How to Manage Photos On Your Computer

When you download your digital pics onto your computer the big questions is how to manage all of them. Many of us have thousands of images stored on our computer with weird names like img12784.jpg. Although changing all the names of each picture on our computer probably isn't worth the time, organizing and managing them is. There are built in ways to do this, and there are also some great commercial picture management software out there. Also remember that online backup or an external hard drive is also important if your computer crashes.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. When you import photos onto your computer, store them into a main pictures folder. On a PC, there is one, but I like to make my own and put it into a place that I can remember. From the pictures folder you can create subfolders inside and name them accordingly to whatever you are importing. For instance, one could be called "Christmas 09". This is a decent way to manage the photos on your computer.

2. If you are on a Mac, then iPhoto is built into your computer and will be the default import for your pictures. Each import you do will create a separate event. You can move the pictures around to organize albums. You can also use iPhoto to create books, calendars and cards.

3. If you are on a PC and want a better way to manage your pictures on your computer, than try a commercial picture managing software. Some can be expensive but some are free. Just do a search for picture managing software. These can be great because they deal with importing. Mac also has some options but iPhoto works more than fine.

4. It is also important to back up your pictures on your computer to an external hard drive or online. There are several cheap online back up solutions available. A hard drive will set you back about 100 bucks for a decent one with the necessary space. Get one with at least 100 gigs.