I am getting ready to help my mom and dad with their new Vista computer. What is the best way to organize photos on this computer system? I will be scanning old photos as well as organizing new photos....we are talking about MANY generations of photos .....Marsha in WV

Quoting marsha moses <mosesm@earthlink.net>: > I am getting ready to help my mom and dad with their new Vista > computer. What is the best way to organize photos on this computer > system? I will be scanning old photos as well as organizing new > photos....we are talking about MANY generations of photos .....Marsha in WV If there are many families put them into surnames folders that way you'll know which family group they belong to. I would put a casption underneath each photo saying who they were as you tend to forget after a little while.

I am way behind on email so this is a delayed reply. What is right with scanning, labeling and sorting photos depends on the person and what you are happy with, as long as you can find what you are looking for and the who, when and such is detailed. Here's what I do: As I have full photos with a lot of people and then scanned enlarged crops from them to individual people also done from those, I found a dual system works. I copy from one to make the other. These are all under one folder named PHOTOS. 1. I have the scans in family groups (full photos and crops). I use the last name, the year and location as a main label. If there's ten men in the photo from the family, as an example, how can you put a first name on it?!!! This also allows me to keep events with multi events grouped. Examples of folder labels (a subfolder): SMITH 1920 Denver, Colorado (I don't like abbreviations). SMITH 1920 Denver, Colorado WEDDING of John 1888-1946 2. I also have a folder sorted by dates for each photo, all grouped in one folder for all names. It makes a nice time line visual and an easy to find visual if looking at thumbnails. For women, I will list the maiden name and the married name such as JONES - SMITH. I do NOT put the Jones as (Jones) as then they can lay oddly. Example of folder label (a subfolder under 'Photos'): PHOTOS by Year. The contents reflects the year, last name, first name, birth year, death year. A photo label would read (example): 1901 JONES - SMITH, Mary 1877-1924. The end result is ONE main photo folder with TWO subfolders. Another note: When I do a scan, I also put enough room UNDER (open space) the photo to allow full details to be added TO the photo, under the photo, with my software. That way I know the information IS with the photo and I add all types of info known concerning the photo and its contents. When printing, that can be cropped out for the printing. It is never removed from the original. When scanning I save the photo first in case I want to add or change something. I do save those - so in my case I have a THIRD subfolder titled 'Photos, BLANK Space, No Words'. The description and info for each is only with the photo label. ..... In this folder is actually TWO scans. One is the original size in high resolution and one is enlarged with very high resolution to allow for enlargements on some tiny ones and also for photos where you can barely make out faces (like in many group photos). I also scan the black and whites in color. Software can adjust to black and white for printing if wanted but I find clarity better in color. Some black and whites I have scanned both ways. Now a trick I use: I put all info into a Word Document which then also checks for spelling errors. From that, it is copied to the photo info added into the blank space I allow. The Word Document is then saved in the BLANK word photos folder. So in subfolder #3 under the main PHOTOS label are my blanks in two sizes (at least) for each photo that I have saved along with the Word Documents. The Word Document label would read as shown below (1901 JONES, Mary 1884). A photo label would read: 1901 JONES, Mary 1884 NoWords x 400% 600Res which means scanned 4 times the original size with 600DPI Resolution. I also have two giant external drives as two backups and DVD back ups too. Over kill? It all works for me. -----Original Message----- From: gen-comp-tips-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:gen-comp-tips-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of marsha moses Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 11:39 AM To: gen-comp-tips@rootsweb.com Subject: [GEN-COMP-TIPS] Photos I am getting ready to help my mom and dad with their new Vista computer. What is the best way to organize photos on this computer system? I will be scanning old photos as well as organizing new photos....we are talking about MANY generations of photos .....Marsha in WV No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.8/1340 - Release Date: 3/23/2008 6:50 PM

Donna (History Buff) M. St. Felix wrote: > I am way behind on email so this is a delayed reply. > > What is right with scanning, labeling and sorting photos depends on the > person and what you are happy with, as long as you can find what you are > looking for and the who, when and such is detailed. > > Here's what I do: > As I have full photos with a lot of people and then scanned enlarged crops > from them to individual people also done from those, I found a dual system > works. I copy from one to make the other. These are all under one folder > named PHOTOS. > > 1. I have the scans in family groups (full photos and crops). I use the > last name, the year and location as a main label. > If there's ten men in the photo from the family, as an example, how can you > put a first name on it?!!! This also allows me to keep events with multi > events grouped. > Examples of folder labels (a subfolder): > SMITH 1920 Denver, Colorado (I don't like abbreviations). > SMITH 1920 Denver, Colorado WEDDING of John 1888-1946 > > 2. I also have a folder sorted by dates for each photo, all grouped in one > folder for all names. It makes a nice time line visual and an easy to find > visual if looking at thumbnails. For women, I will list the maiden name and > the married name such as JONES - SMITH. I do NOT put the Jones as (Jones) > as then they can lay oddly. > Example of folder label (a subfolder under 'Photos'): > PHOTOS by Year. The contents reflects the year, last name, first name, > birth year, death year. > A photo label would read (example): 1901 JONES - SMITH, Mary 1877-1924. > > The end result is ONE main photo folder with TWO subfolders. > > Another note: When I do a scan, I also put enough room UNDER (open space) > the photo to allow full details to be added TO the photo, under the photo, > with my software. That way I know the information IS with the photo and I > add all types of info known concerning the photo and its contents. When > printing, that can be cropped out for the printing. It is never removed > from the original. When scanning I save the photo first in case I want to > add or change something. I do save those - so in my case I have a THIRD > subfolder titled 'Photos, BLANK Space, No Words'. The description and info > for each is only with the photo label. ..... In this folder is actually TWO > scans. One is the original size in high resolution and one is enlarged with > very high resolution to allow for enlargements on some tiny ones and also > for photos where you can barely make out faces (like in many group photos). > I also scan the black and whites in color. Software can adjust to black and > white for printing if wanted but I find clarity better in color. Some black > and whites I have scanned both ways. > > Now a trick I use: > I put all info into a Word Document which then also checks for spelling > errors. From that, it is copied to the photo info added into the blank > space I allow. The Word Document is then saved in the BLANK word photos > folder. > So in subfolder #3 under the main PHOTOS label are my blanks in two sizes > (at least) for each photo that I have saved along with the Word Documents. > The Word Document label would read as shown below (1901 JONES, Mary 1884). > A photo label would read: 1901 JONES, Mary 1884 NoWords x 400% 600Res > which means scanned 4 times the original size with 600DPI Resolution. > > I also have two giant external drives as two backups and DVD back ups too. > Over kill? It all works for me. > > > <snip> Donna; I've been thinking about what works for you and seeing if there are tips that I could include in my system. I do have questions. Your system works great for you, but when you send a photo to someone else, how to you label the electronic file? Do you change the filename? And if so, to what? How do you label each of the photos in the folder 1901 JONES - SMITH, Mary 1877-1924? Since family members are continually requesting images from me, I'm always looking for a better way to label the individual electronic filenames? Some of my filenames have been too long when I cut a CD. Note that I use the word images, because I also digitize birth/death certificates, etc. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks so much for explaining your system to all of us. -- Enjoy the Search! Thayne