| Sign in: |
| Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features. |
|
|
|
|
|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Archiving, naming, and synchronization
Mike Isler, Photographer
 |
Santa Barbara | CA | US | Posted: 8:09 PM on 01.15.05 |
->> So, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to clean up my archive of digital images. The way my digital images are stored is more messy than my apartment: Things are stored without much attention to order, and I have to "know" where I put things. So, I've got a few questions.
I recently purchased PhotoMechanic to aid me in captioning and editing roughly 60,000 digital images, dating back to early 2002 when I started working digitally. When I started shooting, I would use Nikon View to unload the cards, and it would create folders based on the date and time (like "20020313-175320", my first folder). It would leave the original filenames intact ("DSC_xxxx.JPG") in those folders. I would pull out a few images, work on them, save them as TIFFs and put them into a different "Selects" folder associated with that project. I also never deleted any of the original files, including the blurry or just plain pointless images...so there's a lot to sort through, and a lot of wasted disk space.
The current problem is that after switching to Mac mid '04, I stopped using Nikon View and would manually create folders based on date and job name. I also have tons of additional folders with selects, and no clear connection between the selects and the originals. I also have files still named "DSC_XXXX.NEF" or JPEG that are in all the folders.
Some folders of "selects" are things that have been pulled out for clients on certain dates, and worked on. I also might have the same image in 5 different folders, if 5 different clients have wanted to see it at different times. This is wasted space and time, and it bothers me. I just don't want to delete these folders of selects, but need a way to organize everything.
To make matters worse, images are stored in multiple places, and I don't mean on CD-R's in a file, neatly organized. I mean I have some stored on my PowerBook (recent things I've worked on), some on my external LaCie (which backs up to a RAID array of two external Maxtor's), and some on my PC server, which I'm phasing out. So, to find a certain file, it takes a LOT of looking, and a lot of time...there's no efficiency.
As I mentioned above, I've started using PhotoMechanic, and I plan on looking into either Extensis Portfolio or Canto Cumulus to help me find things later on...
Before I get into captioning and keywording these past images, I want to organize the files themselves, as well as the directory structure for the original files, as well as the selects. What I'm interested in is what kind of naming conventions you choose for the folders themselves, and also if you batch-rename every individual image (and if so, how you name them). How do you store selects, and have them associated either with a specific shoot, or for a specific (perhaps multiple) clients?
Do you have a big folder of "Digital Images" with hundreds of directories named "20050115 Basketball" or something? Or do you use a lot of subdirectories? Also, if you have a job spanning multiple days, like a weekend, how do you group all of those days, or all of those card downloads, into one cohesive entity? Each card download I've done has its own directory, which is a royal pain in the butt to manage, and I have a feeling it's pretty stupid to do things this way.
Somebody, please show me the light!
Mike Isler |
|
Billy Suratt, Photographer, Photo Editor
|
Russell Springs | KY | USA | Posted: 8:23 PM on 01.15.05 |
->> FWIW, here's what I do...
I've got a main folder called In & Out and, you guessed it, "In" and "Out" folders within. I use Photo Mechanic to ingest into a dated folder under In (i.e. 20050115) and all the files are re-named with my initials at the beginning (i.e. BS_R2R4307). I apply basic caption info to everything while it's ingesting and the original filename goes into the Object Name IPTC field.
Then I go through and pull out my selects, which are saved in another folder based on date and story slug (i.e. 20050115basketball contains 20050115basketball01, 02, etc.).
If necessary, going back and finding an original file is a snap as long as I know the date and Object Name. |
|
Greg Ferguson, Photographer
|
Scottsdale | Az | USA | Posted: 11:47 PM on 01.15.05 |
->> I use a similar process as Billy.
I store the original filename as the camera named it in the IPTC. I also put in the frame number just in case they're out of sync for some reason.
Then I rename all the images, only I use the shooting date and time ({datesortlong}_{timesortlong}). That way I can glance at an image and think back to where we were working that day. (Our shoots tend to last several days and repeat each year.) That has helped my organizing.
When I get a request for an image I locate it with Photo Mechanic and make a copy of the original in a folder named with the customer's name. Then I edit that copy and store the Photoshop version of the file in the folder too. Then when I'm ready to print the photo I'll flatten it and store a ready-to-print version of the .jpg. That final version is never edited again. I try to remember to plug in the customer's name in the IPTC caption field, but don't always remember - it's an age thing.
If I need to adjust the edited version I have it. If I need to recrop or resize I have the original or the Photoshop version to work from, and will save the adjusted version with the new size as part of the filename. Those are all in the same folder, which will also get a copy of the invoice, and the cover letter if I needed to generate one.
Then, once I'm finished with the order I'll copy the folder over to a different drive for a bit longer-term storage and as a backup.
Once a quarter (four times a year) I archive those folders to CDs or DVDs and clear the space. The original event photos get backed up separately too so I end up with the customer's choices of the photos backed up, either as the original and the edited (and revisions).
I use iView Media Pro to catalog my photos by the archive discs. Because I've tagged the files when they're injested using the IPTC info, Media Pro inherits that info as it builds the catalogs, so I can search for the event, or the date of shooting, or even the customer's name - if I got 'er done.
The hardest thing about organizing is thinking about it up front and sticking to it. Now that you've seen what is wrong with your system, then figure out how you want to do it differently, and follow that as you capture new work. And, as you organize the old work fold it into that same flow. You'll get it all done eventually.
And, as for those blurry, or badly exposed photos - don't keep them. One of the tasks we learned shooting slides was to edit them ruthlessly and only keep the ones worth keeping. If you aren't going to print or attempt to sell a photo then trash it because later on you'll have to archive it, skip it when searching, etc. And, if you're shooting event photography and printing contact sheets, or presenting the shots on the web, you do NOT want your customers to see blurry or lousy shots, so get rid of them up front. |
|
Jethro Soudant, Photographer
|
Buffalo | NY | USA | Posted: 11:58 PM on 01.15.05 |
->> I had the same New Years resolution, and buying Photomechanic is my first step. (Thanks for your info on the PM 4.3 thread by the way) Extensis portfolio will be my second. My third step will be to resist any 12 step jokes. With so many different ways to skin the cat, it's hard to determine what the best method is to organize all this stuff.
Basically, I'm in the same boat as you (except I'm luckily Mac only), and have no answers. It seems the more I research this exact train of thought, the more confused I get. I just wanted to let you know your not alone, and keep this thread at the top of the pile a bit longer. |
|
Billy Suratt, Photographer, Photo Editor
|
Russell Springs | KY | USA | Posted: 1:49 AM on 01.16.05 |
->> I'll delete the ones that are so blurry you can't identify anything in the frame, but I tend to keep more than I delete. Sometimes a fuzzy frame can be invaluable because it might be the only one where you can see the whole jersey number for a player you need to ID in a hurry.
Oh, I also forgot to mention the "analog" aspect to my filing system. I file all my rosters, notes, napkins with caption info, etc. in a manilla folder filed by date (20050115, etc.). I started doing this back in my film days because nothing sucks worse than not having caption info when you have to go back and re-scan a negative because your original scan file got corrupted or deleted. |
|
Brian Jackson, Photographer, Photo Editor
|
South San Francisco | CA | USA | Posted: 1:56 AM on 01.16.05 |
->> 'The way my digital images are stored is more messy than my apartment: Things are stored without much attention to order, and I have to "know" where I put things'
OH MY GOD!?! How can anything possibly worse then your apartment?? :-D
Subdirectories, lots of subdirectories. Most photos go through Action Image (http://www.actionathletics.com/actionimage/), which handles the directory building, assigning a photographer, renaming, IPTC insertion, and database inserts.
All images are associated with a particular shoot, so queries are quite simple. The naming scheme is a subject code, year, shooter code, subject sequence(1-99999). I don't think I will ever shoot 100,000 images of one subject in one year, so that should be ok.
I've got some scripts to build out print orders and others to get images that match a particular keyword.
Hey Mike, you still have that US Copyright Office prep script I wrote for you? Should work on your Mac with little changes. |
|
Vern Verna, Photographer
|
Taylors (Greenville) | SC | United States | Posted: 7:45 PM on 01.16.05 |
->> i use the rename features on pm and rename photos and sort into subfolders. so for a file off my canon, it will _14axxxx.jpg, i changed to vickM(frame} which changes all the mike vick photos to vickM with the frame number so as to hope i dont have to get vick 1-1000 or so. with 10000 frames on the 1d series u hope u dont get a repeat frame number (i have and pm adds an a b c etc) then i put all of them in a sub folder vickMichael which goes into subfolder Falcons, which goes into folder NFL. That way if i need say gary sheffield in an atl uni i just go to MLB/NL east/atl/sheffieldGary. i will leave the last years in a folder from that season and then merge them into the older years as the new season starts. pm sorts by time image took so oldest first to last in the folder. Also i put basic caption info (place, date, game, keywords) in the itpc info at the game when it was shot. That way if i want randy johnson perfect game i just go to his folder for arizona and look for game in atl against braves and whoa they there are. I have the last 2-3 years done but the 5 before are not as well cataloged. Then i have to scan my slides in my career before that and do that with them .
vern |
|
Return to --> Message Board Main Index
|