Photo Organization

Do you have a stack at your house that looks like this? Do you have boxes of photos that need organizing? Do you feel so overwhelmed trying to sort through photos that you never seem to get any scrapbooked? If you answered, "Yes!" to any of these questions, then today's post is just for you!

The original handout that I adapted this from was created by my friend, Chris Green. She was inspired by Stacey Julian's book, Photo Freedom. Awesome resource, by the way!

Enjoy the following information, cut and paste it into a document that you can print and use as you organize. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions. Enjoy! -Karen

Photo Organization

Handout created by Chris Green, with a few ideas added by Karen Pedersen
(Ideas inspired by “Photo Freedom by Stacy Julian”)

Close To My Heart Product List (items that can be used to facilitate this system, they are referred to throughout the handout):
My Legacy Albums – various styles & colors - $27.95 to $49.95
4113 12x12 Six Pocket (10 pages) $8.95
Z4127 Label Holders $4.95
Z1038 My Acrylix Organizer $12.95
Z334 Paper Organizer 12x12 $10.95
Z1049 Photo Marker $2.50
(To purchase any of these items, click here then click on Shop Online)

From Camera to Prints

Digital
1. Set up a folder by year – for example: “2009”
2. In each year folder, set up sub folders by each date and event and download photos into the folder after each event or on a regular basis (i.e.: weekly, monthly, quarterly). Here are some sub folder examples:
12-25 – Christmas Day
4-14 – Dawson’s 15th Birthday
3. Upload digital prints for printing on a regular basis (once a month, once a quarter, etc). Online places to order photos: www.costco.com (requires membership), www.winkflash.com, www.snapfish.com, www.shutterfly.com

Film
1. Label each roll of film with month/year – event with a permanent marker.
2. Have a regular place that you store your film waiting to be developed so you don’t misplace any.
3. Develop film on a regular basis (Each roll of film, each event – such as a vacation).

Create Organization Systems
Before you can begin organizing your printed photos, you need to create a couple of organization systems. Create the following:

Scrapbook Notebook
As you begin scrapbooking more frequently, this notebook will help be able to keep track of what you have scrapbooked and what photos have been used on a project or in a gift album. It will also be a great place to file ideas you have for project albums.
* Create a yearly sheet you can record your photo events on to track what has been printed, what album, etc.
* Create tabs in the notebook – yearly and tabs for each project album to organize your ideas for your album.
* Print Several project sheets that you store in your albums so you can fill them out as you get inspiration for your album or project (note from Karen: I will be sharing one of these on my blog tomorrow, 4-18-2009)

My Legacy Album & Photo Storage Pages – 6 photo
Use an album for each family member or theme album to store your photos to be scrapbooked. Load the six photo pocket pages (4113, 10 for $8.95) into the album. This will save you time when you are sorting. Use a Label Holder to label your album.
Budget Option: Use one album or use the photo storage pages loosely until you can purchase an album.

My Acrylix Organizer
This organizer (Z1038, $12.95) will be a filing box for all the “extra” photos when you sort your photos. Consider creating a filing box for the following:
* Each family member
* Each themed scrapbook (Vacations, Holidays, etc) you set up
Advantage of using the My Acrylix Organizers – they are portable and stackable!

Create tabs in each album for the types of photos that will be filed in the box. Some tab ideas:
* Personality
* Friends
* Sibling & Me
* Hobbies

Paper Organizer – 12x12
Use the paper organizer (Z334, $10.95 for 3) to store oversized photos (and miscellaneous memorabilia) - consider labeling the organizer with the event and date.

From Photo Envelopes to Organized - Sorting Your Photos
Sort your photos from one event into the following piles:

Discard (i.e. the garbage!)
Place any blurred prints, misprints from print company, etc in this pile. As soon as you are finished sorting – these photos can be thrown away!

Scrapbook
Choose 12-24 photos of the event to scrapbook. NOTE: Not all of these photos will be used on the scrapbook page – the ones that are not chosen will be filed or discarded after you create your layout. Place photos in a single 6 photo pocket page – layer like photos between the front photos of the pocket.

File
These are photos that will be filed in your My Acrylix Organizer box(s). Use the Photo Marker (Z1049, $2.50), write pertinent information on photo – month, year, event and then file photos in the appropriate My Acrylix Organizer box under the appropriate divider tab.

Extra photos
Store in your six photo pages in an album by year or if digital prints discard after scrapbook layout is complete. This is a hard concept for some people, but it really is OK to discard the photos of an event that are much the same as the one you have scrapbooked but not as good. Do you really need 6 photos of Sally blowing out her birthday candles? I think probably one or two is plenty. Let go of the need to keep every single photo.

Negatives
Store in envelope by date or scan with a negative scanner into digital files. Service available online – for more information go to www.scancafe.com or Google “Negative Scanner”.