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Great post. I would like to add a couple of points. Any digital photo contains non visible “Meta Data” encoded in it. This is info on when the photo was taken, what type of camera, resolution, etc. Most photo cataloging software allows expanding the types of meta data included in a photo. This allows one to add key words or whatever descriptions they choose for their photos. All beach shots can have the word “beach” added to them. Night or day shots can be added to their descriptions so one can easily search for all beach shots or just nighttime beach shots etc. This allows very specific searches.
Another cataloging tip if one likes to burn their photos on discs. Use of a quality disc labeler makes life so much easier and makes one’s work look more professional. I use the Dymo DiscPainter to label my photo discs. It easily and quickly puts full color labels and text descriptions directly on the disc. The DiscPainter prints labels at either 600 dpi or 1200 dpi. A very neat little printer.
Anyway, hope this was helpful to the discussion.
I sometimes use the meta data to find specific information about the shot. Windows Vista displays that data in Explorer when select a photo.
I use ACDSee to organize my pictures so I can organize them by person, place or thing. The only problem is that the information is stored in a database and not the file.
I have yet to try printing labels for my discs as I label them by hand, but store them in jewel cases with a printed label.
Thanks for this post. I will bookmark it for future reference. Is TIFF really the appropriate format for archival purposes?
Most of my photos are in JPEG, which is primarily used, I think, for Web display.
TIFF is the most recommended because it has broad support over many operating systems. It is also non-lossy (no loss of data), and can support 48 bit colour. The downside is that the file sizes are much larger than that of JPEG.
Most photos are in JPEG, especially those from digital cameras. I usually leave them as JPEG. I use TIFFs when I scan negatives, slides or photographs.
JPEGs are only lossy, however, when you resave them. If you are simply storing them in a folder to look at, or transfering them between folders, there is no loss of info. It’s only when a JPEG is resaved that is loses some info.
JPEGs, I find, are more widely accepted – TIFFs are actually not not acceptable formats for certain websites, like Photobucket, where I upload all my Blog photos to.
I recenlt got the dymo printer and it was exactly what i needed…i mean it was sooo easy to use….its small and doesn’t take up that much space…its compatible with both my mac and pc…yea i know im a bit crazy to have both comps….the software makes it a breeze to use
I used to be a digital archivist for a big studio in NYC. You should look into a program call Portfolio Extensis. If you shoot a lot it is really helpful because it utilizes hot-folders, backup, custom field searching, and key wording.
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