Working with digital images

[Gerry@Rick]

Hi All,

I'm a relatively recent convert from film to digital and having spent longer than I car to think about being able to hold negatives up to the light to find the picture that I'm looking for I'm having difficulty in cataloguing. I would like help/advice on a method of adding metadata so that it is stored with the image when I write the images to CD image numbers mean nothing in the hunt for a particular picture. Hopefully it will be easy because I have a lot of negatives and transparencies, in the very high thousands, to scan in as well as the new digital pics.

[rhinorick]

Here are a couple pointers without purchasing extra software ....

One thing you can do is rename each image - changing the number to a descriptive name.  Then you can quickly see what each image file is and the search funtion of windows explorer, etc. will let you search by name.  Rename the image by right clicking on the name of the file and selecting "rename".

You can also view the photo folders as thumbnails, which gives you a quick view of all photos in that folder.

You can view several folders at a time like that by doing a search and seleccting all the folders you wish to see.  Put nothing in the search fields and click on search.  It will list all files in the selected folders.

I am sure someone else can point out some programs that can help in cataloging your photos.  These are just a few quick, free tips.

[bdery]

Hi,

I personally use a very simple method : I structure my folders this way (Xs are numbers):

Year\XX Month\XXXX-XX-XX (that's the full date) "Description of the content"

So say I went snowshoeing in February 21st, my files would be in

2007\02 February\2007-02-21 Snowshoes ride on the Lake

This way works for me, I can find my content pretty easily.

Most cameras now come with a software that lets you tag your pictures according to different flags that you define yourself. Many third-party softwares (ACDSee, Picassa, etc) also allow you to do this. However, I did some research and it seems only the newer versions of ACDSee allow you to write the flags into the metadata section of the files, other programs and older versions create their own database, which isn't transferable between programs (and if you stop using the program in the future, you loose all your work).

I haven't found a way around this yet, sadly.

[Deb]

Hopefully it will be easy because I have a lot of negatives and transparencies, in the very high thousands, to scan in as well as the new digital pics.

With that volume, I'm going to assume you're not a beginner/novice and suggest you consider looking into purchasing robust digital asset management software. For around $99 (USD) you can get a DAM (yep, that stands for Digital Asset Management) software that will allow for multi-level data sorts/searches (for EXIF and IPTC fields as well as customizable fields that you can create to match your specific needs), batch features like web presentation for client previews, slideshows, contact sheets, DVD burns, and many other highly customizable features. I've been using DAM for years and have made it a vital component in my digital workflow. Anyway, I thought I'd mention the idea to ya.

[Gerry@Rick]

Thanks to all of you that replied.

The last one made me think back to my first professional work and realised it was just over forty years ago - time flies when you're enjoyng yourself. I'm now only semi-pro supplying three photolibraries when I feel like it. I've just bought the pro version of ACDSee and found that it instantly took all my image files and made a catalogue that I've begun to sort. That'll keep me occupied during the cold winter months. {:-}

I realised that I've been afraid of using long file names as I grew up with the 8.3 format. So the reply illustrating how long I can make the names with new images at the time of transferring from memory card to computer system than I had assumed was a great help.

[Deb]

Hi Gerry@Rick, great data asset management software choice. I think you'll find it will fit seamlessly into your digital workflow as well as expedite many functions. Have fun!

PS: A word about file name convention, I believe there is a character limit (max number of characters). But I'm not positive about that. Seems "32" rings a bell but I'm not sure if that still holds true with the more recent operating systems. Perhaps someone reading this thread will know. I do know that the DVD burning software I used to use actually truncated my lengthier file names. That was a total bust! Now, since I use DAM software, I'm able to code the file names to keep them shorter (like I would use to label 35mm slides) and simply find what I'm looking for with customized database searches (like, "find Arizona and Reflection shot after January 1, 2004 but before March 23, 2007" for instance). I use a folder hierarchy to contain and separate each shoot/job. I would add that you might want to use your more descriptive and lengthy identifiers as data in fields like "description", "headline", "comment", etc.

PPS: Don't forget to make a copy of your catalog periodically to use as a backup in case your working file becomes too corrupt to repair, your computer melts down, etc.

[pentachris]

PS: A word about file name convention, I believe there is a character limit (max number of characters). But I'm not positive about that. Seems "32" rings a bell but I'm not sure if that still holds true with the more recent operating systems.

In Windows you can have up to 256 characters in the file name INCLUDING the file path (all of the directories and separating slashes), not including the drive name.

Link.

[Deb]

Hey thank you for the info and the link Pentachris! How about MAC, cross-platform compatibility? I read this article (http://www.imagemontage.com/FileExchange/FileNames.html) which touches on it.