Where to Buy:Photoshop Elements 6 is available for $99 download, $79 upgrade
at Adobe. You can download
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 here, |
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Go to Kodak
EasyShare Gallery |
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NEW: You can now upload your digital images to Shutterfly and pick up your 4x6 prints at your local Target store.
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from Amazon.com for $89.99. If you have an old version you
can get a $20 rebate.
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>> AMAZON.com
Go to Amazon.com
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>> KODAK STORE
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Have a great week and Happy Halloween!
Valerie
www.digitalphotos101.com
How to get the best from your digital camera
To access prior newsletters: Click on this link.