file organization

[Jamesmd]

Hi , sorry , me again

I'm starting to have a real mess with files all around everywhere

How do you organize them ?( not so much your work flow but your file keeping )

What I'm doing now is

-from camera to folder with date
-I use these for C1 and or Aperture ( is this ok ? )
-processed to tiff 16 on same drive in a folder called processed and subfolder with themes
- this is the drive I backup regularly
-jpgs on internal drive by themes

All organization and hey words etc I have in Aperture with files in their location not in the aperture library

If you can help with a better system I'll appreciate

Thanks

 

[glenerrolrd]

First you should know this is a difficult discussion for most forum members. The area is called Digital Asset Management(DAM) . The numbering schemes,folder structures etc that make up the backbone of a DAM are highly personalized.

For example , what Guy might use for a client project or event maybe be different than what I use for my street shooting archives or what david K uses for his model shoots. We have different requirements ,choose to use different software C1,LR or Aperture.

There are several good books about DAM and most Lightroom or Aperture books,videos etc offer suggestions.

This is what I do and it has worked well. I can find things quickly and have not yet lost a single image(although I had a few close calls) with 50K images over the last three years.

Each trip ,event or collection of related shoots is given a folder within a year. So 2009 will have 30 plus folders. eg. 2009_NewYork,2009_SpringTraining,2009_Weddings . If I need another folder inside it maybe 2009_06_NewYork for a 7 day trip street shooting. After that its each and every card .......2009-06-01.XXNewYork ..where XX is the card number . I might have 4-6 cards a day .

I maintain the integrity of the card leaving the original file numbers intact.

This file structure looks like this 2009........2009NewYork......2009-06NewYork.....2009-06-01.1NewYork........L2010001 .

Other tools allow you select,catalog and retrieve specific images.

Since you use Aperture I would find a few books and copy a system from someone. But the folder structure I use is independent of the product you use.

 

[Jamesmd]

Roger , Thanks , I understand its different for each one , but you see , I think your system is better and faster than mine . Just year and event or place . thats what you first think of , and don't need to remember exact date for something or just look at the main folder and instantly see the events mayor title .

Thanks for sharing .

Cheers