Where is the best place to save photos? How to store photos

Also the question is where is it better to store photos in in electronic format relevant not only for photographers. Today, every second person always has a smartphone with a built-in camera. Some fans take dozens of photographs every day. And for a photographer, sometimes it’s also faster to take out his phone and catch a random funny shot than to take out his own camera, turn it on, set it up, and miss an interesting shot.

This article is made short review cloud storages from 2015, which I actively use myself.

Dropbox

Dropbox is the first cloud storage I started using, which is why it comes first in this article. Dropbox is far from the largest cloud storage where you can store photos on the Internet.

They provide only 2 gigabytes of space for free. Today this is very little for storing photos. But I use it out of habit, and not so much for photographs as for storing documents and quickly accessing them from any device.

You can also invite friends to use dropbox and thereby expand your free space, but these are insignificant numbers.

Holders Samsung phones and HTC have a nice bonus of an additional 48 gigabytes of free storage in Dropbox.

The Dropbox client has both a version for computers and a version for mobile devices. You will always have access to your photos if there is internet nearby.

In order to use Dropbox cloud storage, you just need to indicate your email address when registering.

Perhaps these are all its advantages. Use: www.dropbox.com

Cloud storage mail.ru

Appeared relatively recently. At the end of 2013. What particularly attracted me to it was that at that time it was the largest free cloud storage. At the start, cloud storage mail.ru offered 100 GB of space for free. It was a new cloud service. At first there were a lot of lags, the client was loading the computer, and a scandal about data confidentiality broke out on the Internet. But the mail.ru cloud storage is growing, correcting all its lags and shortcomings.

At first I used such a large space to store video files, but there was one drawback - it was impossible to view videos online. I had to download it to watch it. But in 2015, the functionality was improved and now you can watch videos directly from cloud storage from any device, be it a computer, tablet or smartphone.

There was also a promotion at the end of 2014. Everyone could expand their storage up to 1 terabyte for free. That's what I did :).

Unfortunately, today, when registering, the mail.ru cloud storage gives only 25 GB of free space. But all the bugs and shortcomings have been corrected. All functions work like clockwork.

I would also like to note that the developers care about their clients and do their best convenient to use service. All services have instructions for use in text format, and there is a whole “video help” section that describes all the functionality and capabilities of the service in video for both regular computers and the mobile version of the mail.ru cloud.

In order to use cloud storage mail.ru, it is enough to have registered mail on the mail.ru website

Cloud storage Yandex disk

Yandex cloud storage provides free 10 GB of space not only for photos, but also for any files. What I especially liked about Yandex disk was that there was more space than in Dropbox and I could watch videos online without downloading to my computer. I used this service before I switched to mail.ru cloud storage.

Yandex Disk has a client for computers running all popular operating systems: Windos, MAC OS and Linux. You can also install the Yandex disk application and have full access to your photos and files from mobile devices based on Android, IOS and Windows phone.

Cloud storage Yandex Disk has all the same functions as Dropbox, only it provides 5 times more space for free - 10 GB.

Free space on Yandex disk can be expanded just like in Dropbox if you invite friends to Yandex disk.

In order to start using Yandex disk, it is enough to have mail on Yandex. If you have mail, then you automatically already have 10GB on Yandex disk.

Google photos and google cloud storage

I saved the best for last. Google photos and google cloud storage. Perhaps this service is by far the most generous. The largest free cloud storage for photos is Google Photos. How much space does Google provide for free to its users for storing photos? Exactly as much as you need.

Since 2015, Google has been providing unlimited storage space for photos up to 16 megapixels in size. For all other files, free cloud space is limited to 15 gigabytes.

Previously, the Google Photos service also provided unlimited space for photos, but they maximum size was limited to 4 megapixels. Today the limit is 16 megapixels.

Is 16 megapixels a lot or not enough for photography?

For reference:

• — Professional reportage DSLR Nikon D4s has a resolution of 16 megapixels.
• A top-end mirrorless camera with a full-frame matrix and the highest light sensitivity among all cameras, the Sony A7s has a resolution of only 12 megapixels.

It's up to you to decide whether 16 megapixels is much or not. I'm quite happy with this limitation. Moreover, on Google photos you can store video files with a resolution of 1080p for free, that is, in FulHD resolution.

In addition, in Google Photos you can apply different filters to photos, make a collage of photos, make a video, apply to photos various photos effects directly online without Photoshop and even from a mobile phone.

Google photo this perfect solution not only for photographers, but for all lovers of photography and being photographed. It has unlimited virtual space for storing photos and wide functionality for processing and applying various effects for photos.

And today, if they ask me where to store photos on the Internet for free, I will answer without hesitation - Google Photos.

In order to start using Google Photos, you just need to have a registered Google account. Simply put, a mailbox on gmail.com. All users of devices based on the operating system android systems have a Google account and not everyone knows about the opportunities that open up to them.

Ease of use

We looked at four of the most popular cloud storage services. If you are concerned about the problem of where to store photos on the Internet for free, then the Google Photos service is best suited for this. The service provides unlimited storage space for photos up to 16 megapixels in size.

If you are just looking for cloud storage with a large volume for free, then mail.ru cloud storage is best suited for you. The developers provide 25 gigabytes of space for all types of files, or maybe some of you managed to register earlier and now have 100 gigabytes, or maybe even a whole terabyte of space in the mail.ru cloud storage

Today, all of the listed services have a web version - that is, you can use, upload files, download and share them directly in the browser. And they have a client for downloading to your computer and an application for other devices (tablets, mobile phones). Working with the client is also very convenient. You add or change some files on your computer and they are automatically uploaded to cloud storage and become accessible from any of your devices on which the client or application is installed.

Now you know where to store photos on the Internet for free and free cloud storage with a large volume.

Having opened the seventh for Last year letter from my couples, the content of which, like all previous ones, boils down to the phrase: “We have lost our wedding photographs, do you still have copies?”, I realized that the disaster was beginning to take on a universal scale and decided to write a short guide to how to what you need to do after you have received the photos.

So, you spent a lot of precious time searching for a photographer, spent a certain exorbitant amount on organizing an event, be it a wedding or another event, paid your hard-earned money and now all that remains is to wait for the photos. A couple of months - and voila, you are transported again to that delightful day, you laugh again, brushing away the tears that rolled down from the touching memories, and nudge each other in the side with your elbow, saying: “Look at what you are like here, wow.” go." Naturally, you will definitely share these “material memories” with your loved ones and for another week you will leaf through these photographs several times a day, noticing more and more new details.

Well, then...Then you will be whirled by the whirlwind of everyday bustle, new events, pressing problems and joys, and you will completely forget about the folder of photos, comfortably nestled somewhere in the vastness of your computer. You will remember her next time, at least a year later, or even more, when nostalgia comes flooding back again, when the full anniversary of your wedding happens, when Aunt Manya comes to visit, whom you last saw while walking under walking table And this is where the most unpleasant situation is revealed: it turns out that there are no photographs.

There can be a lot of reasons, ranging from ordinary human carelessness, when a folder with photos is deleted by an absurd accident, to an equally trivial disk failure. Yes, perhaps this will be a revelation for you and you are extremely lucky if you have not yet experienced this own skin, but hard drives are rather fragile creatures and tend to break, just like thirteen-year-old girls.

And it turns out that in addition to a couple of photographs exhibited in in social networks, you, in fact, have nothing left from the wedding. And here begins the feverish search for the name of the photographer who once photographed you, and the sending of heartbreaking letters, abundantly watered with shed tears, with the hope that, perhaps, he was more sensitive to your memory in the form of photographs and took care of its more careful preservation.

Where should you store your photos?

Now that you are already sufficiently intimidated by the looming prospect, I suggest you shake off the goosebumps that have run through your skin and begin to act.

1. Go to a computer store and buy an external hard drive. Ideally this should be SSD drive, because they are both faster and more reliable. But, it's true, it's more expensive. You have already stepped on your toad’s throat at least once, strangling it with weighty arguments that you don’t skimp on memory. It's time to disturb this stirring toad again.

2. We record ALL received photos onto this newly purchased disk. We check twice, or even better three times, that the full-size versions of the photographs (that is, the largest and heaviest) are now present on the disk.

3. Along the way, you can, and I would even say, need to, write the rest of your family digital photo archive onto this disk. This is the first stage of the procedure to where is the best place to store photos?.

4. Ideally, you need to buy two disks, make identical backups and store one of the disks in the house of close people - friends, parents.

5. If a not completely strangled toad hints that DVDs are much cheaper, send it to... Meadow, there are mosquitoes. Because optical discs are extremely unreliable and after a couple of years, even if you make an attempt to save your photos, you will still be left without them.

6. It would be useful to print out the best photographs, no matter what you say, but printed photographs give rise to completely different sensations than intangible pictures on the screen of iPads, iPads and other i- and oh-devices. Printing - second stage proper storage photos.

7. The best printing option is, of course, high-quality, . To design it, you should contact your photographer, he is the one who stores the source files of the photographs, he is the one who knows what your day was like and will be able to convey these feelings in the book.

8. Select an online cloud for storing files. This can be either a free option with some restrictions, or a paid one that provides more extensive capabilities. The online cloud will protect you from such cataclysms as fire, flood, earthquake, theft and other horrors about which everyone thinks that “this definitely won’t happen to me,” but from which, nevertheless, no one is safe.

In this article I will not describe the advantages and disadvantages of different cloud services, but will give only some prices for approximate orientation.

• Dropbox: 2GB, free; 100GB, $100/year; 500GB, $500/year.
• Microsoft OneDrive: 7GB, free; 100GB,$50/year; 200GB, $100/year.
• Google Drive: 15GB, free; 100GB, $2/month; 1TB,$10/month; 10TB, $100/month.
• Apple iCloud: 5GB, free; 10GB, $20/year; 20GB, $40/year.
• Mega: 50Gb, free; 500 GB, $9.99/month; 2 TB, $19.99/month; 4 TB $29.99/month.
• Yandex disk: 10GB, free; 100GB, 1500rub/year; 1TB, 9000 rub/year.
• Copy.com: 15GB, free; 250GB, $99/year; 500GB, $149/year.
• [email protected]: 25Gb, free.

This was the third component proper storage of photos.

9. That’s it, now you can sleep peacefully. And be sure that 20 years later, when your children ask about their parents’ wedding photographs, you will not look away and wipe away a tear with the corner of your apron, but will have a quiet family dinner by the fireplace looking through home photo archives.

10. Do all of the above TODAY. And don't argue. And don't put it off until tomorrow. Just do it today and that's it.

The space on it will eventually run out anyway. Then most photographers simply copy the pictures from the camera to the hard drive of their computer, without even thinking about their further safety. But in vain... Due to a simple shock to the laptop, a power surge, or simply a malfunction of the electronics, your entire photo archive can be lost literally in an instant. In this article, we'll tell you how and where to store photos safely, and which storage system will best suit your needs.

In my photographic practice, an unpleasant situation has already happened twice when the hard drive stopped working and all the data on it was lost. For the first time this happened without visible reasons: one day the computer did not turn on. The second time I simply dropped the laptop from a height of about half a meter. This turned out to be enough. A very unpleasant situation, but not fatal. Because in both cases, the most valuable data (and for a photographer this is, first of all, a photo archive) was copied to a separate medium. So, the main rule for secure data storage is that you should always have up-to-date backup copies of your files on a separate medium.

Which media should I choose for backup?

When trees were big and cameras were 6-megapixel, some photographers managed to record their photo archives on DVDs and then simply stack them. Now this approach may seem ridiculous: what kind of self-discipline and perseverance do you need to have in order to remember to write down a couple of blanks with photographs after each photo shoot? Besides modern models Notebooks are increasingly supplied without a CD-ROM.

Today, the most reliable and affordable storage media are hard drives.

Today, the most reliable and affordable storage media for photos are hard drives. We'll look at two ways to organize your storage system: using external hard drives and using hard drives inside your desktop computer. Let's start with external drives.

Storage system for photo travelers

For many photographers, a laptop has become the same creative tool as a camera: it accompanies its owner on trains around the city, at outdoor photo shoots, and on long-distance expeditions. The photographs taken are reviewed on the laptop, the most successful ones are selected, partially processed... and, of course, the results of the shooting are stored. It is he who bears the entire burden of responsibility for the filmed material. But even in the field, data backup can be done easily and simply. The best solution for this is the My Passport and My Passport Ultra drives from WD.

These compact and lightweight drives have capacities from 500 GB to 2 TB, which is currently a record for devices of this format (2.5” external drives). To connect to a computer, a fast USB 3.0 interface is used (the previous version, USB 2.0, is also supported). The device does not require a power outlet to power it, allowing you to use it anywhere.

Now comes the fun part: Using the WD SmartWare Pro backup software included with My Passport Ultra, you can sync folders on your hard drive and drive. When you connect the drive to your computer in the background, all changes that have occurred to the folder on your laptop are absolutely automatically added to the backup copy: edited files are updated, newly created ones are copied, and deleted ones are erased. In addition, My Passport Ultra allows you to copy your files not only to the drive itself, but also to the Dropbox cloud service if you are connected to the Internet.

A simple solution for amateur photographers

Not all of us spend days and months traveling long distances. Some people prefer to return home every day and look at fresh photos, sitting in their favorite chair with a cup of coffee in front of a large monitor. In that case, the larger My Book external drive is the way to go. It will stand in your home near your PC and will delight not only strict design, but also with an impressive volume – up to 3TB! This drive also connects to a computer via a high-speed USB 3.0 interface and comes complete with free program for automatic WD SmartWare backup. In addition, such a solution will to some extent be a more reliable storage for the archive, since it is less likely to suffer from such troubles as falling or accidental impacts than mobile drives.

Network storage for the whole family

All the drives that we looked at before had one thing in common: a USB interface. But if you have a local network at home (and almost everyone now has a Wi-Fi router), then why not connect your computer to the drive using this very network? My Book Live is not equipped with USB, but with a Gigabit Ethernet network interface. This means that you can place it next to your router, connect them with a power cord (it, of course, comes included) and access data remotely, for example, via Wi-Fi. Setup using the included software is carried out automatically with just a couple of clicks; even a person far from network technologies can handle it. Five minutes - and all your home computers already “see” the drive; all members of your family can store their files on it, regardless of what operating system they use - MAC or Windows. Naturally, the network interface is not a hindrance for backup using WD SmartWare. It's also available with My Book Live: data from synced folders is saved automatically in the background when your computer is connected to home network. Moreover, you can use this drive as a centralized storage location for backups from multiple computers in the house, all data will be transferred within your local network.

But all the advantages of My Book Live do not end there. A few more clicks and you can set up remote data access from mobile devices. Save pictures from your iPhone to your hard drive or, conversely, download a movie to your tablet. hard drive- all this has become accessible and simple with the help of special applications for smartphones and tablets. The WD2go and WDphotos applications allow you to access your hard drive not only from the local network, but also from the outside (if you have an Internet connection).

Well, if you have access to the Internet, then you can now access your files from anywhere in the world using the WD 2go service: in the device settings we register web access (you just need to indicate your name and address Email), log in to the portal www.wd2go.com and view the contents of your archive via the Internet. So, for example, if you need some important files in the office, you can remotely access this drive and download everything.

It remains to add that My Book Live is produced in exactly the same volumes as My Book - from 1 to 3 TB.

Dual-disk network storage for professional photographers

Three terabytes - to some this may seem like a huge amount. But professional photographers can fill up even such a hard drive quite quickly. They need a more serious model: My Book Live Duo. Its main difference from the regular My Book Live is that there is not one, but two hard drives inside. In this case, the possible storage capacity ranges from 4 to 8 terabytes.

It would seem like a small thing - just double the volume. But the use of two hard drives inside the drive allows for different approaches to data storage: if the owner of the device wants it, information can be written to the disks in parallel (RAID 1). Yes, but the storage capacity will be halved. But even if one of the drives fails, you will not lose important data. You can completely trust your photo archive to such network storage, without even saving it in your computer’s memory. The second difference with the My Book Live Duo is the USB port, into which you can connect another drive to expand the storage capacity or create a restore point.

One more interesting feature This model allows you to independently disassemble and replace the hard drives inside. We ran out of memory, took out the full hard drives and put them on a shelf. And in their place we put new, empty ones.

For computer processing professionals

If your Mac has a Thunderbolt™ interface and your main storage requirement is speed, then the My Book Thunderbolt™ Duo is for you. Like the My Book Live Duo, this drive has two hard drives inside, and its capacity can be from 4 to 8 TB. But the use of a bidirectional Thunderbolt interface provides unsurpassed fast multitasking with video editing programs, 3D rendering programs and other “heavy” graphics programs. This two-disk drive can be configured to operate in the mode you need: RAID 0 for speed (the fast Thunderbolt interface allows you to unlock the full potential of such an array), RAID 1 for data protection, or JBOD to work with each drive separately. Another one useful feature this device: In Mac OS® X, you can make your My Book Thunderbolt Duo drive a bootable external device.

Self-organization of the storage system

If for one reason or another ready-made storage systems are not suitable for you, you can create a storage system yourself. For example, the most simple option A backup implementation could be adding another hard drive to your desktop computer. Then all that remains is to set up backup using certain software products. For example, when you import photos from a flash drive, Adobe Lightroom can create backup copies in a location you specify. Or you can simply sync multiple folders on your computer using the Sync Toy utility for Windows. You can also use the already mentioned WD Smartware Pro by purchasing it on the manufacturer’s website. This program will independently track the latest changes in files on any disks installed in your PC.

It is important to choose the right hard drive that best suits your purposes. If it will only be used for backup, then the best solution there will be one of the WD Green series drives. This line has proven itself to be the quietest and coolest drives on the market. From others important features The “green” series is worth noting its impressive volume (up to 3 TB) and excellent price per gigabyte ratio. If you plan to install an operating system on the same hard drive or perform complex file processing directly from the disk (for example, video editing), then you will need more performance. For these purposes, it is better to prefer another line - WD Black: these drives are record holders for speed and performance among models for PCs.

WD Red is designed for NAS use

They are specifically designed to work in small NAS (for home and small office): support 24/7 operation, have low noise and power consumption and are compatible with the vast majority of NAS

Summarize?

Don't wait for your first negative experience with data loss. Think rationally about the idea of ​​backing up your files now. And then just choose the solution that suits you best. Fortunately, today there are devices on the market for every taste: from light and compact external drives with a USB interface and a convenient backup program to serious multi-disk drives that can be used both for storing photographs and for processing. Choose what suits you! And we, in turn, will tell you in the very near future about several of the most successful models drives, we will test them and describe in detail the entire setup process.

“What is the best way to store photos on a computer?” - I am often asked this question, and today I will tell you how I do it. After all, my archive of family and client photos with a volume of more than 500 GB requires order in storage, otherwise it will be difficult to quickly find the necessary photos and generally find them among tens of thousands of files :).

I have more than once observed a situation where on a computer folders with photographs are stored on the desktop, piled up in the “My Documents” folder, and simply scattered across the hard drive in different places. Because These folders do not have a name by which you can understand what kind of photos are there; finding the desired photo often involves viewing all the folders and opening the photos in them. For me this is just a nightmare! That's it, let's move on to the description :)

First of all, I will clarify about the approach I use to store archival materials, and these are not only photographs, but also family video archives and materials from seminars, trainings, etc.

The human brain can remember the details of a moment in life if it is given the date and place when it happened. The same approach is used by the wonderful Evernote program for saving notes and by hypnotists (yes!) to extract details from your subconscious. I use a specific date format and a description of the location or type of event to name the folder. This allows me to quickly find folders with photographs taken on a specific date and refine them by description.

For example, I am photographing relatives and friends at the birthday party of one of them on March 8th of this year. I will name the folder where I will store photos from this shoot “2014.03.08 Birthday. Petya Ivanov."

More examples:

The examples are real, I just changed my name. I note that I used to call folders in Latin, but now I often write in Cyrillic, this is not important.

Why does the date come at the beginning of the file and why is it important?
At the beginning of the file name, I write the year separated by a dot, then the month and then the number of the date when the shooting took place, since this allows you to automatically sort in ascending date order. It is very comfortable. For clarity, look at the photo of the final structure for storing photos one chapter below.

Separately about storing photos from long trips/travels

When we go on big trips, of course, in addition to impressions, we bring a lot of photographs. I usually store photos on the day of shooting inside their shared folder and specify the location (as in the example below) or event, here clear example from a trip to France (photos are in Facebook):

If the shooting dates fall on the new year, then I save them in the year when the shooting began, i.e., as in the example above, in 2012.

What does the final structure for storing photos look like?

There is a common folder “!!!Photo” with folders by year and inside each year there are already folders with photos.

What to do with newly taken or copied photographs?

If you're sorting through or processing photos after shooting, I recommend creating a folder in which you save all new photos. As you process them, you will move them into a photo storage folder.

This allows you to always know that the photos are either in the archive or in a folder for processing, and not somewhere else on the computer. Important point- name the folder correctly right away, i.e. in the “date - event” format, so that the folders are immediately sorted by date.

What to do with photos on your mobile phone?

Nowadays, for many people, a phone with its advanced camera is actually a pocket camera. This is convenient when you can take pictures of something useful and not so useful :), and we often leave photos on the phone without sorting them out or transferring them to the computer in the first folder we come across.

I also sometimes take pictures on my phone, but I stick to following rules with photos on it:

• If it's a photo from a meeting or event that I'm saving in a file storage structure (like a work project or attending a conference), I file the photo in a folder dedicated to that event. The principle of the folder name is the same - the “date-event” format.
• If these are photographs “for myself,” I save them in the archive with photographs, adding to the title an indication that they are from a mobile phone, for example, “2014.03.23 Home (mobile).”
• A certain number of quickly needed photos are stored on the phone, and I always have a fresh backup copy of them in case the phone is lost. All unnecessary photos on it I delete.

And how can I bring order to my chaos now?

To put things in order, you need to put in a little effort and take the following steps:

1. First of all, create a structure to store your photos.

If you already have a lot of folders with photos, you can start by at least putting them in one folder so as not to search through the entire disk. In the future, as you search or desire, rename the folders and transfer them to your structure.

1. Place new photos in the right place.

I also want to remind you again that your photo archive should be backed up so that if you lose your files, you won't lose your memory in the form of photos. Pay attention to this, don’t put it off later and don’t hope for chance! I personally have already gone through this twice ( the second time - no consequences) and I know how painful it is to lose the only pictures that can no longer be replaced, of your family, loved ones and friends. Take care of your insurance in the IT world.

If you have questions or comments about the article, let me know.

Read also

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After much trial and error, I came to the same general structure, each day of shooting in a separate folder, in the title first the date, then an explanation. To sort through the rubble, I used total commander, with batch renaming of files by creation date. Currently I use Adobe Lightroom. The fact is that in this program you can assign tags to each photo and geographical coordinates. And in the end, if I just need to find photographs of a person, without reference to a nearby event, I simply indicate Vasya Pupkin, and the program shows me all the photographs with this person that are in my catalog. You can also search by any assigned tag or location. In addition, the program perfectly implements the functions of collecting photos in a collection, without physically moving them, both manual and automatic, according to specified parameters. So Adobe Lightroom is not only photo processing, but also a very powerful tool for organizing your photos.

Gregory, thank you for sharing your experience!

I agree with you about the capabilities of Adobe Lightroom, although I don’t use it for editing. I had experience cataloging photos with different programs many years ago, and in the end, the current version turned out to be the most convenient.

I now register tags in iptc (though not in all years) for searching by keywords (tags) + I don’t depend on the Lightroom database; it needs to be backed up periodically at least and have Adobe Lightroom itself (I’m talking about the licensed version).

And the advantage of this structure (“date - event”) is that I use it in other folders; uniformity in data management is more comfortable for me to work with.

I also use the layout in folders by year, and in them by events and places. There is also a separate general folder - photos before disassembly and a folder with photo quotes (from the phone, sometimes I read something interesting and take a photo of the page). There’s just an inconvenience - when I’m looking for a specific photo, let’s say I know the year, but I don’t remember the location - it’s inconvenient to open all the folders and search. Maybe someone has encountered the same problem and there is a solution that you would kindly write in simple language for “non-technicians” :)

Inessa, thanks for the comment.

Sometimes I also photograph interesting articles from paper publications and then sign the file as a short idea articles. And then these words (actually tags) are easy to find by regular file search. I also name documents and voice recordings and other files.

Another option is to use a program for tagging an article for quick search, such as Evernote. I also actively use it for taking notes and collaboration on projects.

Have you tried these methods?

Advice for those who already have a lot of footage, but somehow started the sorting process - the Picasa program copes quite successfully with cataloging. Sorts by year, event, and person. The photographs themselves remain in place.

Mikhail, good afternoon!

I missed your comment :(, I’m correcting myself.

Creating a structure for storing information in in this example photos, allows you not only to conveniently find them, but also to make a backup copy.

Not everyone does this (before the first data loss), but those who make a backup copy of selective data (documents, photos, etc.) will appreciate this convenience and the elimination of the loss of forgotten photos.

Picasa is also convenient to use to understand where your photos are now.

Greetings! This topic is very relevant, thank you for your description.

I have a question: Do you store photos and videos together or in addition to the!!!Photo folder there is also!!!Video.

At first I sorted them separately, but as I use them I am more inclined to think that it is more convenient to store photos and videos together. After all, sometimes you take a photo and are asked to shoot a little video of some episode, and this is all for example at some event on the same day, well, because of this, you won’t store the photo in the photo folder and the video in the video folder.

How do you like it??? I'm right?

Ivan, good afternoon.

I have not come across programs that will make it convenient to search through photos automatically. If you have thousands of files on your computer that do not have a description in the name, but only numbers, then the program will not be able to automatically add tags in any way. I have not come across programs for home that can very accurately tag images. Google (Picas) has some experience in identifying faces, yes.

Sergey, good afternoon!

I replied to you with a new message: (a week ago, I’m correcting myself.

Thanks for the question.

Sergey, good afternoon!

I have a folder!!!Video, it stores videos made with an HD video camera. Because The size is quite large (almost 1TB, so for backup it is more convenient for the video from the HD camera to be stored separately).

If the video was filmed on mobile phone together with many photos, then I allow it to be stored along with the photos in the appropriate folder, that year I even used shortcuts for convenience, you can also make hard links to folders (for example, through the FAR file manager). In any case, I have no more than two points of search for information.

I am in favor of using the most convenient and simple structure for storing information and if more convenient photo and store the video in one place - why not! Moreover, you take photos and videos with one camera, as I understand it.

Thanks for the question.

VERY IMPORTANT! I'm looking for a program that will automatically parse my PC and offer to sort everything into folders. Next, it lays out, adding tags (taken from the creation dates, editing dates, file name, comments in the photo, type and my own, while using the program, etc.). Next is a convenient search, I write “February” and it finds all the photos with the same tag + adds photos from the Internet with the same tag to my photos. THIS program IS in nature. I used her and even remember how angry I was that she pumped up some photos from the Internet for my searches. I was chasing a place then. Now the goal is a stuffed content combine. To have a media file, use files for projects, without creating them and doing everything MANUALLY. Everything described in the article is BAD. That's what a PC is for, to automate everything

Ivan, good afternoon.

I have not come across programs that will make it convenient to search through photos automatically. If you have thousands of files on your computer that do not have a description in the name, but only numbers, then the program will not be able to automatically add tags in any way. I have not come across programs for home that can very accurately tag images. Google (Picas) has some experience in identifying faces, yes, but events, places and other details - no.

I add IPTC tags (keywords) to my photos and use them to find the ones I need. This method works just like the use case third party program(for example, Lightroom).

I don’t do everything manually, I assign tags to many files at once, often it takes about 2-10 minutes per folder. For me, a PC is a tool, but not a means of automation (I have IT experience behind me and am well aware that what is usually automated is order, not chaos).

If you’ve already used it, you probably remember the program that you were even angry at. Share with us if you find it.

Perhaps you worked with Picasa (judging by the behavior you described) or Lightroom.

Hello, now the very pressing issue of transferring photos and videos to the cloud, I have approximately 1TB of total volume, I chose filikr for this because it gives 1TB for free, but unfortunately there is no way to create a structure like you and I have in folders, I have a structure still broken up by the seasons (autumn winter And so on) for example /2015/autumn/trip to the dacha/ and only the final folder remains in the cloud (trip to the dacha) well, there’s just a bunch of folders named

Gregory, I looked closely at Flickr and storage from Canon, but in the first case I just didn’t like the lack of structure, even though exif has a date and time, but I like to store/backup because it’s convenient for me, not for the tool.

In the second case, there were restrictions on files and then the service became paid.

I think it is important for reliability to store TWO copies of data in different places, the cloud can be one of them. The main thing is to synchronize your copies to keep them up to date. I myself don’t trust cloud solutions; I and my friends had negative experiences. But I’m considering it as a solution for backup.

If you already have an account in the mail.ru cloud with 1TB, then I would recommend it. I myself am looking at a Yandex disk, which has 1TB, just like in the cloud from Microsoft for 2000 rubles.

Yandex disk is more flexible for me than the Microsoft solution, although in the second case you can also get a 1-year license for the MS Office package.

Thanks for sharing your photo storage system! I have pretty much the same approach.

And here's what got me interested. Is there any secret meaning is it about adding 3 exclamation marks to the folder name? (!!!Video)

Alexandra, good afternoon.

In some article I touched on this point, apparently I forgot to clarify it here.

I put exclamation marks so that the folder is at the top of all when sorting by name. I always know that the photo folder on drive "D" is the top one. The folder with the image database has two signs (!!) and interesting photos, and one sign (!) has a folder with a database of useful materials.

This is a long-standing habit dating back to the days of Windows. You can also use other signs if necessary.

P.S. I found an article that clarified this - http://site/myself/25b5f4b59a06

Personally, I have developed the following method for myself:

http://rebus-x.livejournal.com/908.html

In short, the point is to develop something like “tags” yourself and write the whole thing with delimiters in the file name. It couldn’t be simpler (if you don’t take into account the labor involved in naming files), there are continuous advantages when searching. Pairs perfectly with folding into folders.

I don’t have too many photographs, but I do the same with them. And this was invented in order to put the database of photo textures in order, with the goal of finding as quickly as possible not only strictly defined ones, but also generally suitable ones for a particular case. Perhaps it will be useful to someone.

Roman, thank you for sharing your storage option.

I myself also use IPTC tags for photographs, but this is for photographs since 2010 only. I use these tags to search by keywords.

Considering the volume of photos and their storage in raw and jpg (selected) formats, renaming them will take a long time, which is not worth the time spent on it. After all, I can always quickly find the folder I need and in the thumbnail view mode (Irfanview or standard Windows tools) find the photo I need.

For documents, I use proper file names (close to your method) and storage in a structure that is convenient for me.

Have a great week!

As an addition, I can offer a simple way to select and search for the most successful (significant) photographs. Inside each date and event folder, I create a folder with the conditional index!AAAAA in its name. In this folder I place the most successful photographs from the series and make a selection by transferring them from the main array.

Subsequently, for automatic selection of the most good photos in the photo array I search using the key!AAAAA and in any explorer I copy the search results to a new folder. The new folder ends up containing the best photos and is of no value, since the sources are stored in the array. For different search criteria, you can create folders with different conditional indexes in the names, for example, !BBBBB !SSSSS and so on. The root of the archive with photographs contains a short Text Document with comments regarding the values ​​of the indices. Something like this. In the end I get freedom from different programs-cataloguers, which change over the years, as well as freedom from the databases of different programs, the logic of which cannot always be understood and accepted.

After the holidays, as a rule, the number of photographs increases noticeably. When the weather is beautiful outside, it is easier to find shooting opportunities, as well as time and desire.

But what to do when you suddenly discover that the phone’s memory is already full, and there is not a single empty SD card for the camera. What to do? Of course, backup. But first, sort your data.

How to properly store photos

You're probably familiar with the situation when you see an opportunity for a beautiful shot... but suddenly you run out of space on your phone. And then you transfer everything en masse to the computer’s memory. Is this what it's supposed to look like? How long will it take you to find a file that is hidden somewhere in the “Phone Photos” folder? That is why, before you start cleaning the storage medium, think about a simple and suitable method for you file cataloging.

These methods will differ depending on the reason you are filming. You can take photographs purely for pleasure - to preserve memories, process them and print them for an album, or professionally or as part of a side job.

How to Organize Photos

It's time for specific tips that will help you organize your .

File Cataloging

Photos for yourself

In the first two cases, it is enough to divide the photos between the following folders: first the year (for example, “2018”), then the month (“August”), day/event (for example, “Trip to Siberia”). Just remember that the folder needs to be given clear and precise names. The kind that will tell you exactly what is in the folder.

Do you keep photographs of documents? Or maybe receipts? It's worth having them in a digital version. Originals quickly fade or get lost at the least opportune moment. It is best to place them in separate folders. In the case of document photographs, you don't need to know the date the photo was taken because it is often visible on the document or invoice. Just give the files specific names, for example, “Agreement - apartment” or “Monitor - check”.

In the case of photos that you edit and print, you may find it useful to separate photos into before processing, after processing, for printing and printed. Do I need to delete the latter? In our opinion, it is better to save them digitally - for reprinting, editing or sending, for example, by email.

Photo for work

If photography is not only your hobby, but also your job, you need, first of all, to separate both areas. Photos taken for pleasure should be separated from work files. Thus, it is enough to create two root folders: “Personal” and “Work”, which are detailed in the internal structure.

The work folder is best classified in terms of customers or companies, as well as thematically. It is generally easier to associate a photo with the order or person for whom it was taken than with the date it was created.

How to organize photos - sorting and deleting

Once you've developed your system, it's time to take action. The first step is sorting, which means nothing more than mercilessly deleting files that have no value. These are, first of all, blurry, unsuccessful or repeated frames.

Don't get attached to them - less is more. It is easier to view a catalog consisting of several dozen photographs. In the work of a photographer, it is normal that you take hundreds of photographs in the same scenery, so that later you can choose the most successful ones for processing.

It is also worth applying this principle to your private collections. Save storage space. Why waste it on something you don't need at all?

Why you should organize your photos

Developing an effective systematization of existing collections will take you a few hours in the beginning, but will save you time in the long run. The transparent system makes it easier to find what you're looking for. You will avoid ineffective catalog digging and stress due to possible loss important image.

Where to store your photos

We've reached a place where it's time to discuss photo storage media.

Phone memory, memory card or computer hard drive

Photos are first saved in the phone/camera memory or on a memory card. Ultimately, however, they should be stored elsewhere.

On your computer's hard drive? It's possible, but it's not the best best idea. The device may malfunction or be stolen. Of course, it is clear that it is more convenient to view and edit them when they are immediately available from the disk level, however, it is worth storing them somewhere else.

Memory card? It's too small, so it's easy to lose your memories. In addition, if you put everything in the memory of your phone or camera, at some point... you will run out of space for new photos.

All of the above tools are only suitable for temporary storage of newly taken photographs. For permanent storage and archiving of images would be better suited external hard drive or network drive.

External hard drive

An external hard drive has a number of advantages. First of all, it is small and does not require configuration. Just connect it to your computer's USB port and copy files. Photos take up a lot of space, so you need a drive that has a large capacity (minimum 1 TB).

What to choose? If the drive should serve you only in the house, you can consider a 3.5” model, which is larger, heavier and often requires additional power, but is cheaper and more spacious.

However, if greater convenience and reduced cable clutter are important to you, choose a 2.5” hard drive, which can easily be used exclusively through the USB port on your computer. The most worthy drives operate based on USB 3.0 and higher, due to faster data transfer and higher voltage sufficient to power the media.

NAS server for photos

If you have multiple devices that can be connected to a Wi-Fi network, consider a network drive. This is a special server that performs the functions of your private cloud. You can upload files to it from your phone, tablet and camera (if they have Wi-Fi support).

One disk is enough for several family members - you just need to set which local network users can use its contents and play their files. In this context, appropriate cataloging of documents is even more important - thanks to it, everyone can easily find their data.

Some manufacturers are introducing their own solutions for organizing files. On QNAP devices, the Qfiling application can itself classify files according to the specified key, for example, photos by the date they were created. In addition, thanks to the Face Tag function, the application will mark faces in photos.

Storing files in the cloud

If you value wireless solutions, you may also want to consider the cloud. You have several well-known solutions to choose from, in free and paid versions. It all depends on how much space you need for your files. For example, with Microsoft Office 365 you get access to the OneDrive cloud.

How to transfer photos from camera or phone to disk

You just need to connect your smartphone to one of the USB ports on your computer. Don't forget to select the File Transfer option in the menu USB connection on your mobile device. This way you can transfer photos directly from internal memory to the carrier. This also works in the case of cameras. If you can't copy the files, send them to your computer first and then to external drive.

Transferring files to the NAS server is also easy. It is enough to download the manufacturer’s special program on Android or iOS - with its help you can gain remote access to documents.

What about cameras that don't support wireless connectivity? There are two options: you can connect the camera using a USB cable to your computer, or use a memory card reader: external or built into your laptop.

How to Back Up Photos

There is still the issue of backup. It’s not for nothing that all people are divided into those who make a backup copy and those who will start soon.

Why do you need a backup?

We assume that if you document memories, you take care to store them securely. Once upon a time, paper albums were used for this. A few years ago, the appropriate medium was recognized as... a compact disc, which over time lost its popularity. And only recently have we had a choice among many effective solutions for storing your data.

However, with the development of technology, new threats have appeared. You can lose photos and videos not only by accident, but also as a result of a failure or infection of the media with ransomware. To avoid this situation, remember to always unplug your external drive after use.

Backup on external drive

If you save your files on external media, you need another disk on which you will periodically (for example, once a week, once a month) create backup copies of all files.

Backup to NAS

In the case of a network drive, this issue can be resolved more in a convenient way: Simply by selecting a disk from the RAID array. After all, a NAS server can be equipped with more than 1 disk, and you can configure connections between individual media.

RAID means that the server has at least 2 internal hard drives and the contents of the first are automatically copied to the other. Everything happens automatically, without your intervention - it is enough that you mount only two disks in the NAS and configure them accordingly.

You have many options to choose from, from RAID 1 to RAID 6, as well as specialized solutions such as some Synology SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) models. This way, you can customize the way you perform backups to suit your needs.

Cloud backup

Is the cloud good for backup? Obviously yes. Remember, however, that this is an external service that does not give one hundred percent certainty what will happen to it over time. Here, too, there are failures or the provider may simply stop providing such services.

Remember that the cloud should not be the only place where you will store your precious files.

Popular network drive models

See what models of NAS servers and drives consumers choose, and find the one that suits you.