Organizing Digital Photos: A Picture-Perfect System

Holidays offer plenty of opportunities to capture priceless moments. We asked the HGTV.com Image Team to share their top tips for taking the best pictures and then storing them wisely.

By Leslie Judson
Filed under: Organization, Holiday

Capture a child’s perspective by kneeling down to his or her level. Photo by Ed Szymczak.

The advent of digital imaging changed the world of photography. Digital cameras allow photographers of all skill levels to take more pictures, to edit them, to create digital albums, to print copies with the click of a button and to organize everything on a home computer. Follow these 10 steps to capture and protect memories for generations to come. And don't miss the picture captions for bonus holiday pic tips.

Flash isn’t always necessary. Use existing light to highlight attractive features in your subject. Photo by Ed Szymczak.

1. The best camera is the one you have with you. Keep your camera ready to fire, especially as you meet friends and family for holidays and special events. If carrying your digital camera is not an option, consider upgrading the storage on your cell phone's camera.

2. Invest in two smaller memory cards as opposed to one large one. That way, when a card fails (and eventually, it will) you won't stand to lose as many photos.

When chronicling an event with digital pictures, don’t overlook meaningful imagery like this hand-painted ornament. Photo by Ed Szymczak.

3. Delete as you go. Digital photography allows you to take as many pictures as your photo cards will allow. Deleting less desirable shots as you go will give you more room on the photo card and save time when downloading.

4. Move pictures from your photo card to your computer at the end of every day or every time you take pictures. You’ll have a clean memory card for your next photo op, and organizing goes faster when the shots are fresh on your mind.

5. On your computer, sort your photos in a folder structure that makes sense to you. You could organize by month and year, by family members' names or by event name. A folder named 2009_12_Family translates to December 2009 family pictures, for example.

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