Project Photos - You Have to Start Somewhere

The start of the year — an end to all the holidays and activities and a great time to work on existing projects, or resurrect one that has waited in the wings for years.

Photos — the dreaded organizing and digitizing project that forever gets put off.  Okay, maybe not the most dreaded, but from my perspective, at least... overwhelming.

The thought of tackling this project opens up an array of issues.
What scanner do I get?  And then, how do we go about organizing photos on the computer with an appropriate file-name? One with some semblance of reasonable order, that once a photo is digitized, it can be located when needed.  How do we decide on the best file-name that accurately identifies the photo. And on and on it goes.


So January, I spent researching my options. And, that my friends, is my topic for this month.

Most of us have photos in boxes, stored all over the house, or loose in various drawers.  After all, we have been collecting these mementos for a long time, in essence documenting our entire life along the way.


How often has someone asked us about a specific photo.
Or maybe, your grandchild asked what Great-grandma looked like.
Your know that you  have a photo to show her, somewhere.. but you can’t get your hands on it at the moment. 



Or, worse, yet… you are not even sure where to begin to  look.


Maybe, it’s safe to say, that we’ve all been there. Unless, you are the type of person who has everything in their home and life in perfect order.
I don’t doubt, that there may be a few who could actually fall into that category.  But, honestly, I have lived long enough to safely say that most of us probably do not.

We all know the importance on prioritizing the preservation of our precious memories.
    •In the event of a devastating disaster, as we have seen on the news.
    •To simply enjoy those treasured photos of the past with our family and friends in the present.
    •Sharing those memories with our children and grandchildren.
    •Identifying relatives who are no longer with us and relaying their stories.

We all know the importance of locating a photo when needed. And to  accomplish these goals, it must become an imminent priority to set aside time to digitize all the photos we hope to preserve for future generations.

So, with these thoughts and goals in mind, I put together a few steps.


Just Get Started   —
Sounds easy.. doesn't it?   It is.
One thing that I must continuously remind myself, is that there is not just one way, or one perfect method on how to do this... no perfect plan.

At this point, just thinking about trying to find the best way to accomplish the job, can cause
procrastination to set in -- The easy default.  And with our busy lives we could stay stuck for years or decades.  Amazing how fast 30 years goes by...

By nature, I am a methodical person who tends to research every point and process before tackling a project.... Researching and planning is great, provided we don’t get stuck in that phase indefinitely and fail to launch the actual project.
I literally could stay at any one of the phases in the project – photo sorting, organizing, scanning, choosing the right scanner, file-naming the photo, how to create digital file folders to organize the digital photos on the computer, etc...


Step 1. Collect all photos    —
I actually started a year ago pulling photos from all areas in the house, for a memory book project for my son who was getting married.  Thankfully, I had most of the photos already separated in boxes inside larger containers. Bear in mind, that this is more of a general pre-sort. Not in depth like the actual sort stage where you place into categories.



Step 2. Set a Deadline   —
Set a practical time limit for each phase of this project. Schedule it into your calendar or Day-timer, etc.
Obviously, some phases will last a lot longer than others.



Step 3.  Sort & Categorize    —
The Sort stage may take a while. There are many ways to go about this part of the process.  I chose to sort by years, months or seasonal if a photo is not labeled and the date is unknown in a particular year. This becomes more obvious as you move further back in years.


Step 4.  Scan,  Label  —
This could take months and months depending in how many photos you have and your choice of a file-naming method. If you think through how you plan to identify each digital file you can also write the file name on the back of the photo to identify and establish a retrievable link between the digital file and the photo. This could also be done after the scanning and file-naming.

Either way, I always say - sure and steady gets you there. In this case, it’s not how fast you do the job, it’s how steadfast you remain on the job until completion.



Step 5. Storage  —
Then there is the storage aspect.  How are you going to preserve the photos after they have been scanned and labeled.

For all these steps, there is not just one solution.





You just need to pick one that you can work with and stay at it until completion.  One thing that I have learned in life — Do not try to reinvent the wheel -- no need to.
In other words, sometimes it’s best to turn to those who specialize in a specific area.

In this case, organize photos, scanning, and digital files.  You can always adapt any system to work for you.  And remember, there is no perfect way — only the way that works best for you and how you work.


Here are some suggestions that I have run across, by no means an exhaustive or exclusive list. I’m sure there are many other viable options that you may know about.

Again, the focus is not about seeking out every single method, but to find an option that will work for you in a timely manner so you can complete your project in a reasonable time-frame, and facilitate preservation and retrieval of your photos.


Websites :
•Scan Your Entire Life - by Curtis Bisel.
An exceptional resource that I found to be extremely helpful.
•Naming Photo Digital Files - by Denise Levenick: 
A Simple 4-Part System For Naming Digital Files.
•The Family Curator 


•Legacy FamilyTree Webinars:
If you have a Legacy FamilyTree Membership, there are several webinar recordings on organizing, scanning photos.  Here are a few excellent ones--  Geoff Rasmussen, on organizing photos, file- naming, and file structures; Eric Basir, on choosing the right scanner settings and how to better understand the importance of choosing the right format for certain images; and Denise Levenick, who also teaches on a practical level on all these topics, and preservation methods.

•Geoff Rasmussen:
Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: scanning, digitizing, editing, and preserving your photos.  
 Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: Scanning, Organizing, Editing, and Sharing Your Digital Images
•Eric C. M. Basir:  Scanning 101: The Epson Way
•Denise Levenick:
How to Scan an Elephant: Digitizing Awkward Artifacts from Artifact to Zombie   
Dirty Pictures - Save Your Family Photos from Ruin


Resource Suggestions:
(A short list of resources I used for my project)
•Scanner: Epson Perfection Scanner — V600,  (B&H Photo, Amazon, Best Buy)
•Photo Albums/Binders: Century  Pioneer Photo Albums:  (Amazon/
•Photo Pages: Pioneer Photo -Print File Preservers, (Amazon)  (Make sure they are Acid & PVC safe. Emission free) 
•Photo Pen: (Archival-Safe, Acid-free).
•ZIP Photo Pen  (Amazon)


How about you… have you completed your photo preservation project or are you mid-stream? Maybe you got started at one point and then got busy. Life has a way of just happening, doesn’t it?  I know all about that.  Or maybe you have just been thinking about it for quite a while not knowing where to begin or how to go about it.  I sure have been there, too.

Whatever, the situation is, I hope I have been able to encourage or inspire you to get the ball rolling on your project at whatever pace you are on. Remember time doesn’t stop… but you can stop… reassess..l and direct your time to the things that are important in your life.

Share your thoughts and your experiences along the way.

Project Time: Re-structuring Genealogy Files & Folders

Thankfully, the longer I research, the more documents and information I continue to accumulate. Part of our research work is the ability to retrieve our information, at any given time.
As I have added new documents and photos to my computer files, over a period of time, I see the time has come once again to reassess the current system I use. This is not a fun venture, in fact it is a bit painful, as I dislike sharing precious research time for organizing.  ⌛️
Yet, I recognize it is a vital part of what we do, and streamlining our system will help make our research efforts more effective in the long run.

This was further driven home as I began entering information into my new updated Legacy 9 software program that I installed into another computer. Since I am adding new media and documents, this time, I discovered they are saved in different locations on another computer and an external hard drive. I knew it was time to streamline all into one easy workable system.  All of this includes restructuring and renaming folders, files, purging duplicates or more, and more purging in general of all that is not needed.
   🗂           🗂           🗂
As if that were not enough, I also decided to enter my information manually, into Legacy 9, rather than use a Gedcom file. I know, this is all going to take a long, long, long time!  But, the goal is for it all  to work together. So a fresh, new start is in order and a positive outlook will definitely, be needed to get the job done.

 Since, I realize that what has worked for me in the past is not working efficiently, now. I looked at several of my old standbys of organization techniques and one or two new sources for fresh input. It is important to recognize how you work and how you process information and then find a system that facilitates and works for you. And, oh, of course, be persistent once you decide and stick with it. My main focus is to keep it as simple as possible - where I don't need to rethink a complicated process of what I did.  In addition, it is not always necessary to reinvent the wheel, and I can therefore, glean from others trials and errors and expertise, when possible.

So, I checked a few blogs that I often read as time permits and decided to look further at Randy Seaver's blog post about digital file organization.  I really like his approach and have decided to blend some of his ideas into revamping my file structure.
I am now knee deep in process. I separated the family files as Randy did in his article then I also separated my own maternal and paternal lines Into separate folders, each with their own corresponding surnames. I hope by separating them further, it will help me keep them straight a bit easier. Whatever system one decides on, it is key to adapt it to how you work and think.

I know there are different rules of thinking, when it comes to genealogy Media, Photos, and Document files. I will try keeping a Media folder in each Surname grouping folder for each of Family lines, rather than one designated location for all Genealogy Media, Photos, Docs, etc...      
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I believe, this will work best for me at this point. I have had it all in one location but I found it became rather large and difficult to manage.  Although, I do keep a separate folder for my regular Media, Photos, and personal files - unrelated to Genealogical purposes.

In addition to restructuring files, I am in process of renaming them for uniformity and easier access, especially as I save records for a particular person or surname.

If you need ideas, Randy offers excellent advice and information on his article called 'Genealogy Digital File Folder Organization' for file naming conventions, and other helpful suggestions. Actually, I find his blog to be a wonderful resource, overall.
I know there are many others, that I have also learned from, as well.  Another resource to check into is a book, by William Dollarhide, 'Managing a Genealogical Project'. It is very good, as well.  In addition to organizing, he covers the descendancy numbering systems and organizing a variety of other research materials.
I would suggest to look into the latest version, as it includes a chapter on computer-related ideas for digital genealogy organizing.  There are many good books on genealogical research including organization to choose from.

Once you decide on how to go about it and what structure to use, then it becomes simply a matter of doing the job and being persistent on an almost daily basis. Some days, due to other responsibilities I set the timer to get the time in.... and it works to stay on track.   ⏳    Other days I stay at it until. Either way, stay on task and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

May your journey of family history continue to progress and unfold before you.