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Digital Asset Management

David K

Workshop Member
I'm about to revamp my image filing system with an eye towards a more logical and comprehensive structure. This is a bit of a daunting task and I'd like to make sure that, once done, I never have to do it again. My current plan is to group images by content type with a keyword(s) that will clue me in as to what's in the folder. By way of example, one of my main groupings will be Landscape, Subfolder: Sunsets ; Sub-sub folder: Merritt Island Preserve (a location I've shot at frequently). This structure has the advantage of having all my Sunsets in one folder but the disadvantage that I will need to break up a shoot into separate folders, e.g. if I shot Birds during that shoot they would go into Landscape>Birds. I'm not an event shooter so filing by date doesn't seem appropriate for me. I mean, who cares whether the sunset was shot in 2007 or 2008. Any suggestions about how to best organize will be appreciated.
 

LJL

New member
David,
This is always a difficult thing to do. If you use the meta data tags for keywords and stuff, and also have a tool that searches those, it can be a bit less daunting. If not, there will always be some shots "lost" in other folders, relying upon your memory to find them.

I am an event shooter, so storing stuff by date is more logical, but even there, I do break things out by subject or location. For example, I shoot wildlife at a nearby state park, so it gets its own folder, but then subfolders are done by date, and sometimes by subject, such as Brazos Bend SP > 061508 > Alligators, or Shore Birds, etc. Could just as easily swap those folders/subfolders to become Brazos Bend SP > Alligators > date, or type (close-ups, breeding, feeding, etc.) where date may be less important.

A lot really depends on what kinds of things you shoot, and how much you shoot of them, as that gives you some idea of how finely you may want to divide subjects in sub- or sub-sub-folders. I also rename all of my files to start with the date, so even if they are redtributed into other folders, I will at least know what season things were shot.

I use Aperture on my Macs, and am still mapping out the keywords and stuff I will apply to images for searching. The nice thing here is being able to leave all the images in whatever folder they started (by shoot date), importing things as referenced files, and then tagging keywords to those and rearranging their locations within Aperture, not the original file folder structure. Not sure if there is a similar capability in LR, since I do not use it. The nice part about having a fairly clean folder structure is that you can then access it by any other tool, such as Bridge, C1, etc. The downside to being too defined with subfolders is dividing things out in a way that may make it really hard to find anything after a while. This is the real plus of a good DAM tool like Aperture, since it will let you search for things in so many ways....as long as you tag the keywords for it to search. That is where placing "birds", "sunsets", "ripples", etc., into the keywords will let you find things more easily. If you do not use the meta data, breaking thing out into the folder structure you suggest will work for you, but you will still run the risk of forgetting where some things may be located. Different folks recall things differently. I tend to think about each shooting session as its own package, even if it covers more than one subject. If it covers too many, I usually break things down within the shooting session (event date) as subfolders. But that is how I tend to recall things. Placing all "sunsets" in one folder will work also, but I prefer creating those collections on the fly with the searches from the large database of images in Aperture.

Doing good DAM has components of both technical structure, and personal preferences in it, so no one method is best for all.

LJ
 

David K

Workshop Member
LJ,
Thanks for the input. I'm using Aperture as well so I can relate to advantages of the keyword tags and also that, even if the files are in different locations they can still be imported into the same Aperture project folder. Curious if you limit the number of images in a given Aperture Project. I'm finding that a project with several hundred images seems to get bogged down with thumbnail generation, etc. Just for the record, where I originally went wrong was by filing my images by camera used so that if I shot with both my Aptus back and my Canon I had two folders from the same shoot. I did this thinking that it would be safer not to mix different file types within the same folder since I was using different software to process them. It wasn't such a bad idea until the camera folders started to proliferate... Canon, Nikon, Aptus back, Sinar, etc. The problem with this system is that now I have to remember what I shot with :( This is what I'm in the process of undoing.
 

jonoslack

Active member
LJ,
Thanks for the input. I'm using Aperture as well so I can relate to advantages of the keyword tags and also that, even if the files are in different locations they can still be imported into the same Aperture project folder. Curious if you limit the number of images in a given Aperture Project. I'm finding that a project with several hundred images seems to get bogged down with thumbnail generation, etc. Just for the record, where I originally went wrong was by filing my images by camera used so that if I shot with both my Aptus back and my Canon I had two folders from the same shoot. I did this thinking that it would be safer not to mix different file types within the same folder since I was using different software to process them. It wasn't such a bad idea until the camera folders started to proliferate... Canon, Nikon, Aptus back, Sinar, etc. The problem with this system is that now I have to remember what I shot with :( This is what I'm in the process of undoing.
Hi David
I use Aperture too (love it).
I fiddled about with lots of different methods, and what I currently do is to use folders by date e.g.

2008 subfolders 2008 01 suffolk, 2008 01 holland, 2008 02 cornwall, 2008 04 grogono wedding etc.

I reflect this structure in Aperture, with a folder for each year, and a sub folder for each trip per month (so I have 12 projects per year for Suffolk, which is where I live).

I then use keywording for subjects / people whatever, so that if I need to find sunsets, then I simply do a library filter on sunsets. Nowadays I don't store any other shots than the original RAW - everything is made on the fly as needed - this makes organisation and concurrency a great deal easier.

I keep all files on an external 1TB drive, and the Aperture library in the Pictures folder on my Desktop - that way, if I'm travelling and need it, I can copy the Aperture library to my laptop and take the external drive with me.

I did think of splitting on subject, but I could see chaos looming . . . what do you do with that picture of your neice running in the waves in a sunset on the Scilly Isles? put it in three places? have a nervous breakdown?

The way I do it the decisions are simple - that shot goes in it's correct date frame - I can easily add keywords for 'sunset', 'family', 'Scilly Isles'.

I hope this helps
 

LJL

New member
David,
You can create multiple Libraries with Aperture also. I am doing that now since some of my collections are just way too big. If you do create a new Library, you do have to attach to it and then restart Aperture, which is a bit of a pain. (However, rumor has it that Apple is working on being able to select Libraries without having to restart the app. Keeping my fingers crossed for that update!)

In any event, you can create a new Library, and then export from your old Library to be imported to the new one in a new organizational scheme, should you want to do that. You just need to have some extra drives or disk space to do all of this, but in the end, you will be able to get things into the scheme that works best for you. Also, as Jono points out, it is good to make Folders in the Library and then have Projects beneath those folders. So you could have a Folder of Landscapes with Projects below that for several places. Since they are all in the main Library, you can do the keyword search on the Library, and pull from any/all Folders and Projects to find what you want. This is a very flexible system, contrary to what some folks have complained about in the past.

So, you could rearrange all those camera folders by subject/date/location, or whatever you wanted and mix and match the entries from various cameras. (That camera info will always be in the EXIF data, so it does not really matter. If you need to shell out to a different RAW processor, you could export the RAW file for that and then re-import any referenced file.

The performance hit comes with creating the thumbnails and previews. There are ways to speed that process up by adjusting those file creations (lower res or off, then creating a higher res version when editing the selects). As mentioned, I do not import the RAW files, nor any images completed outside of Aperture into the Folders and Projects in my Aperture Library. I leave all of those in their original folder locations on the various storage drives of my system. This keeps the Aperture Library a lot smaller, holding only thumbnails, previews and instruction sets. However, I do need to be attached to the original source file locations for exporting and stuff. I keep the Aperture Library on my MacBook Pro very small and delete or add Projects as needed to show folks things. I keep a master Library connected to my G5, but can be networked from the laptop. There are a ton of ways of organizing and using things, so what works for one may not be best for another. Since I have about 14TB of files now, no way I can keep all of that in a single Library, but I can keep the references in a relatively compact Library that allows me to search, breeze through things, etc., very quickly.

Sorry of all that starts to sound jumbled, but as I have discovered, you can pretty much take things in any direction you want with Aperture for DAM.

LJ
 

David K

Workshop Member
Jono,
It helps a lot... it's precisely the shot of your niece that's giving me pause about trying to create my filing structure. I sketched out a possible filing structure for my files and, before I was half thru, could see the problem. Where to put that odd sunset or macro shot that I took during a model shoot. Maybe keywording is what really needs my attention and file by date as you do. My head hurts thinking about this :)
 

LJL

New member
Jono,
It helps a lot... it's precisely the shot of your niece that's giving me pause about trying to create my filing structure. I sketched out a possible filing structure for my files and, before I was half thru, could see the problem. Where to put that odd sunset or macro shot that I took during a model shoot. Maybe keywording is what really needs my attention and file by date as you do. My head hurts thinking about this :)
Keywording is THE key to success for this stuff. Aperture allows lots of keywords and even an hierarchy, so you can narrow things down quite a bit. Might be worth spending a bit of time thinking about those keywords. Once you have a good start there, it just will take time to apply to the various files, but then you are golden. And you can always add things later if you wanted. Keeping diligent with the keyword entries upon import is important, I have found.

As for the 14TBs.....during peak equestrian and polo seasons, I sometimes shoot 3-5k frames a week. That adds up really fast. I am terrible about culliing on those, as many times I need to go back to a frame before or after a key image for some clients.

LJ
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I organize by date then shoot as well. Inside the shoot folder I often create subfolders by day, then even separate further by subject. Not perfect, but it has worked very well for me for the last several years. I used to cull, but don't bother anymore -- drive space has gotten cheap and occasionally enough, I'VE gone back and reworked a file or found a crop from another I would have discarded on the initial pass...
 

David K

Workshop Member
Thanks guys... I'm starting to get the picture. Couple of follow ups please. Are you renaming your images following import. Take a model shoot with Carol who does four wardrobe changes. Is it wise to rename the images, Carol Red Top; Carol White Dress, etc or does this make finding the original RAW image (should you need it) more problematic. Also, do you put your processed images into a separate Develops folder inside the shoot folder or just let them mix in and organize the folder by file type (as I believe Jack does).
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Thanks guys... I'm starting to get the picture. Couple of follow ups please. Are you renaming your images following import. Take a model shoot with Carol who does four wardrobe changes. Is it wise to rename the images, Carol Red Top; Carol White Dress, etc or does this make finding the original RAW image (should you need it) more problematic. Also, do you put your processed images into a separate Develops folder inside the shoot folder or just let them mix in and organize the folder by file type (as I believe Jack does).
David You need to keep the integrity of the original card or you will lose your backup scheme. 2008-07-01.3 Paris......would be my the third card imported from my Paris trip shot on July 1,2008. This folds into 2008 Paris and then 2008. I keep this independent of my processing software (Lightroom) . Your requirement is typically solved by coding key words into the metadata . This requires a lot of thought and you will change your mind overtime. Beyond a few keywords will be overkill for most . IMHO an important decision that isn t frequently mentioned ...how will you edit ... Using your example ..lets say you shot Carol a few times a year ...even if you have a few thousand images .....the best 10% can be reviewed in a few minutes . You could add metadata to the top images. In other words I would recommend editing/rating before investing time in adding keywords. Roger
 

David K

Workshop Member
Roger, I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by keeping the integrity of my original card... maybe you could explain that a bit more. I'm a bit surprised to find you filing by date too since I put both of us in the advanced amateur category and neither of us shoots extensively for clients. Sitting here I can think of a few of my best images I've taken over the years and I can recall the content and remember where I took them. I guess those are my keywords. I can't remember what year they were taken nor, any longer, can I remember which camera I took them with. If I had all my images keyworded and rated I'm sure I could put my hands on them pretty quickly... assuming that the keywords and rating system were being recognized by the software (Aperture) I'm now using. I can't help but think that there's more than a touch of irony in the fact that, in my business life (whether practicing law or doing construction) , my filing system was as good as anybody's, and that was with paper. Very few pieces of paper just got thrown into a folder... might as well throw them in the garbage if you can't retrieve them when needed. None of my file cabinets or folders were organized by date (with the exception of the "correspondence" file within each folder which always had the most recent item on top). They were all organized alphabetically.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Thanks guys... I'm starting to get the picture. Couple of follow ups please. Are you renaming your images following import. Take a model shoot with Carol who does four wardrobe changes. Is it wise to rename the images, Carol Red Top; Carol White Dress, etc or does this make finding the original RAW image (should you need it) more problematic. Also, do you put your processed images into a separate Develops folder inside the shoot folder or just let them mix in and organize the folder by file type (as I believe Jack does).
Hi David
Unlike Glen I don't have separate folders for cards - I think it's unnecessarily cumbersome - just months and shoots.

I NEVER rename files on import BUT I do change the file naming in the camera to identify:
1. the camera
2. the month

so I've renamed the D7 files (which would be DSC) to:
D7 7 (then the sequential number)
the D7 indicating the camera, and the 7 indicating the month. (I'll probably start putting a year prefix on as well - I do that with the M8 files.

I find it sometimes helps in finding a file quickly or naming the camera that someone refers to on a website or something.

As for renaming files with reference to a subject - there isn't any need if you keyword properly.

Incidentally, although it's a big ask, if you've organised your library by date, you can keyword a month every day until it's done - cumbersome, but if you get into a routine it's not the end of the world . . . and searches become soooo rewarding!

I don't have any processed files to relocate - I only save exported files when needed for a client. . . .Oh, except the occasional tiff file created when using Viveza or another plug in - these are by default given the same name as the Aperture version, and are created in the same place - suits me fine, and I leave it like that.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
David:

I do not keep cards in separate folders either, and I also have my camera's identified by the filename. If it is a big shoot, the Raws, Converted, and Final (for delivery) or Print files all get saved in subfolders with those names nested inside the original shoot folder.

I keep the original filename with the processed file too. So in my case, if the raw is CF028121.tif, I would use my software (C1) to rename on initial processing with the shoot data so processed raws in the "Converted" subfolder might look something like "CarolRedDress_CF028121. In this fashion I can get back to the raw again easily. Next, if I modify the converted file in CS, then the name gets truncated, but saved in the same shoot folder to the "Final" or "Print". So in the "Print" subfolder you might see CarolRedDress_16x24_8121. The last "8121" keeps it enough connected to the original raw to be able to find it, but separate from say a similar file in the same shoot that might be labeled CarolRedDress_16x24_8133.

My total file path for the above shoot's raw files would look something like:
Images/2008/Carol_080626/Raws/CF028121.tif. Note the date after Carol is the day of that shoot in YYMMDD format so the daily subfolders of a multi-day shoot will always automatically sort in chronological order.

Hope that helps,
 

David K

Workshop Member
Jack, it does help and your naming convention makes a lot of sense. I can do what you're doing with my Sinar dng files after they've been converted from RAW. It still might make sense for a Sinar shooter to save the CF card to a folder within the shoot so that the "true" RAW's are still available should the processing software improve.

Jono, if you're so inclined I'd love to see a screen shot of your Aperture projects directory. I have a feeling you know your way around that program better than I and are handling things better.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Roger, I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by keeping the integrity of my original card... maybe you could explain that a bit more. I'm a bit surprised to find you filing by date too since I put both of us in the advanced amateur category and neither of us shoots extensively for clients. Sitting here I can think of a few of my best images I've taken over the years and I can recall the content and remember where I took them. I guess those are my keywords. I can't remember what year they were taken nor, any longer, can I remember which camera I took them with. If I had all my images keyworded and rated I'm sure I could put my hands on them pretty quickly... assuming that the keywords and rating system were being recognized by the software (Aperture) I'm now using. I can't help but think that there's more than a touch of irony in the fact that, in my business life (whether practicing law or doing construction) , my filing system was as good as anybody's, and that was with paper. Very few pieces of paper just got thrown into a folder... might as well throw them in the garbage if you can't retrieve them when needed. None of my file cabinets or folders were organized by date (with the exception of the "correspondence" file within each folder which always had the most recent item on top). They were all organized alphabetically.
David My system isn t purely by date....its by year....then by subject/location/event ...so I might have a folder on Paris ...called 2008 Paris . Using my Paris example.....I have a folder 2008 Paris ....next level down are the actual cards as I imported them 2008-07-01.3 Paris . So I have maybe 25 card imports identified. This is 2000 images ..I shoot maybe 20K per year. If I did more than one trip to Paris in 2008 ..I would add a an intermediate folder ....2008-07 Paris . Out of the 2000 raw images ...I try to edit down to 300 that I might ever use. These are flagged. Then I rate the 300 selectively getting them down to 120 then 60 and finally 24. By using the flags and ratings I can go in with 2008 Paris and find my best images in minutes . You don t have to remember which card its on ....only that it was in Paris in 2008 . Four issues with this approach.....one...it works best when you follow a practice of downloading frequently ..at least daily as this tends to keep the subject matter at least similar....two...you have to edit and rate the images as you go (otherwise you find yourself searching thru thousands ) three ...you must use keywording to create alternative views of the images(I haven t needed them) and four ...your flags and ratings are managed by either Aperture , Lightroom, CS3 etc. Keywording can be done at any stage..so on import ..I might add Paris,M8,Seine etc to the keywords ..later I might add Carolyn to a specific image. ............................................ OK How is this different from a more meaningful (or significant) set of folders? If you have a folder for Carol and a subfolder for Carol Red Sweater ..then How do you file Carol and Allison together or a shot illustrating a particular lighting technique? You need multiple copies to accomplish this. This is why the stock photographers rely on the metadata keywords. .........My point of view (my requirements may be different than others) . Its easy to spend a lot of time coding,filing,processing and admiring the thousands of digital images we can take each year. This can be fun for awhile; but , I need to get at the best and forget the rest. I did some rough estimates of my requirements......maximum 20K images per year . Thats 100K images in five years. Top 10% (2000) found in 10 folders (200 each). Its from the top 10% that I plan to work on post processing for web presentation and prints. .....Another way of saying this ...if I was trying to find that great shot of my Golden at the beach....I would look in 2008 Jupiter and select on ratings 2 and above ..do a grid view and I would have it in 5 minutes maximum. ........Another set of tools that you can use (at least in lightroom ) are the collections ....for example I am trying to build a multiyear collection on Kiteboarders.....I just keep adding my best kiteboarding shots as I go ..Lightroom maintains a pointer to the original and I can get at my best 300-400 images directly ...no limit on the duplicate use of an image ..and I am always just pointing to the original. ....Sorry if this is confusing...the key point is that any significant numbering scheme has the potential to breakdown ..if its used to provide the organization structure. ...Two sources of information....the DAM book O'reilly publishing and the Luminous Landscape tuitorial videos.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Jono I use Mac OS X and Lightroom as the backbone of my DAM. While I know there are benefits to importing thru Lightroom or Aperture ....I create a single folder for an event/location/major shoot or subject . In my example 2008 Paris . I drag the card to my desktop and into the 2008 Paris folder and rename the card only ...2008-07-01.3 Paris . I then import the 2008 Paris folder into Lightroom referencing the originals (rather than importing them) . Lightroom only imports the new images but retains the full folder /card structure. This facilitates great flexibility to my backup scheme...on a short trip ..the cards act as a backup . (I generally Backup the entire 2008 Paris folder to an external drive as well). Once home I can off load the 2008 Paris folder to my external drives and do a decent backup. I pace myself through each card flagging the images worthy of further review. Once I have done this I am always working at the 2008 Paris level. Having the card identified keeps me honest on whats been imported,backedup and had a first pass at editing ..nothing more. The only other use I have had for them is to create an intermediate folder after the fact. Say I went to Paris again in October..I would want a 2008 Paris October folder and would create a 2008 Paris June one for the previous cards/images . There is really no overhead or complexity involved .....as the card level is ignored for most every use of the images after the initial pass and backup. Roger
 

David K

Workshop Member
Roger, thanks for expanding on this. I do see the logic to your system and there's a lot to be said for not wasting time on images that we're not likely ever to use. With my Sinar files I don't believe I can rename the CF card at least not if I want to use Exposure software to make the conversions. If I do the program won't recognize the folder name.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Jono I use Mac OS X and Lightroom as the backbone of my DAM. While I know there are benefits to importing thru Lightroom or Aperture ....I create a single folder for an event/location/major shoot or subject . In my example 2008 Paris . I drag the card to my desktop and into the 2008 Paris folder and rename the card only ...2008-07-01.3 Paris . I then import the 2008 Paris folder into Lightroom referencing the originals (rather than importing them) . Lightroom only imports the new images but retains the full folder /card structure. This facilitates great flexibility to my backup scheme...on a short trip ..the cards act as a backup . (I generally Backup the entire 2008 Paris folder to an external drive as well). Once home I can off load the 2008 Paris folder to my external drives and do a decent backup. I pace myself through each card flagging the images worthy of further review. Once I have done this I am always working at the 2008 Paris level. Having the card identified keeps me honest on whats been imported,backedup and had a first pass at editing ..nothing more. The only other use I have had for them is to create an intermediate folder after the fact. Say I went to Paris again in October..I would want a 2008 Paris October folder and would create a 2008 Paris June one for the previous cards/images . There is really no overhead or complexity involved .....as the card level is ignored for most every use of the images after the initial pass and backup. Roger
Hi Glen
I only reference files as well - importing to the library makes it huge and unwieldy - it's just that I don't have separate folders for files from a shoot.

So, if I have a folder:

\\external_drive\aperture\2008\2008 07 smithwedding\D700

then all the shots from that wedding will be copied to that folder - from different cards

I'll then 'import' them by referencing them (just as you do). I agree, it makes backup simpler (I do it with time machine to another drive).
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Hi Glen
I only reference files as well - importing to the library makes it huge and unwieldy - it's just that I don't have separate folders for files from a shoot.

So, if I have a folder:

\\external_drive\aperture\2008\2008 07 smithwedding\D700

then all the shots from that wedding will be copied to that folder - from different cards

I'll then 'import' them by referencing them (just as you do). I agree, it makes backup simpler (I do it with time machine to another drive).
Small difference in our approaches then ..after import ...i would be working at the wedding level as well. What I feel is important is that David doesn t establish subfolders within the wedding folder ..rather using some combination of flagging,rating and keywords to support his search requirements. If I was still shooting weddings or events ..break it down by 2008 Weddings/Brown Wedding ....below that the editing flags would work and I might only use limited keywording.
 
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