You have thousands of photographs stuck in your phone and computer but you can't seem to find the time to organize them all. Wouldn't it be such a relief to finally have that task off your to-do list? You could backup the best ones, create books for family, display your favorites on your big screen TV when guests come over!
These are just a few of the benefits of having your photographs organized. Read on to see all the value you can get from turning your hot mess into a planned archive.
Even though I’m a professional photographer and have all the knowledge, software, experience and interest to sort my family photos I still couldn’t seem to get it done. I took so many shots that sheer volume was an issue. I also had run out of computer space so I put some on disks and some on externals and then the same ones on other externals and in the end I had such a confusing mess which was spread over 5 different technologies! I didn't dare erase anything as I wasn't sure if and where I had copies. Every November I would consider making a photo album for the family but half way through the organization I would get sidetracked and boom, time had run out. Enough!
I spent a few weeks thinking of how best to fix this problem once and for all. It took me 6 months to organize my 11 + years of digital photos. It was long and emotional but I am constantly realizing new benefits from this accomplishment.
After going through this adventure for myself I shared my success with a few friends. They begged me to do the same for them. Knowing what a time consuming task this was I had no intentions of helping out so I laughed it off and we moved on. One of my friends did persist on the subject so we did a trade. I didn't think I could do for others what I did for myself but to get my house cleaned I was willing to try!!!
In the end I did organize my friends images much faster than I did my own, I built her a book template with what I thought were some of her best images and she was ecstatic! Eventually I did the same for my family and for my other friends and the group just kept growing.
I made it super easy for you!
Step 1. COPY as many of your photographs as you want on a USB key or portable external drive in whatever messy mixed up pile you have. (it doesn’t matter how great or bad you think they are, I know you have hidden gems in there)
Step 2. Mail it to me.
Step 3. Wait for an email invoice and pay in full with an eTransfer or credit card payment.
Step 4. Get Your external or USB key back with all your images sorted, the best-of in a ready to print folder. You will also get a ready-to-print book template you can publish as is or customize to your liking. This is a super valuable bonus that is worth hundreds of dollars just in itself! (I recommend blurb.com for printing)
Because I am still running a full time photography studio this service will only be offered to a limited number of people. There might be a waiting list so if you are keen to get started contact me soon!
Email at [email protected]
Sample book design
Q: What if I want to sort them myself in the future?
A: My sorting system is very basic, simple and easy to maintain. Once the photo mess is untangled you can easily continue on your own with a clean slate. I can share my favorite tools and resources with a comprehensive PDF booklet so you can have all your beautiful family treasures in a shareable, enjoyable format. Of course, you can absolutely keep me at your service to update once or twice a year!
Q: What size USB key should I use? Does it have to be new?
A: As long as your desired quantity of images fit on one key I don't mind the size. You can also use a portable external if you are sending large quantities. Please make sure your key/external is empty before you copy your photographs onto it. I do recommend a new key/external to avoid any technical issues.
Q: Do I send you my originals?
A: NO! Only send my a COPY of your photographs. In my sorting process I will be deleting images I consider blurry, duplicates or otherwise unusable. Usually 10% of your photos will be deleted. If you have a copy at home It's an extra safety net in case I delete something that really meant a lot to you. Don't rely on externals too heavily though as these devices do corrupt and break over time. Print, print, print!
Q: What if all my pictures are still on my phone?
A: Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable and copy or transfer all your images to a folder named "photos from phone" on your desktop or other preferred storage folder. There are many tutorials for this on Youtube.
Q. What if I have photographs from different phones and cameras?
A: This is not a problem. I will sort all your photographs by date so each folder will blend together. Every photo you have taken in a given month no matter the device will be in the same folder. Some issues may occur if you haven't set your date properly in camera settings but all phone camera's do this automatically.
Q: Can I send you my images through a link to cloud or dropbox...?
A: Not at this time. I might do this in the future but for now I prefer working with a USB Key or portable external hard drives.
Q: How do you sort my images?
A: I devide all photographs by year and month. You will have a folder for each year and 12 folders (one for each month) in each year folder. You will also have a 13th folder where I will save all your best-of in a ready to print format.
Q: Do you sort videos?
A: No I don't sort videos. If I find videos on your USB Key I will delete them.
Q: What about privacy?
A: Your images belong to you. I just sort them. No copies will ever be made of your images. They will never be seen by anyone else than me. They will not be shared, used or printed. Your trust and my reputation mean everything to me. I respect everyone's creative ownership and I always delete all traces of your images off my computer the moment I get confirmation you received them safely.
Q: How soon will I get my sorted images back?
A: It will take 2 to 4 weeks to get your sorted images back depending on how many images you've sent and how many people are ahead of you.
If you are ready for the next step or have any other questions please reach out at [email protected]