help needed to organise masses of photo files

[scott7saunders]

Hey,

I am having a bit of a "moment" here and need some advise, on my hard drive there is about 60GB of photos stores in no particular order, this directly has had files added to it over the years and has been backed up repeated so there may be some duplication. Properties tells me there is 15862 files there and I really need to put them in some form of order and delete the duplication.

Other than going though each individual photo is there a structures way of organising them and managing the duplication etc ?

The pictures are of my kids all growing up.

Cheers

 

[mrdemon]

There are many ways to do this and it all will be time consuming.

I would do this,

1st Goto the folder where all the photos are and search everything buy *.* in search box and select all then right click copy or Cut (Copy will use more space, Cut will move them)
2nd go back and create a Folder and Paste.

It will then Copy or Move to the folder and everything that has been doubled will cause a prompt to overwrite or duplicate. Feel free to choose, but if your camera has been reset and has started the same numbers again you will LOOSE the photos..

Then once u wait for the files to be moved on this window press "Windows key + left arrow" and then open another folder to the new place of your photos that are to be sorted and (Windows + right), make the pictures to a larger size and start to sort.....

 

[ignatzatsonic]

There are software packages such as "Dupe Detector" that can analyze all of your photos and identify any that are probably duplicates. You'd be shown each of the images side by side on the screen and can choose to delete either one.

 

[HammerHead]

Dupe Detector

Dupe detector sounds like a good idea. Use "Irfanview" to logically rename the files and organize them.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi see if this shows you ways to sort by and arrange by options,
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3952-file-folder-arrangement-group-sort-arrange.html

In your case sort by Name
Group by Date or date created might serve well,
Duplicates will usually always have a (2) or (3) on the end of the names,
Unless as stated if your camera started the name/ numbering again
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Advanced-tips-for-searching-in-Windows

 

[Callender]

Photo organizing software

Any way that you choose will take time and effort.

Here's some ideas:

Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition (free) will enable you to import photos from anywhere on your hard drive or from external devices and organize them. You can rename, edit and tag photos as well as group them into collections leaving the originals in place.

Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition Free Download

It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it - it's easy.

As for duplicates (photos, folders or files) one of the better duplicate finders that I've used is Digital Volcano's Duplicate Cleaner (free):

Duplicate Cleaner - Features

The free version does have a duplicate image search function but some features in the free version are limited. I've found that the free version has always met my requirements.

If you want to read many other opinions maybe read this thread on another forum:

How do you store and organize your photos, because I need help! - CNET Digital photography & design software Forums

 

[MourningStar]

This one is my favorite of the freeware :

Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder - Find and Remove Duplicate or Similar Images


as to organization. Create subject-oriented folders (family, work, vacation, etc.) and 'move' pix as applicable.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

Without knowing what type(s) of cameras you used and the level of compression the photos have (RAW / jpg etc) it's hard to analyse this one --however most digital photos taken with fairly decent cameras (not mobile phones) have embedded in the picture a small text file known as the EXIF file (Exposure Information) which gives details of exposure, lens aperture, time, date, etc.

Extract that to an Excel spreadsheet and you can with a few clicks easily organise the whole kybosh.

http://cameras.about.com/od/Advanced-Camera-Modes/fl/How-to-Read-EXIF-Data.htm

(I think iPhones actually have EXIF info too but I haven't a clue about Mobile phone cameras in general -- I'm "Old School" and like to use REAL cameras !!!).

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Callender]

Namexif - sort your photos

Just came across this free software:

Namexif

Assuming that photos were taken with a digital camera it renames the images according to the date and time they were taken. From there it should be easy to organize them.