

You may not be sure which year a Christmas photo was taken, but you’ll know it was Christmas. Themes are easier to identify than dates.Put an entire collection of photos on the theme into one album, such as a vacation album, or take a handful of photos from each theme for a family yearbook. Themes make it easier to pull together a photo album.You have photos of birthdays, vacations, weddings, graduations, babies, sports and so on. Theme: Your photos most likely have themes already. If your photos are a mess of disorganized prints with no structure, then I recommend a theme-based approach. Create a timeline as you begin to compare pictures and time periods for information and clues. If your photos are a hot mess, try themes for easy sorting.Ĭhronological: Keep in mind that printed photos may lack dates and details unless you or your parents took the time to jot that information on the back of photos or in albums. If you already have a somewhat chronological system in place, look for ways to build on that. Once you’ve completed the ABCs, you’ll want to decide if you are going to sort your pictures chronologically or by themes. Don’t hold on to a photo for longer than two seconds, or the time it takes to determine its pile. There will be plenty of time for that later. Tip: As you sort your photos, resist the urge to reminisce and linger. A picture of a single tree in the backyard may seem meaningless unless it’s the full-grown sapling your great-grandpa planted before he passed away. “S” is for “story”: Does the photo tell a story? These pictures play a significant role because there is something illustrative about the picture, even though it may not be obvious. I encourage you to be brutal here and set a goal to fill a garbage can with these! If your photo doesn’t fall into one of the above categories, then it’s a “C” photo. Your collection is filled with doubles, triples and really bad photos. “C” is for “can”: Yes, you can repurpose these photos - or throw them in the trash. These photos will be archived for safekeeping but not necessarily digitized. They are the ones you aren’t ready to part with, but want to have access to at some point in the future. “B” is for “box”: These photos are the extras that support your best.

It doesn’t mean you’re going to put all these pictures into albums it just means they are album-worthy. These are the pictures that you’ll want to digitize, back up, share and display. “A” is for “album”: These are the photos that belong in an album, and the memories you would mourn if you lost them.
#Organise photos professional#
Many professional photo organizers use a simple acronym I developed called the ABCs to organize and identify which photos to keep and which photos to toss.
