Monday, January 31, 2011

66 February Challenge: Project Photography {intro}

Tomorrow is the first day of February.  Just in case ya didn't know.  And needed a reminder that the first month of the year has already come and gone in the blink of an eye...

I have been having a blast peeking at all of the linked up projects thus far, from January's project paper!  We have had some busy folks!  From what I have seen just from poking around {tomorrow night I will actually be heading off to read each and every link up!}, individuals have come up with some incredible ideas, from using binders and expandable files to creating message stations on their counter-tops!  So much to be seen and great ideas being shared!  Which is causing me to have a giant smile plastered across my face as I type this.  Which is causing my hubs to give me weird looks.  One more day to link up my friends!  A special thank you to everyone participating in the fun!! 

I have gotten mucho requests to do another challenge in February.  So I picked one that I could participate in right along with you.... one that has been near and dear to my heart, yet incredibly neglected and out of control.  And that means it has been eating away at my gut more and more each day.... PHOTOS!


That's right.  Many of you following through my family and photography blog, know IHeart my camera and taking pics.  Of my kids.  Of my family and furry friends.  Of my organizing projects and house.  Of nature.  Of pretty much anything and everything!  Which then means that I have OODLES and OODLES of digital files built up in, you guessed it, OODLES AND OODLES of folders.  Both on my desktop {gasp} and my external hard-drive. 

I am a preacher of keeping photos stored on an external hard-drive, and then also backed up on CD's in either a Fire Safe or Safe Deposit Box or External Web Storage.  However, I do not practice what I preach.  Well, I do, but those files are like two years old.  In the last two years, I have not practiced what I preach.  I got behind in my organizing and got overwhelmed at the thought of catching back up.  So each day, new folders are created, more storage is lost and finding things becomes a headache.  And because IHeart each moment I capture, the thought of losing any of it makes me ill.  Like major loss of sleep ill.  Which is why it's time to do something about it.  And I am excited many of you are wanting to do the same!  You are not alone, and I know I am not either!

So, here is the list I have come up with so far {many based on your questions and inquiries}, when it comes to topics to touch on this month:
  • Organizing digital photos
  • Organizing printed photos
  • What type of camera/lenses I use
  • Organizing equipment
  • Backing up digital photos
  • Photo books/albums
So today, to kick off this project, I wanted to ask what other topics you would like to see this month when it comes to photos and this project?  Of course, I may not have the answers to everything, but I will do my best to try and consider all of your current "photo dilemma" topics.

So pop in a comment letting me know if you are excited for this month's project, pledging to take the "Project Photography" plunge, or any questions you have regarding the subject!

66 comments:

  1. I am new to your organizing blog - and I love it! I have always been organized, but your blog provides me with more inspiration and motivation. Thank you! I have been interested in photography for awhile, but we don't have a very good camera. We plan to purchase one in 2011. What cameras do you suggest for various budgets? What should I look for in a camera?

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  2. Oh... love this one! I've tried to do a good job in the past, it just gets away from me. Once you have kiddos and start taking HUNDREDS of pictures a month/week/or even a day sometimes it just gets so tough to stay on top of! Can't wait to see what you come up with. I don't really print many so I'm mostly interested in the digital aspect.

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  3. I am new too!! I just organized(transfered all pictures to disk) all my online photo files, but I do need to do some catching up with my printed ones. And get some ideas for further organizing digital photos :) Your topics sound fine :)

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  4. All I can say is...THANK YOU!!!!!

    I'm really really really looking forward to this months challenge. Did I say really yet?

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  5. I am so excited about this topic! I can't wait to see how you organize pictures both on the computer and ones you've printed out.

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  6. I am so excited about this project! This is something that I cannot stay on top of, mainly because I have never been "caught up".

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  7. I notice you use scrapbooking paper a lot in your projects. Does that mean you are also a scrapbooker? How do you keep all of that organized? If you are a digital scrapper, what programs do you use, and do you print your work, or just save it digitally?

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  8. oooooo I so need to join in this one......

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  9. Oh I'm excited about this!! I always SAY I'm going to organize the photos on my computer, but rarely ever actually do it. ;)

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  10. Gonna do it!! Got to!! I would also like to learn about your post production!! I love - oops - heart heart heart the looks of your photos and want to know what you do - pretty pleeeeeze! ;)

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  11. i love this! i just got a new camera this weekend for my bday and have been wanting some turoials on how to use it and where to find cute camera accessories. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

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  12. Photo organization is on my list of projects to tackle this year as well- so I might as well do it this month along with you!

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  13. I should send this over to my mom. I can't even begin to tell you how many old photos she has shoved in boxes!

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  14. Fantastic idea Jen! I'm actually in the process of learning how to make the most of my dinky point and shoot camera =) I'd love any posts you can do on tips for taking better photos and maybe some technical stuff too?

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  15. Yay! I am so excited to read all of your tips. I would really like some tips on taking great photos. Angles, lighting etc. I have a pretty basic camera, not cheap but not fancy schmancy so any tips on making your pics great without investing alot of money in a expensive camera would be awesome!

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  16. yay! but i dont have a nice camera, but I sure could use tips on how to organize my digital photos!!!

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  17. Count me in! I can't wait for this one!

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  18. I'm in! My dear friend Autumn over at Space for Living (wecreatespace.blogspot.com) just helped me organize my room (her post on that adventure is coming soon). We found 12 photo boxes full of images. A box of doubles I keep meaning to send out, and of course thousands of digital images. I'm super excited to launch into this one.

    Bethany

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  19. I'm new to your blog and so excited for monthly challenges. I am a disaster at organization. I'm really happy to find you!

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  20. I really need help with this subject. I would love to know what you should keep verses I should delete and get rid of. Like everything else in our small house, I really need to purge some but don't know where to begin and to file, store, and display everything. Any ideas would be appreciated!

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  21. I'm also wondering if you are a scrapbooker? If so, how do you organize your supplies? Also...do you make individual albums for all of your boys? A family album? I have two daughters and it's so overwhelming to continue making individual albums for them, but who gets the albums after I'm gone? Dilemmas, dilemmas!

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  22. Yay! I love photos - digital and prints - but they are so not organized! Looking forward to your ideas....thank you!!

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  23. I do the disk by month and year method, and they have their own dvd box to sit in with dividers by year. I use to only do the external hard drive method, but then one day my kids knocked it off the desk... goodbye pictures. I wasn't able to get any pictures back. So now I use Mozy online... saves automatically about twice a day. So I'm not having to constantly update. I still do the disk method also just for backup on my backup. I use an accordian folder for extra prints/photos..

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  24. This is just what I need! I just had a baby, and the thought of losing his baby pictures makes me sick. I need a good schooling in how to back them up! I've been considering a web based storage system (my friend's external hard drive was stolen right along with her laptop when her home was burglarized, that taught me a lesson) but have no idea where to start. I'm looking forward to February

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  25. I am definitely looking forward to this challenge! I also love taking pictures, but I am horrible at backing them up regularly on my external hard drive. Can't wait for some inspiration to give me motivation!!

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  26. So excited to hear your organizational tips for Photos! Plus can't wait to know a few of your tips on taking great pictures. I know I'd have a lot less to organize (and delete) if I could capture that moment the first time. I have a Cannon Rebel EOS XS Digital (which I believe is similar to yours). Either I have a complete lack of talent or I don't know how to use the thing. Any tips (besides reading the 200 page user manual)?

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  27. Ahh perfect!! This is EXACTLY what I need, especially after the last couple of months of festive season photos, wedding photos, and holiday snaps have taken over my desktop and it scares me to think of a way to organise them all.

    Thank you in advance - you are (or will be?!) a life saver!

    Katie
    xx

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  28. This will be a great challenge - one I've started on already! Would love to see different options for printing photos, I use online ones when they have specials on. I've just ordered my first Project Life album from Becky Higgins, so excited to get organised, never done a scrapbooking type project before!

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  29. MUCH NEEDED CHALLENGE! I used to be great about printing off my digital photos and arranging them in photo albums, but now I'm too cheap to print off the hundreds upon hundreds of photos that have accumulated over the past 5 years. I try to go through every so often and decide which photos are worth keeping and which ones were just impulse shots that will never be printed off. That helps make the collection a teeny bit less intimidating. I can't wait to read all your amazing suggestions!!!

    Also... Just so you know, we are moving soon and I can't wait to comb through your archives to start fresh and be completely organized from the beginning in our new home!

    Thanks for taking the time to share your amazing ideas!

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  30. Oooh awesome! I definitely need this month :) Thanks!

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  31. Hi! I am a new reader and Iheart your blog!! I love organizing, but photos are one thing I always get behind on! I am very excited about February's challenge. I need tips on how to organize my iphoto photos in a way that makes sense! And also I need to get on top of framing, printing, and scrapbooking my photos so we can actually ENJOY them! Very excited!

    http://lovinthelittlethingsinlife.blogspot.com/

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  32. Thank you for making this your next challenge! One of the things I struggle with is wheter or not to keep all of the pictures I take or deleting duplicates and keeping the best. Also, do you keep originals once you edit them, and if so, how do you organize the edited shots?

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  33. Oh.. I will be interested to see what you have in store. I have been using iphotos since I got my mac book pro and although I have things in folders, I hate having to go through all the "picture" fronts to the folders when looking to load a picture.
    I'll be back to check it out.

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  34. I'm in! I have been reading your blog for a few weeks now! I HEART everything on here. I can NOT wait to get my pictures organized and I know that your ideas will be just what I need!

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  35. What a great challenge! I too am waaayyy behind on my organzing of photos. My daughter was born 2.5 years ago and I have over 1000+ photos of her. We began burning the pictures on CDs, but stopped short somewhere in the middle of month 6. Think this challenge is exactly what we need!

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  36. This is going to be a great challenge! Love it. I can't wait for this one. I'm still trying to finish up your January Challenge, but I won't be in time to link up. Nuts!!!

    After the post on YHL about the house fires, it really has been making me think about being organized better and having everything in place, because you never know what might happen in a blink of an eye and losing all the photo's you ever took would be horrible. A loss you could never replace. http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/01/on-a-serious-note/
    So being organized and having copies of photo's, important paperwork, etc. off site of your home is a great idea. Would you considered doing a post just about this sort of thing? My head is spinning around just thinking about all the stuff I need to do.

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  37. Oh, no! I haven't finished the paper challenge yet! Ha! But I'm eager to get started on organizing my photos. My digital files are hilarious. I download pictures for the biz and then never rename them and file them in the correct folder.

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  38. Would love ideas on how to scan and store old photos digitally, rather than keeping the bulky prints around!

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  39. Just what I was looking for - I need to organize all my photos (and digital files)! I am looking forward to this project!

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  40. This is thee perfect challenge, & I'll be participating. After I completed project paper, photos came to mind.
    CAN'T WAIT to see what's in store.

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  41. Yes, I really need this. The plan was to work on this in February anyhow. Perfect timing!

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  42. PS - Any experience with hard copy scanning? I'm organizing and sending my parents' best photos to get scanned.

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  43. I am in! I finished Project Paper and was super proud of myself! Yay for picture organizing!

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  44. I have been reading your blog for a few weeks now ... and love your ideas! Am also a lover of photos (have six grown children and nine grandkids, so have lots of photos!). I also enjoy scrapbooking, so do like to get prints made, besides having the photos in digital form. The thing I need help with the most is knowing what to do with older photos. Even slides. I would like to learn of a good quality slide and negative scanner, that doesn't cost a fortune.

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  45. I'm looking forward to this challenge. I didn't do well with the last one, but I had spent 2010 purging tons of papers. I just have to decide what to do with the rest. So at least I got the ball rolling. ;)

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  46. I started with my photo's last month, so this is perfect!!!! I think I need help with the sorting the digital photos. But all those topics are interesting. thanks !

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  47. I'm fairly new to reading your blog. This is a perfect challange for me. I haven't updated my kids albums in years, there are thousand of photos stored on my computer with very little organisation or backup.

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  48. oh i am so in! my pictures are half organized. i scrapbook a lot so i need a way to make finding the pictures i want easy. i passed the paper organizing with flying colors so this should be a good challenge!

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  49. Hi! I'm new to your blog and I love it! I am totally going to organize my pictures with you :)

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  50. I'm so excited! I can't wait to pick up some more awesome tips from you!!

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  51. Definitely something I need to tackle! Your topics will help a lot. For the backing up digital photos, I hope that you will share some web based back up storage methods. I also struggle with the best way (efficient,easy,secure,etc) to post/share my pictures with family and friends. I need to come up with some kind of system or routine to make sure I'm consistent about getting them out. Thank you so much for this wonderful blog!

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  52. I am new to the blogging world and stumbled across your's. Looking forward to the challenge. My husband is a photographer and all of our family photos are on his laptop. This is a great project to work on this month. Thanks for the motivation!

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  53. Nadine (mother of 3)February 1, 2011 at 7:22 AM

    I'd be interested in learning about cameras for different budgets as well as different uses. I'm on the market for a new one. I need something with a good zoom and easy to use and portable. i LOVE my canon elph but it is outdated and I want a better zoom without having to change lenses. Just something of good quality for everyday mom stuff.

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  54. Over the weekend I was thinking that I really needed to tackle my photo files! Prayer answered with this month's project :) Can't wait!

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  55. Oooo, you are hitting close to home there. I have so many photos on my computer and off that need to be organized. Blog away!!

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  56. Ooooo, I love this theme! I need a quick, easy way to get my photo's off the computer and printed out. Which is better, printing them all off individually or doing a photo book? What do you do? How often should I do it and I am so far behind....how do I get caught up? LOL! I need help in this area, and photo's are near and dear to my heart....they are one of my favorite things :)

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  57. I absolutely LOVE this theme. If our computer were to crash, we would be toast when it comes to our family pictures. I am like you, I LOVE taking pictures, I can't get enough of it. My family is my world...now if we could just preserve those memories in an organized way...

    I'll be checking in a lot!

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  58. Once you get all of your digital files organized, think about using an online backup instead of an external hard drive or burning DVD's. My husband is in charge of the technology in our household and was finding that it was just too much of a hassel to have to burn our (thousands...and growing) digital photos to discs...and for me to physically find a place to store them. The solution has been an online backup service. No worries about your backups ever getting lost becuase it runs updates automatically! I have to check on what service he chose...

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  59. I am so excited u r doing this. I have all my pics on my computer & with no back up drive! yes I know its bad & I am afraid I am going to lose everything. I would appreciate it if u go into detail about what kind of external drive to use, also what format should u store the digital pics in. Also I would love to know what source do u use for printing pics? I bought a photo printer thinking once in a while I'll print pics for sending to GP or putting in frames but after those prints always come out streaky.............while we are on the topic what kind of printer do u use for ur color printing, labels etc. Mine run out of some colors so quick & then u r left with faded colors or u have to keep on buying new cartridges!

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  60. i've been waiting for this one!! i've been trying to organize myself in this dept but don't know where to begin. first b/c my goal is two fold. i still need/want to make a special album for each of my kids, like a first year album and the subsequent ones can just go in regular photobooks. however i don't know how to scrapbook but feel it's the only option where i can include stuff like birth certificate, lock of hair, captions, etc. Their wristbands i lost and hate myself for that but don't think it's that important in the scheme of things. and my other dilemma is organizing my photos into folders. that way, once i'm ordering photobooks, it'll be easy to navigate, pick and choose. oh and i just inherited an entire suitcase of random photos from the past and don't know what to do with them. do i throw them in albums after sorting which will take me forever or will photos boxes work best.thanks!!!!

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  61. oh and one more question! i'm looking to purchase a dslr. are there any good affordable ones out there that anyone can recommend? also, i was thinking since they're a bit out of my price range, how good are the point and shoot ones that run over $200? do they still shoot good quality pictures??

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  62. These are probably dumb questions, but what's the best way to burn onto a disc? I mean, what type of disc would i get - cd -r or dvd-r?? And then what program would i use to burn it on there?? How do I know how many photos to save onto a disc? thanks!!

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  63. I like this challenge and can't wait to ready more on it in the coming month. I store all photos digitally, usually on my EHD with backups on CDs/DVDs (stored off-site) and those that aren't backed up on disc are copied to the internal HD of one of the laptops. I'd HATE to lose my photos! One aspect I'd like to learn to do more efficiently is uploading to blogs - it always seems like such a chore when I have a post that requires several photos. Is there an easy way to do this?

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  64. I've had the experience of almost losing photos on my computer (they were later retrieved from a computer superhero), so it has taught me to be extra diligent about saving them online as well as burning them onto a DVD on a regular basis (but don't make copies to store off-site though). I need to purchase another DVD binder for them all, there are just so many!

    One of the problems I face is since I went digital years ago, I find I upload the photos onto the computer then rarely look at them again, which is sad! I used to scrapbook quite a lot and have numerous albums with beautiful time-consuming layouts, but now that I have two kids I just don't have the time anymore. I thought I may start by printing out photos monthly and putting them into a photo album with some journalling cards (similar to Project Life). I did that with our family vacation photos and the kids just love to look at the album, that is really what made me think that I need to start printing them out again. But it is so overwhelming as I have literally thousands of photos that havn't been printed!! I also edit photos and keep the original as I hate to delete them!

    Looking forward to your photography challenge and hope to gain some insight along the way! :-)

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  65. i organize mine by who is in the picture. i have 3 kids so i have a file for each of them that is just pictures of them. if the picture has more than one kid in it, it goes in the file "kids photos". i also have separate folders for holidays, which are organized by holiday/year, and other events like weddings, vacations, special outings, etc. i find it works really well for me. i scrapbook a lot and sometimes i know i have a picture of someone but i can't locate it so all i have to do is go into that kids file and find the picture. i don't have to remember when it was taken. i have an external drive and i have all my pics on shutterfly. i print my pictures about every 3 months. i used to do doubles of all the pictures but don't anymore, i think it was beginning to be very wasteful since i don't NEED all those pictures printed.

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  66. Hello, I am enjoying your blog for one because I love home organization but also because I love photos and I have about 10 years worth of digital photos that I need to organize. I am wondering if you have heard of this class. I took it and it was so helpful. It looks though that you have a really good start on your own. :) http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/lom2010.php

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