• Photos in order: five programs for organizing a photo collection. How to easily organize your collection of photos and videos in Windows by date

    Putting your computer in order: programs that will make working with photos simple and convenient.

    Since the advent of digital cameras and phone cameras, we've been creating, downloading, and storing hundreds of photos every day. Some of us have a natural gift for systematizing and organizing information, while the rest of us have to sort through gigabytes of files and folders with non-obvious names. And when you urgently need a specific photo, finding it can be very difficult, and sometimes impossible.

    The image libraries that we use for our work deserve special attention. For example, designers can collect dozens of stock photos, textures and drawings in one project, copying images from one folder to another and creating backup after backup. This not only eats up computer memory, but also complicates further work with images, because then it will be difficult to understand where the source is and where the already edited image is.

    Fortunately, there is a solution. We will tell you about the most convenient ways and programs for organizing and storing images. With their help, you can not only quickly search and find necessary photos, but also to set ratings, create albums and much more without unnecessary copying.

    Picasa

    Free tool from Google. It shows all indexed photos in a convenient folder structure. You can let the program scan your entire hard drive for photos, or select specific folders. Double-tapping any image will expand it to full screen and show you basic editing tools: cropping, straightening, adjusting color and light, or removing red-eye, among others.

    There are also such convenient features, like facial recognition and geo-tagging. You can scan all the photos and then search the database specific people. And geo-tagging will allow you to search by location. Viewing photographs deserves special attention - user-friendly interface and additional editing tools are worth making Picasa your default viewer.

    Zoner Photo Studio Free

    Free version of the photo editor Zoner Photo Studio. The program can copy pictures directly from the camera and allows you to process them using basic tools and effects. You can also create your own collection of photos, organizing it the way you want, making it easy to find required images, print them, send them by email and publish them on the Internet.

    In Zoner Photo Studio Free There are four main control panels: Import for uploading photos, Manager for managing the archive on a PC, Editor for processing and enhancing images, and Viewer for reviewing existing images. The Manager tab includes a tree system for displaying folders, navigation and information panels. If such a need arises, you can purchase an extended version with more functionality.

    StudioLine Photo Basic

    Editor and manager digital images. With it you can organize your photo archive and edit photo parameters. There is an integrated image format converter function, as well as elements of a graphic editor.

    Supports IPTC standard, reads and edits EXIF ​​metadata, RAW support. To use the program for free, you need to request an activation code on the developer’s website, which will be sent to your email.

    Aperture

    If you work on a MAC, then you need to pay attention to Aperture - an advanced and more professional analogue of the built-in iPhoto editor. This program will allow you to catalog, rank and edit photos.

    In addition to its wide functionality and capabilities, another advantage of Aperture is that it only allows non-destructive editing of files. Instead of changing the source file, the program records and reproduces a list of operations performed on it. Any change made in Aperture can be “rolled back” without problems, which eliminates unnecessary duplicates and errors. True, sales of Aperture will be stopped this spring, as Apple will release new product for working with photos - Photos for OS X.

    Phototheca

    A free program for viewing photos and organizing personal photo libraries on your computer. Convenient Apple-style interface and a large number of different functionality- this is not all that this software can surprise you with.

    In Phototheca, you can hide pictures, or rather, move them to sections designated Safe. With the default settings of the program, images from Safe section can only be viewed in Phototheca, in addition, the “safes” themselves can also be made invisible on the hard drive.

    MAGIX Photo Manager 15

    A powerful tool for organizing, editing and sharing photos. You can organize your images in a variety of ways, such as by name, date, or topic tags. There is a function to automatically organize photos by scanning and analyzing the content.

    Among other things, the developers have taken care of the ability to restore photos deleted by mistake and find duplicates. You can also protect your pictures with a password.

    XnViewMP

    Multifunctional application for working with graphic files on your computer, which is an extended version of the XnView program. In essence, this tool can be considered a kind of media browser with viewer, converter and cataloguer options. Supports viewing of more than 500 different graphic formats, and when saving (converting) - up to 50 formats.

    In XnViewMP you can convert pictures and photos to various formats, including in batch mode, which is convenient when working with large amounts of data; you can view and edit EXIF ​​information, take screenshots, upload data to an FTP server, website, or send via email, organize the graphics library according to certain parameters and much more. Images can be cropped, rotated, resized, adjusted brightness and contrast settings, applied various effects, etc. We are also pleased with the well-thought-out interface of the product, which is designed like Windows Explorer, where everything is laid out and sorted for maximum productive use.

    No matter which program you choose, you will get the order you want in your photos. There will be no more painful searches among thousands of scattered files. A clear organization will allow you to enjoy working or viewing memorable photographs without nerves or surprises. And the ability to edit pictures will eliminate the need to open Photoshop every time you need to correct some little thing.

    An unbridled desire to photograph anything and everything is common to any owner of a digital camera. Therefore, on the computers of the vast majority of users (some of them modern users doesn’t take photographs?) quite quickly an unimaginable number of pictures accumulate, which are often located in randomly named folders and have meaningless names. Finding the right photo in such gigabyte photo jungles is quite difficult, because it is unrealistic to look through the entire photo archive every time. As a result, unique photographs that captured some memorable moments of life will most likely be lost among a host of other images.
    However, providing quick and convenient access to specific photos is not so difficult. To do this, you will need to think carefully about the system for storing images in your photo archive and involve specialized software tools.

    Storing pictures on a computer

    The first thing you should clearly understand is that storing all your pictures in a digital camera is not the most convenient and, of course, not the most reliable way. It is better to download photos to your computer after each photo shoot, and do this as soon as possible - while the memories of the events are still fresh in your memory. After this, it is wise to immediately get rid of bad shots - blurry photos, dimly lit photos, out of focus photos, etc. Of course, some of them can be improved by certain software tools, but if the same images are available best quality It’s clearly not worth spending time correcting shooting defects.

    Of course, when importing photos to your computer, it is better to dump them not into randomly created folders - otherwise, in the future you will spend a lot of time searching for the necessary pictures. It is necessary to develop some kind of hierarchical system for storing images (taking into account the nuances of a possible search), and then save the images in accordance with own system rules

    There are many options for organizing image storage in a photo archive. Most often, when distributing pictures into folders, they are guided by the calendar-geographical principle (in this case, the date and place appear in the folder name - for example, 2011_05_27_Crete) or they divide the pictures into folders, taking into account the events at which they were taken (for example, 2011_07_31_Birthday) - Fig. . 1. You can also take into account the subject of the pictures (landscapes, animals, flowers, etc.), etc. in the system. In general, each user will have his own version of the hierarchy in the photo archive, which depends on the significance of certain criteria for him.

    Rice. 1. Possible option
    photo archive folder structures

    In addition, it may be useful for searching if you tag photographs with keywords (family, vacation, corporate event, etc.), thereby combining them into virtual thematic collections. This will allow you to quickly identify (by filtering or otherwise - depending on what software tool will be used to solve this problem) images taking into account the keywords of interest. It's quicker to assign such keywords while importing images from the camera, although you can do this later, after saving the photos to disk. Unfortunately, in any case, the initial process of assigning keywords will require some time and effort, although modern software allow you to assign keywords to groups of photos at once, which significantly speeds up the process. In addition, you need to approach the assignment of keywords thoughtfully - with an eye to the expected needs and, relying on the software tools that will be used to manage the photo archive.

    As for file names, not everything is clear here. It is advisable to use descriptive file names that can be used to easily identify what kind of image it is, since it is completely unrealistic to guess from the view name DSC_0705 that this is, say, a photo from a family vacation in Thailand. Therefore, it is better to rename pictures using a template. The type of template is determined by the nuances of the search. It seems to us preferable to include the date (possibly only the year and month) and frame number in the image name - for example, 2011-09-05_0015.jpg or 2011-09_0015.jpg (15th frame, taken on September 5, 2011 or in September 2011 ) - rice. 2. It is also possible to add the name of a place or event to the name of the photo - a variant of the name of a specific photo from the group in this case may look like: Thailand_2011-09_0015.jpg. Such renaming should be carried out in batch mode (manually renaming hundreds and thousands of files is completely unrealistic) - it is better during the process of importing files or immediately after loading them into a photo archive.

    Rice. 2. Batch renaming files

    When developing a hierarchical division of photographs, you should be guided by two important principles. Firstly, if possible, place photographs of the same type together - this will simplify orientation in the future. Secondly, each image must be added to the archive in a single copy, otherwise the volume of the archive will increase noticeably, and difficulties will arise if it is necessary to edit images that have duplicates. It should also be noted that it is more convenient (both in terms of orientation and from the point of view of the intended backup) to store your photo archive on a separate disk or in its separate section (ideally on a separate external drive), where no other information will be saved.

    Photo management

    After setting up a hierarchical system for storing images on disk, you can manage your photo archive using a variety of software tools. The simplest and most accessible way is to use Windows 7 libraries. Libraries are essentially virtual folders in which files are combined regardless of their physical location. This makes it easier to find, use, and organize files on your computer or network. By default, libraries are designed to help you manage documents, music, images, and videos more efficiently, although you can use them to organize other files if you want. Viewing files in libraries is done in the same way as in regular folders.

    In the case of working with your own photo archive, it makes sense to create a library specially designed for this, assign it an appropriate name (for example, “Photo Archive”), and then directly from Explorer indicate to Windows the range of folders that will contain new library(Fig. 3). It is worth noting that the specified folders with photos can be stored on various media (for example, on the hard drive of a desktop PC and an external hard drive), but, nevertheless, after placing them in the library it will be possible viewing corresponding images in one window. And this is not the only convenience - it will also be possible to organize files by properties (for example, by date, type, etc.), sort and group them according to a number of parameters, including keywords (Fig. 4).

    Rice. 3. Defining a range of folders for the created library in Windows 7

    Rice. 4. Grouping images based on keywords through libraries
    Windows 7

    You can go the other way - use the graphics viewer you like, which has minimal functionality for organizing photo collections - as a rule, support for categories, tags and ratings (similar capabilities are provided in many solutions of this kind). Which solution to choose is a matter of taste and wallet, since on the market you can find both recognized commercial products, and quite worthy alternative free applications. As an example, let’s name one that is well known to most users paid program ACDSee and the increasingly popular free cross-platform viewer XnView. Both of these software products are designed for viewing, organizing and easy editing images.

    Working with images in these solutions is easy and convenient, since the developers have provided different options viewing images, included simple tools for performing basic editing operations, thought through functionality for convenient exchange pictures, etc. As for organizing a photo archive and getting quick access to images of interest, the possibilities here, of course, are more impressive than in the libraries of Windows 7 (that’s why there is specialized software!). Thus, rating images allows you to assign each image a certain value in terms of its value (for example, quality), thanks to which in the future it will be possible to quickly find the most popular original images. The use of color marks also simplifies organization - with such marks, for example, you can mark images at different stages of the workflow (in some colors - original images, in others - images after correction, in others - images selected for printing, etc.) - Fig. . 5. No less convenient is the use of categories, thanks to which you can instantly find images belonging to a specific category or even several at once (Fig. 6).

    Rice. 5. Use custom color markers to highlight photos
    in ACDSee

    Rice. 6. Quick Receipt access to images from two categories at once in XnView

    As a rule, even more convenient option Photo archive management is provided by photo organizers, which are designed to organize and sort digital photographs. Therefore, it is not surprising that these products have more advanced capabilities for organizing photo collections and quickly searching for images in them. There are many similar solutions on the market. Some of them (such as Apple Aperture, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ACDSee Pro Photo Manager, etc.) are quite expensive, difficult to learn and focused on professional photographers. At the same time, home users also have nothing to complain about - they have at their disposal numerous compact and easy-to-learn applications that are affordable or even free. Examples of such programs include Zoner Photo Studio, PicaJet and Picasa.

    Cataloging pictures using photo organizers is as easy as shelling pears - just place each photo immediately in its designated logical catalog category (Fig. 7) or first in shared storage, and then assign categories to the images (often with the ability to highlight different categories with icons), ratings and tags, and also assign keywords (this will determine whether the images belong to specific logical groups). Note that you can assign keywords to all selected images at once and not just one keyword at a time (Fig. 8) - this significantly reduces the complexity of this operation.

    Rice. 7. Adding files from disk to the PicaJet category

    Rice. 8. Assigning keywords in Zoner Photo Studio

    All this will allow you to quickly find the photos you need in the future by searching, filtering, sorting and grouping. Of particular note is the ability to take into account keywords when searching and filtering, which makes it possible to perform complex search queries(taking into account not only one, but also several keywords) - fig. 9. In particular, by manipulating keywords, you can easily find in the depths hard drives all photographs with a sunset on the river, a son on a bicycle, temples during restoration, blossoming apple trees, etc., even if you took photographs of such objects along the way, many times and at different times.

    Rice. 9. Quick search based on keywords in Zoner Photo Studio

    Briefly about the products

    ACDSee 14.3

    Developer: ACD Systems

    Distribution size: 71.8 MB

    Work under control: Windows XP(SP2)/Vista/7

    Distribution method: shareware (30-day demo - http://www.acdsee.com/en/free-trials)

    Price:$29.99

    ACDSee is a world-famous graphics viewer (Fig. 10), aimed at both professionals and home users. Includes tools for quick and convenient viewing files in a wide variety of graphic formats, as well as audio and video files and archives. In addition to viewing graphics, this solution can be used for editing and cataloging images, batch processing files, duplicate search, online image sharing, etc.

    Rice. 10. Working with images in ACDSee

    Cataloging in ACDSee is based on the use of categories, ratings and multi-colored labels. Categories are created manually (there is a predefined list of base categories) and can be nested; For better orientation, categories are highlighted with different icons. The ratings in this program are basic, but the tags can be edited, which allows you to separate images into logical groups in accordance with personal tasks. There is support for keywords and geotags, it is possible to edit EXIF ​​and IPTC data. Imported into categories are images from the most different devices: hard drive, CDs, digital cameras, flash drives, scanners, etc. Batch renaming of files is supported. With one click you can send selected from different places according to some principle, files into the so-called Image Basket for further editing or sharing. When viewed, images appear as thumbnails, full screen, or as a slideshow; If necessary, individual fragments of the image can be easily viewed in enlarged form using a magnifying glass. Get more quick access It's easy to get to the photos you need using sorting, grouping, and filtering based on image size, date, rating, tags, EXIF ​​data, categories, and keywords.

    The editing panel built into the program, in addition to supporting basic operations (rotation, cropping, etc.), will help correct the exposure of the image, adjust levels and curves, perform color correction, get rid of red-eye and noise, and also apply standard filters to the image. These operations can be performed not only on single images, but also on several images at once in batch mode. Tools are provided for comparing images and converting them to others raster formats. In addition, ACDSee allows you to burn pictures to CD/DVDs, combine them into slideshows, PDF files and web albums, and easily share images by uploading them to social networks, FTP servers, etc.

    Zoner Photo Studio 14

    Developer: Zoner Software

    Sizedistribution: Zoner Photo Studio Free - 26.7 MB; Zoner Photo Studio Pro - 87.7 MB

    Work under control: Windows XP(SP2)/Vista/7

    Distribution method: Zoner Photo Studio Free - freeware; two other editions - shareware, 30-day demo version (http://www.zoner.com/ww-en/download-free-photo-program)

    Price: Zoner Photo Studio Home - $34.99, Zoner Photo Studio Pro - $69.99, Zoner Photo Studio Free - Free

    Zoner Photo Studio is a recently launched but already well-proven program for managing, editing, and organizing photos. sharing to them (Fig. 11). Possibilities this decision impressive, many functions were implemented by developers with an eye on professional products, in particular Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The program is presented in three editions: free Zoner Photo Studio Free and two commercial ones - Zoner Photo Studio Home and Zoner Photo Studio Pro. The capabilities of the free edition are limited to basic functionality. In addition, this edition does not have a 64-bit version and does not support GPU acceleration or dual-monitor operation.

    Rice. 11. Organizing a photo collection in Zoner Photo Studio

    Zoner Photo Studio allows you to create a photo archive in the form of a set of albums based on an existing folder structure or manually. Albums have an unlimited nesting level, and the easiest way to create them is by dragging the corresponding folders with pictures from the Explorer window onto the “Albums” folder of the program navigator. You can replenish your photo archive directly from devices (from memory cards of a camera, scanner, etc.), as well as by obtaining images from websites, PDF files, etc. When viewing images, they are displayed in the form of icons or thumbnails; to speed up access to the images of interest, it is easy to use sorting, built-in search and filtering. When filtering and searching, EXIF ​​data, keywords, service text information(title, description, etc.), as well as ratings, tags and GPS coordinates (the latter are entered manually or read from Google maps). Possibility provided batch renaming files according to the template.

    The editing capabilities are also impressive and will interest both beginners and advanced users. The former may be limited to basic functions (rotation, cropping, alignment, automatic improvement images), and the latter will be interested in using such advanced editing functions as adjusting levels, editing colors, improving exposure, reducing noise, etc. Any changes can be applied not only to one, but also to several images at once in batch mode. There is also functionality for converting images from RAW formats to raster formats and editing EXIF ​​data. It's easy to combine your favorite photos into a PDF slideshow or convert them into a postcard, and even create 3D and HDR images. As for publishing, it is worth noting the creation of web galleries, recording DVD presentations, printing (using templates and photo calendars), sending by email, as well as uploading to Facebook, Flickr and Picasa web albums.

    PicaJet 2.6

    Developer: Picajet.com

    Distribution size: PicaJet FX - 5.91 MB; PicaJet Free - 4.81 MB

    Work under control: Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/7

    Distribution method: PicaJet Free - freeware; PicaJet FX - shareware, 15-day demo version (http://www.picajet.com/ru/index.php?page=download)

    Price: PicaJet FX - 490 rub.

    PicaJet is a convenient and very easy-to-use program for cataloging image collections (Fig. 12). It is presented in two editions: free PicaJet Free and commercial PicaJet FX. The free edition includes only a basic set of functions - in particular, the creation of categories is not provided, the sorting and search capabilities are more than limited, etc., so we do not recommend choosing PicaJet Free to manage large and complex archives. The commercial edition has all the necessary set of functions for effectively organizing photo archives, and it may well suit most home users.

    Rice. 12. Managing your photo collection in PicaJet

    To organize a photo archive, PicaJet uses categories that are created automatically when adding images based on the existing folder structure and/or based on IPTC data, or manually. The nesting level of categories is not limited. You can add pictures to the collection from a digital camera, scanner, webcam, CD/DVD discs and hard drive folders. To speed up the process of including images in the photo archive, you can use hot keys; You can also quickly import images from Explorer by dragging and dropping. In order to better identify categories, they can be assigned a variety of icons. Categories are assigned during import or manually by simply dragging a group of images onto a category. There is functionality for batch renaming of selected files based on templates. If necessary, it is easy to add a description and/or rating to the selected images. Photos can be viewed with grouping and/or sorting by date, rating, import time, etc.; It is possible to display pictures when viewing them as a slideshow.

    The editing plan includes operations such as cropping and rotation, red-eye removal, sharpness adjustment, auto-correction, etc. Supports quick correction of several images with one click, as well as resizing them and converting them to another graphic format"on the fly". You can print photos in popular formats (including 9x13, 13x18, 10x15), as well as edit metadata (EXIF and IPTC). As for sharing, it is worth noting the presence of functionality for creating photo galleries for publication on a website, burning photo collections to CDs, sending photos to mobile phone, as well as optimizing photos for sending them by e-mail.

    Picasa 3.9

    Developer: Google

    Distribution size: 14.5 MB

    Work under control: Windows XP/Vista/7

    Distribution method: freeware (http://dl.google.com/picasa/picasa39-setup.exe)

    Price: for free

    Picasa is a popular tool for organizing, viewing and easily editing photos (Fig. 13), which has gained fame in no small part due to its close integration with Picasa web albums. Such integration expands the possibilities of sharing pictures with other users, and this is a definite plus. And the functionality of this program as a whole is at the level. However, the way the developers implemented images is not very successful, in our opinion. In addition, the application is quite resource-intensive and comes with a very mediocre help system.

    Rice. 13. Organizing a photo archive in Picasa

    Picasa uses albums to catalog images; nested albums cannot be created. Albums are filled manually, by sorting out images found after scanning or importing, which takes a lot of time from the user. Scanning hard drives starts when you first start the program, and by default all hard drives of the computer are scanned, which takes quite a long time - it’s better this process interrupt, manually adjust the list of scanned directories through the folder manager and start scanning again. Photos from hard drives are added to photo collections automatically as scanning progresses, in addition, you can add pictures manually by importing images from cameras, CDs, memory cards, scanners, webcams, etc. In addition to albums, Picasa has another cataloging tool - the People collection. With its help, photographs are cataloged according to the people depicted on them with the connection of facial recognition technology. This collection is created in a semi-automatic mode - faces in all photographs are automatically recognized, and the user then needs to indicate the persons of interest to him in the photographs to create albums corresponding to them. When viewing, images are displayed in normal mode or in the form of a slideshow, taking into account given option sorting (by name, date, etc.). To speed up access to the photos you need, you can mark your favorite photos using tags, and also use tags - they resemble keywords and allow you to later easily find photos through the built-in search. You can also specify geographic data to link images to Google map Earth.

    Built-in editing tools allow you to resize photos, rotate them, crop them, and also perform a number of image correction operations (red-eye removal, straightening, adjusting contrast and color balance, etc.). In addition, it is possible to rename several photos and batch edit them, as well as online image editing using the Picnik.com service. There is functionality for printing photos in basic formats, as well as editing EXIF ​​data. If you want, it's easy to create a photo collage from selected photos, burn the photos to a CD, create a video by combining photos into a slideshow, or publish them on Blogger. You can also share your albums with others after you add them to Picasa Web Albums.

    XnView 1.99.1

    Developer: Pierre E Gougelet

    Distribution size: 4.36 MB

    Work under control: Windows 95/98/NT/2000/ME/XP/Vista/7; There are versions for Mac OS X and Linux

    Distribution method: freeware (http://www.xnview.com/en/download.html)

    Price: free (for private non-commercial or educational use)

    XnView is a free cross-platform viewer of images and other multimedia files (Fig. 14) with support for a very large number of formats (on at the moment- more than 500). The program allows you to easily view, process and convert image files, and is also equipped with a number of additional functions, including availability simple tools for organizing photo collections.

    Rice. 14. Working with a collection of images in XnView

    Photo archive management in XnView is based on the use of categories, the nesting of which is unlimited. Assigning categories to images is done manually and is possible for all selected or tagged files at once. You can add pictures to the photo archive from disk, as well as from scanners and digital cameras. In addition to supporting categories, you can assign ratings, color tags, and labels to make it easier to navigate among multiple images. When viewing photos, you are allowed to enable sorting by date, rating, format, width/height, orientation, description, comment, etc.; You can view selected pictures in slideshow mode. Implemented in the program is a built-in search, taking into account basic parameters images, including EXIF ​​and IPTC data. It is possible to batch convert and batch rename files.

    The utility is equipped basic set functions for image editing (including reducing size, rotating, cropping), allows you to adjust brightness, contrast, gamma and color balance, has tools for automatic settings levels, eliminating red-eye, applying simple filters and effects, etc. Many operations can be applied to a group of images at once in batch mode. IPTC data can be edited. If necessary, the XnView utility can also be used to compare images, print files, create panoramic images, take screenshots, generate multi-page files and web pages, and a number of other actions.

    Conclusion

    Everyone’s photo archives are different, as are the requirements for working with them, but for all users, searching for the necessary images in the archive takes a lot of time. It can be dramatically accelerated only by proper organization of the photo collection, which implies a well-thought-out catalog system in the archive and the use of specialized software tools.

    Each user chooses the hierarchical system himself, based on the subject of the images and his own priorities - the main thing here is that you are comfortable. As for the software tools, it all depends on the user’s requirements in terms of cataloging and the complexity of the intended search. For some, the capabilities of Windows 7 libraries or a simple free viewer, others will prefer more functional paid solutions: popular program to view ACDSee or one of the reviewed photo organizers, among which we found the Zoner Photo Studio program to be the most convenient for cataloging.

    With the advent of digital cameras, it has become possible to photograph absolutely any objects and, most importantly, in any quantity. Digital technology places virtually no restrictions on the ease of obtaining images. The immediate result of this was that the number of photographs created by amateur photographers, not to mention professionals, increased significantly. An affordable and capacious memory card for your camera can easily accommodate several hundred or even thousands of frames of maximum quality. Moreover, only a small part of these photographic images is printed; the full photo archive is usually stored on the computer’s hard drive.

    This is where the photographer faces a very important pressing question - how to store a huge number of digital photographs, so as not to get confused in the huge volume of files and, if possible, quickly find the photo he needs? Almost every photographer faces this task of cataloging and organizing a photo archive. How in the best possible way organize your home photo archive in order to provide easy search and quick retouching of the captured footage later?

    Organizing your home photo archive

    It must be said that each photographer copes with the problem of organizing and managing photographic images in his own, individual way. But in any case, first, all the captured footage is transferred by the photographer from various flash drives and disks to the computer’s hard drive, which can be used specifically for storing an archive and maintaining a catalog. The easiest way to catalog photos is to rename all the photos in advance and place the files on disk in separate folders with specific names. That is, the photographer in in this case catalogs the captured footage manually, renaming the file names and moving them to the required folders.

    This approach can be used by an amateur photographer who does not shoot often, mainly, for example, family photos. He does not need to resort to complex cataloging methods. It is quite enough to create several folders for each year with subfolders for certain events - a camping trip, meeting with friends or a summer vacation. Thus, all folders with photos will be located on your hard drive in chronological order, which is quite convenient for finding the photo images you need.

    Similar simple system Cataloging a home archive works well when the number of photographs remains relatively small. But, as practice shows, even among ordinary amateur photographers, the number of frames captured increases at an avalanche-like pace. As a result, the entire procedure of renaming and placing files becomes quite tedious. But the most important thing is that at one point the photographer has difficulty remembering which year or event the particular pictures he wants to find belong to. And with each new shooting the situation will only get worse. Therefore, many photographers who shoot shots in large quantities, prefer to use special programs for cataloging photographic images. These photo organizers are based on the principle of physically dividing them into folders and sorting frames using keywords.

    Cataloging photos using software tools

    It will help you cope with organizing and cataloging a large volume of digital photographs. special program– photo organizer. Today you can find plenty of them on the Internet, some are distributed completely free of charge, while the use of others requires the purchase of a license. Some of the most popular and in-demand photo organizers include programs such as Adobe Photoshop Album, Lightroom, PicaJet Photo Album, Extensis Portfolio, iView, Photo Cataloging, Google Picasa, FotoAlbum Pro and many others. Cataloging of photographs in most of these programs is carried out by placing the captured frames in a kind of storage, in which all information is divided into certain categories. Within these categories, subcategories and labels can also be placed. All photographs located in such a repository are marked with so-called metadata, that is, data about the photographs containing certain keywords, the date of shooting and brief description. Created by the program Logical photo folders resemble regular physical folders, but the files they display may not be in one specific location, but in a variety of physical locations. hard folders computer disk.

    The logical folder itself only stores links to image files. Accordingly, this means that each photo collection created by the user may contain images from different sources. Thus, the program automatically organizes a certain SQL database with a preview of all photos placed on the hard drive. Such programs provide convenient and quick search captured footage and their demonstration. Moreover, photo organizers often go beyond just cataloging digital photos and offer the photographer additional features such as quickly adjusting images, adjusting brightness and contrast, cropping photos, and much more.

    It is clear that using such a program if you have an existing archive with a large volume of photographs is very convenient. But in order to place photographs in the catalog, you must first provide them with the appropriate data. It is not at all necessary to provide each photo with a detailed description. Keywords should be short enough; their main purpose is to facilitate the process of searching for photos. When each new batch of photographs is placed in the catalog, they are first viewed, then the unsuccessful photographs are deleted and minor corrections are made to the images. Some photos can be immediately converted to black and white, or you can change the color saturation of the photo using the photo organizer.

    Next, each photo image is assigned its own special tag - keywords. Moreover, such keywords in the catalog can have several levels, for example, “Travel” - “Country” - “Czech Republic” - “Prague”. In addition to keywords, you can add some description to the photo, in particular, where and under what circumstances this photo was taken. Photos must also be accompanied by a note indicating the date of shooting. Using keywords and a tagging system, the program will very quickly find the photo you need or present a whole list of images searched for by keywords. Moreover, you can search not only by keywords, but also by album name and shooting date. You can also quickly view all the photos taken during the time period you are interested in. Photos in the catalog can also be accompanied by your personal rating, so that you can immediately remember the most successful and interesting shots in a particular photo shoot. Using the photo organizer, you can quickly transfer your collections to other media and record on DVDs, and also create slideshows with subtitles and music.

    So, it is obvious that cataloging photographs is a rather labor-intensive process, requiring the photographer to view each image, provide it with keywords and a description. However, the correct organization of a photo archive will definitely pay off handsomely, because it will significantly simplify the search for captured footage by subject, date and other criteria. Working with a photo catalog will provide you with significant time savings.

    Currently computer technology freed us from the need to store photographs in huge albums on shelves. Photos are now stored in digital form, occupying gigabytes on computer hard drives. A huge number of “New Folders” sometimes makes it impossible to quickly find the desired image in the photo archive. We decided to talk about best programs ah for sorting photos on your computer, thanks to which searching and viewing photos will only be a pleasure.

    TOP 7 best programs for sorting photos on your computer.

    This image viewer is lightweight and allows you to edit photo. IrfanView does not overload the system thanks to only the necessary options and simple design. The application's performance makes it ideal for use on home PCs. Other benefits:

    • Ability to work with all image formats.
    • Function of adding audio and video files.
    • Convenient options for minor editing (removing red eyes, adding effects, etc.).
    • Batch moving and converting files.
    • Slideshow in a convenient mode.
    • Clear interface.
    • Ability to take screenshots and crop photos.

    In addition, the application is completely free.

    This utility allows you to work with an image database and organize photos on your computer. Daminion is designed like a catalog and stores images even when they are moved to another location. Pros:

    • Convenient display in the form of signed sketches.
    • A complete summary of information about each image (size, extension, exposure, etc.).
    • Various functions (pictures can be tagged, rated, added keywords, etc.).
    • The ability to add information about pictures and indicate the place, people in it, and category.
    • The presence of “Client” or “Project” fields, which is especially convenient for professional photographers.
    • Advanced search (the program searches not only by folders and shooting date, but also, for example, by the camera used, geo-tag and other parameters).

    Daminion is stable even with huge catalogs of images.

    This file manager allows you not only to organize photos on your computer, but also to convert them to any format. A rich set of tools and a user-friendly interface make the application very popular. Main advantages:

    • Huge number of supported formats.
    • Powerful converter.
    • Ability to work with a scanner.
    • Ease of creating albums, catalogs, slide shows and even HTML pages.
    • Ability to sort by shooting date, weight, name, etc.
    • Clear and easy to use interface.

    The program is free and suitable for both beginners and professionals in working with images. Batch editing and a set of filters are very appreciated by many users.

    Despite being very unfinished appearance program, IMatch is still popular among users for a number of reasons. The main one is the ability to connect all kinds of scripts to the utility that are not in the basic version. This allows you to customize the application to suit you. Add-ons are available for download on the forum. Advantages:

    • Stability even when working with huge image catalogs.
    • Reminders to create backups.
    • Convenient sorting of pictures.

    You've probably heard about this image browser. ACDSee has earned its popularity due to its speed, ease of use and a large number printing options. In addition, the developers have focused on the interface: it is simple, understandable and equipped with tips at all stages of work. Graphic editor has basic options: applying effects, rotation, compression and other simple functions. Main features:

    • Wide coverage of formats.
    • High performance with low system requirements.
    • Possibility of printing and recording files on media.
    • Convenient converter and editor.

    This version of the program is free, but there are also paid option with extended functionality.

    MyPhotoIndex 1.24 does not have such advanced functionality, but some advantages still make it popular. These include:

    • Open source program.
    • Simple interface and set of functions.
    • Organization of catalogs according to various parameters: tags, categories, ratings, etc.
    • Frequently used tags are added by default when loading into the database.
    • The ability to encrypt images and conveniently add them to sites and servers.

    In addition to the basic options for viewing and adjusting a photo, the utility has a very useful aspect of image recognition. The application scans hard drive computer and allows you to manage all found files in a very convenient form. Main advantages:

    • Easy to organize images.
    • Supports a large number of formats.
    • Possibility of batch work with files.
    • The function of setting a password for albums and folders.
    • Clear interface.

    Picasa is suitable for regular user, the purpose of which is to bring order to volumes of photographs, improve quality, create collages and other simple actions. Plus, the program is absolutely free.

    We looked at the most convenient, in our opinion, programs for organizing images. They all differ in their set of options, and each user will be able to choose what they need. What application do you use?

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