LETS CREATE THE BASIC FOLDER STRUCTURE

Within our base structure, we also keep the subfolder structure consistent.

The biggest problem with most photographers, professional or amateur, is that they have a hard time organizing and managing their images. If the system is organized it tends to be time-consuming. So let’s start by creating a basic folder system.

Creating Folders

On the left side of the screen is the Folders Pane. This will show you your folder tree and will look identical to what you see when you open a Windows Explorer tab by clicking on the folder icon in the bottom right corner or holding the windows key and hitting the letter ‘e’ on the keyboard.

Generally, I will use the Folders Pane to navigate through my folder structure. When you left click on a folder, the contents of that folder will appear in the Manage Tab pane on the right side of the screen. If the folder you selected has subfolders, these will show up on the right and if you double click on the folder, its contents will show up.

To easily navigate in the Folders Pane, you can click on the small arrows to the right of the folder which will open the folder and show you any subfolders that are nested within the folder. Clicking the arrow again will close the folder.

If you click the arrow beside the Pictures folder you will see any nested folders. When you click on the word Pictures, these nested folders will show up in the Manage Tab to the right. In an empty space in the Manage Tab, right click and select New and then select Folder. A new folder will be displayed with the name New Folder and it will be highlighted in blue. Simply type the new name for the folder. In my example, I use ‘Camera Easy Sample Folder’.

Creating Subfolders

Creating subfolders is easy. Once you have opened a folder and on the right side of your screen, the Manage Tab is empty, simply right-click in the empty area and select New and then Folder. Rename the folder as above and then make the next subfolder.

The Folder Structure

I suggest that at the top of your folder structure you start by year. 2018, 2017, 2016 and so forth.

Within each year, create a small list of subfolders. I use general topic as the second level of organization.

Within each topic group, I then add a new folder for each shoot organized by date and location/subject.

Within each shoot folder, I then have three subfolders. Originals, Top Picks and Edited. I create the same three subfolders for every shoot. In this way, the folders are standardized and easy to understand.