# Organizing digital pictures **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117 "2008-04-27T19:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117/21 "2008-04-28T17:57:43Z")
Card reader, always copy, never move. Irfanview. Have many different placers where photos are on the web. Each pl;ace has a copy of the final pic that was uploaded. All uploaded pics are renamed. I do not save a gazillion 8-10 meg pics, only processed finals. I am not a pro or a business. Then picasa came along and I use it the most but not exclusively Always copy from the cards with a reader (fastest) (and all that stuff posted up thread). Do all changes to the card from the camera so as to not foul up the card. Be consistent. Take the time to get it all working and then be consistent. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117/22 "2008-04-28T18:23:34Z")
I organize by either the event, the time of year (random crap from Spring08), or the subject matter. Then I upload the best ones to flickr and tag/organize them there for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117/23 "2008-04-28T20:05:38Z")
I also use Picasa. You can star any photo in any folder no matter where it is and when you’re all done you can simply open the _starred photos_ album and find all the files you’ve marked along the way. Renaming, moving and sorting couldn’t be easier and it’s free. The starred photos I’ve reserved for those I want to upload to Picasa Web Albums (also free and easy to use) or print out, email, crop, retouch, etc. Another benefit of using Picasa is any changes you make to a photo are reversible (the changes are done in layers and you can undo at any time). Also, when you backup your photos it remembers which ones you’ve backed up previously so you won’t end up with doubles on your backup drive or DVDs. As you’re viewing a photo you can choose to upload to a blog (also free, like web albums (btw, you get a Gig of space), web album or send in an email with a click of a button or you can wait till you’ve selected a few and then do the same thing with a batch of 'em. Pretty cool, at least check it out… ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117/24 "2008-04-28T23:55:22Z")
Thanks everyone. I downloaded Picasa. Didn’t like it a couple of years ago, but I figured I’d give it another shot. Free is good. 🙂 I like the new features and it seems much easier to use. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117/25 "2008-04-29T17:41:10Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] What if your computer crashes? How likely are you to watch all those hundreds and hundreds of pictures again? [/QUOTE] Backup hard drives are my friend. As for watching them? The media computer (TV, music and photos) is set up to scan through them as our screensaver. It’s kind of fun to glance over and see pictures of friends or from past trips. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-digital-pictures/447117.md?page=1)