Asset Management of Photographs, naming protocols, storage, the Cloud, etc.

1.  Focus is on management and organization of photos
 Assumption is the use of digital cameras rather than
smartphone;
 Digital photos range in file sizes (storage requirements)
based on resolution and file format.
 Generally TIFF and RAW files are larger, 10MB to 25MB
 Generally jpeg files are mid to small file sizes, <10MB
 Smartphone photos are low resolution intended for quick
distribution and sharing, though resolution quality is
improving. Eg, an Instagram photo is 612ppi x 612ppi.
 RAW files are proprietary and constitute the original data
captures by a camera’s sensor.
Managing Your Photographs

2.  Focus is on management and organization of photos
 TIFF and RAW files are used for long term preservation.
 jpeg files are not considered long term as they degrade over
time.
 File sizes of digital photos may vary greatly dependent on
any post production performed in programs such as Adobe
CS Photoshop.
 Generally digital photo files are significantly larger than text
files and this may influence decision making regarding asset
management tools for photographs.
Managing Your Photographs

3.  Many, many, photo sharing websites to choose from:
 A quick google will find a variety of overlapping top ten lists;
 What to look for? What is your goal?
 Is your intention to share photos among friends and family?
 Do you wish to share your photos with fellow enthusiasts?
 Are you looking to expand your business by having a web
presence? (Sell photos, mugs, t-shirts, books, etc)?
 How flexible is the interface? Are you stuck with the same
look and feel as everyone else? Ads?
 Cost? You get what you pay for.
Where do I go to share?
Managing Your Photographs

4.  A good all round source for digital photography is
DPReview (Digital Photography Review)
www.dpreview.com/:
 Recommended for the enthusiast or professional:
- SmugMug, PBase and Zenfolio;
- Websites, such as Zenfolio are not only a photo sharing
platform but rather a platform to promote and sell your
photographs. Terms of service ensure that copyright
remains with the photographer.
 Flickr, a free photo sharing platform, it remains by far the
most popular.
Where do I go to share?
Managing Your Photographs

5. Photo Organization
Managing Your Photographs
automatic, local, remote

6. Services like Gmail and Yahoo have led us to
become accustomed to our data piling up
endlessly;
Software like Picasa will find an image file
anywhere on a hard drive, there is no need to
know where it is;
But Picasa only cares that it is an image file, all are
equal;
There is no discernment of importance or priority;
Software may become corrupted, in what folder were
those photographs stored?
Organization 101
Managing Your Photographs

7. It is important to:
Know where your photos are stored;
Identify your photos;
Back up, back up, back up;
Regularly migrate data
- Keep up with changing
technologies.
 How easily can you find that picture of
Uncle Luke at Tom’s 5th
birthday party?
 Do you have a workflow or file handling
system?
Organization 101
Managing Your Photographs
Taking photos is the easy part,
managing photos is the challenge.

8. Programs, such as, Picasa by google,
Aperture by Apple and Lightroom by Adobe
may provide great help in photo organization
but they are tools not solutions.
Organization 101
Managing Your Photographs

9. Guiding Principles:
 Upload your images using a unique file name system
- Each image is distinct from any other;
- Don’t rely on the numerical file name generated by your camera;
- Create a file name system that has meaning to you
- Example, Date, initials, image #: [20111031_JDL_0001.jpg];
 Upload your images into dated folders [20111031]
- If you have more than one event or subject taken on the same
day sub-folders may be created under the name of each event or
subject.
- One option may be to identify sub-folders in accordance to event
and location;
Organization 101
Managing Your Photographs

10. Guiding Principles cont’d:
 Convert photos to a non-proprietary format:
- i.e., RAW to Tiff or jpeg (keep at least one copy in original
format);
 Once images uploaded, go through and rate each image:
- Programs, such as, Lightroom have rating options;
- A “0 to 5” scale can be used: 0-1 get trashed, 2 get stored for
major editing later, 3-5 minor editing required & are ready to
show;
 Keyword (Tag) your images:
- By name, event, action, emotion, etc;
- Software such as Adobe Bridge and Adobe Lightroom provide
the capacity to directly add keywords to an image file.
Organization 101
Managing Your Photographs

11. Guiding Principles cont’d:
 Back up, back up, back up:
- Keys to good back up:
- Automatic – whether you do it manually or have an
automated system back ups need to be second nature;
- Local – first backup is easy and fast to restore, such as, an
external hard drive;
- Remote – in case of disaster, may store at work, at a
relatives or in the cloud (should be secure – encrypted);
 Media Migration – will be necessary at least every 5-10
years:
- Technology changes;
- Technology fails.
Organization 101
Managing Your Photographs

12. Managing Your Photographs
Cloud Storage

13. Simply put it is offsite storage in the
hands of experts;
There are many choices out there;
Why store photos in a cloud?
How do you decide what vendor (cloud)
to use?
Cloud Storage
What is the cloud?

14. 1. You get what you pay for:
There are a variety of services that provide free or
cheap (under $10/month) back-up services;
They include a variety of features including
automated back-up;
Examples are, Mozy, CrashPlan, BackBlaze and
Carbonite;
However, if you are a business using a cheap
home service this is likely a breach of Terms of
Use and your account can be closed at any time.
Cloud Storage
What is the cloud?

15. 1. cont’d
Services, such as, Mozy provide cheap service on
the speculation that their servers will be able to
support the demand as the low end users will
balance out with the high end users;
It is a gamble, in Mozy’s case it didn’t pan out and
they removed their $5 unlimited service.
Cloud Storage

16.  We are magicians and have developed a spell that enables us
to store all the world’s data in our invisibility cloak. Also – just
like Mozy – we calculate that everything will just sort of average
out. Anyway, we’ve also conjured up some Terms of Service,
so when it all goes wrong we’re covered, even if you’re not.
 Call yourself a professional photographer. Then those images
you uploaded are part of your business. We’ve therefore
terminated your account and deleted your archive; you are of
course welcome to open a business account and pay for use
rather than piggybacking on our consumer offering, you cheap
bastard.
Cloud Storage
Terms of Service Translations by Jeremy Nicholl

17. 2. What do you want to store?
Most online storage vendors were established to
support storing textual records, spreadsheets, etc
that have significantly smaller file sizes than
photographs;
These vendors have offered their services to
photographers as they have recognized a
demand;
However, they may only be suitable to low
resolution images, jpegs, point and shoot
photography or backing up the best of the best of
your photographs.
Cloud Storage

18. 3. They are not a storage solution they
are a back-up solution:
Remember the back-up mantra, you want both
local back-up and remote back-up;
Do not rely on remote back-up alone.
Cloud Storage

19. 4. There are multiple types of cloud
storage:
Public/community web-based cloud storage:
- Upload files via browser and files become instantly
available through a web-based interface. Examples
are Flickr and Smugmug;
- Downside, cannot upload RAW files and cannot
easily download all photos back to your computer.
Cloud Storage

20. 4. Cloud storage types cont’d:
Local/hybrid folder synchronization:
- A client is installed that monitors a specific folder on
your computer for changes. A new file is
automatically uploaded to the cloud through your
internet connection;
- Advantage – auto updates folder structure and old
versions of files maintained;
- Easily share files between computers,
family/friends;
- Examples, Dropbox, Livedrive and Live Mesh.
Cloud Storage

21. 4. Cloud storage types cont’d:
Dedicated/private cloud storage:
- Buy as much space as you need and use however you
need;
- May manually upload files or install client software that
auto synchronizes specific folders on computer;
- Up to you if you wish to keep a local back-up or not;
- Space is yours, not shared with others like in Flickr;
- Many different companies, such as, Amazon;
- May require some technical skills to use efficiently;
- Depending on amount of storage required, may become
very expensive, however prices continue to fall;
Cloud Storage

22. 5. Bandwidth:
If you plan to back-up large image files, such as,
RAW and TIFF or a large back catalogue, you will
require good upload bandwidth;
You will also want good download bandwidth, as
well, for restoring files in case of an emergency;
Check with your internet provider.
Cloud Storage

23. The internet is a fickle beast
In 2012 Mosaic Archive started as a cloud based
storage solution dedicated to photography. It
worked hand in hand with Adobe Lightroom. With
limited bandwidth availability it was faster to ship
your external hard drive to them to be replicated.
In 2015 Mosaic Archive is an access solution that
piggy backs on Google Drive (the storage) and is a
plugin for Lightroom or an IOS app.
In 2012 Mosaic Archive required a one time $400
upload fee for 1TB and $25 a month. Now the
storage costs are with Google Drive, which begins
at free and scales up.
Cloud Storage

24.  When you consider how to manage your photographs
consider what is best for you.
 Write down your requirements then look for the
product that best meets those requirements.
 Is your interest in preserving your photos for the next
generation?
 Is it all about sharing?
 We hope this presentation has been helpful. Please
check out the links in the handout provided for further
information on some of the choices.
Cloud Storage