Life is always moving forward, our cameras capturing moments and memories nearly every day. One of the most challenging parts of being a memory keeper is managing the unending influx of photos.
While you can never really be caught up, you can feel more in control of your digital memories. This peace of mind begins with understanding why your photo library is a mess.
In this post you’ll find some of the most common reasons that your photo library is making you feel overwhelmed – and how you can finally gain control of your photographs.
You Take Too Many Photos
In this day and age our cameras are always nearby (mostly in our phones) and we have the ability to take a near-unlimited number of images. Gone are the days of worrying that you’ll use up a roll of film too quickly.
This has resulted in an explosion in the quantity of photos we take each year and that many more photos to manage.
The easiest way to feel less overwhelmed by your photos is to be more mindful of how many you take. This has the double benefit of helping you step out from behind the camera and feel more connected by the moment.
You Don’t Know How to Get Photos from A to B
Technology changes so rapidly that it can be hard to keep up. Coupled with a fear of messing up and losing priceless images, the logistics of photo management can be intimidating.
I get it. I really do.
I also know you can do this. You’re a smart gal. You can learn the basics of working with photos on phones, tables, and computers.
You Don’t Delete Any Photos
When digital storage is so abundant and inexpensive, deleting photos can be difficult to rationalize. But the more files you have, the more you need to manage and organize.
To save your sanity (especially if you take a lot of photos), I believe deleting is important. Deleting photos doesn’t have to be painful, though, and can be quite freeing.
I like to focus on removing any mistake shots first, followed by culling the duplicates. So often we take 6-10 of essentially the same scenario, hoping for a great shot. You can then choose 1-3 that are the best and get rid of the rest.
You’re Not Consistent About Organization
It can be difficult to find enough time to make memories, let alone spend creative time by yourself. This means photo management often gets pushed to the back burner.
These sporadic attempts at organization can result in a library that feels chaotic and out of control. Fortunately, the introduction of consistency in the form of habits and routines may be all that you need beyond an initial spruce-up.
To make organization a priority, it helps to see your images as an important springboard to preserving and enjoying your memories, through scrapbooking or other means. When you elevate foundational photo practices to “must do”, consistent action and attention becomes easier.
You Have Photos in Too Many Places
It used to be that a family had one camera and later, one computer. The technological explosion of the past decade has not only facilitated more photos being taken, but created more homes – temporary and permanent – for our images.
Thus it’s not surprising that most people have digital photos on multiple devices at any one time – and along with that, a sense of overwhelm about the entire collection.
The good news is that centralizing your digital images to one single home (and ensuring there is a back up copy) has never been easier.
All signed up and really needing this push. Too many photos, not consistently organized, many needing to be purged…
This will be my second time participating in Photo Crush. I made fairly good headway last time and I’m hoping that this refresher will help me get my photos if not completely organised, then well on the way. Looking forward to it.