May 10, 2010, 18:23
Image libraries are growing at an increasing rate, and management of all the image files can be a nightmare. One way image management products are trying to simplify it for us is by taking over control of where your images are stored. An example of what I mean is with iPhoto or even Aperture, the default scheme is for you to import your photos directly into it, and it automatically chooses where to store your files for you on the hard disk.
The logic behind this is that they also use metdata embedded within photos - e.g. camera models, dates and present that to the user instead - allowing them to logically sort and organise their photos, as opposed to physically where they are stored. This is much more meaningful to the average user.
What about you? Do you care where your photos are stored on disk? It may seem trivial, but for me, I prefer to have control over where my images are stored. I import my photos manually into a directory structure - organised by my various cameras models, then by date. After I import them, I also append a meaningful description to the directory name, so I can easily tell events apart by just looking at windows explorer. e.g.
I really dislike how there's no similar function in Aperture (and also iPhoto) - I have to manually drag my new photos into the library for them to be imported. It gets even more frustrating if I move a folder or rename it, or even just delete a few photos directly outside of Aperture - you'll get lots of "broken" images inside Aperture the next time you open it up.
Anyway, I won't go into the "whys" yet for the sake of keeping this post to a reasonable length - I'd love to hear about everyone's image management strategies and whether you care about where your files reside on disk.
The logic behind this is that they also use metdata embedded within photos - e.g. camera models, dates and present that to the user instead - allowing them to logically sort and organise their photos, as opposed to physically where they are stored. This is much more meaningful to the average user.
What about you? Do you care where your photos are stored on disk? It may seem trivial, but for me, I prefer to have control over where my images are stored. I import my photos manually into a directory structure - organised by my various cameras models, then by date. After I import them, I also append a meaningful description to the directory name, so I can easily tell events apart by just looking at windows explorer. e.g.
Quote:Canon 7D / 2010 / 20100511 - Olivia at the PlaygroundAfter I do this, I open up Lightroom and then do "synchronise folders", which automatically finds the newly imported images and adds them to the catalog. Picasa is even more friendly in that respect - it automatically watches folders for changes and brings them into your catalog automatically.
I really dislike how there's no similar function in Aperture (and also iPhoto) - I have to manually drag my new photos into the library for them to be imported. It gets even more frustrating if I move a folder or rename it, or even just delete a few photos directly outside of Aperture - you'll get lots of "broken" images inside Aperture the next time you open it up.
Anyway, I won't go into the "whys" yet for the sake of keeping this post to a reasonable length - I'd love to hear about everyone's image management strategies and whether you care about where your files reside on disk.