Cease shedding your information. It is 2025, and you are still scrolling by way of folders named “New Folder” and “Untitled.” This is the one factor that can save your hair and sanity: a easy, constant naming system.
I exploit YYYYMMDD in the beginning for every part associated to images. At all times. No exceptions. “20241115-Galway-Blackrock-Tower-03457” tells me precisely when, the place, and what I shot earlier than I even open the file.
The unique digital camera quantity stays as a suffix as a result of it provides one other layer of potential uniqueness.
These names are simple to rearrange in chronological order in your working system or your asset administration program of alternative.
Areas are the enemy. Use hyphens, by no means underscores. Google interprets dashes as areas for search, however underscores? They’re invisible. Need your work discovered? Use hyphens. In fact, you may know this solely by being advised, as I used to be.
Folder construction? Maintain it quite simple. Yr, adopted by month (quantity then title), then particular shoots – I favor to maintain the date and add a reputation like “15 Blackrock Tower.” This retains the shoots in date order for straightforward visibility.
As essentially the most used photograph program, I ought to point out that Lightroom doesn’t create this naming robotically, however it’s a simple edit afterward.
Do not use folders nested 5 ranges deep. If you cannot discover a file in a number of clicks, your system is damaged.
A bonus tip: Key phrases and metadata are completely important. Take 5 minutes to key phrase your photographs correctly—location, topic, consumer title, no matter you will must seek for later.
“Panorama” alone helps, however “panorama, Eire, sundown, Cliffs of Moher” saves hours of looking out. Use them.
The fantastic thing about this technique? It scales. 100 images or 100 thousand, it really works. Want to seek out that Blackrock sundown shot from November? Search “202411” + “Blackrock,” and there it’s. No scrolling, no guessing, no crying into your espresso, choosing tufts of hair off the ground.
This is not rocket science. It is fundamental skilled observe. Spend fifteen minutes establishing your naming conference immediately, and save 15 hours trying to find information subsequent 12 months.
Your future self will thanks, your folks, household, and shoppers will marvel at your group, and possibly—simply possibly—you will cease shedding these good photographs.
Try our information to the greatest photograph organizing software program