IMAGE FILE NAMES can be your code for managing photographs.
November 04, 2010
I have 1,000's of images . . . and more keep coming. Managing my digital images can be a chore, but I've found one method that has saved the day over and over ... the file name to each image is my code that helps keep them organized and lets me find the right image quickly.
You can create your own code, but here are a few suggestions and examples of my method.
When creating a code for your image file names, "think" like a computer. For any group of photos that you want to keep together put them in a folder. Then the first few words should be exactly the same so that the computer's search and sort functions can help you. Toward the end of the file name, add your special codes that distinguish one photo from another within the group.
I will be using sculptures from the 1980s as an example in this post. More information about this series of work can be found on my website.
All my Crock Pot images start with the characters "crockpot" in the file names.
Images with a shadow for my website include "sh" at the end of the title. The image file name is: Crockpot-2sh.jpg.
Animated images (usually for my website) include "_a" in the image file name: Crockpot_a.gif
All close up images have a "cu" for "close up" in the file name:
Crockpot-closed-cu.jpg.
Images that are sized for uploading to social networking sites such as Facebook, Flickr, and Etsy are 72 dpi by 1,000 pixels include "72" in the file name. This image file name: crockpot-FRONT-72.jpg.
NOTE TO everyone: Before you upload images to a dropbox, or email to another person be sure to CHANGE THE TITLE from your file name to the actual title of the work for better search engine optimization. Don't forget to add, keywords, tags, and a description.
These are just a few of my examples for managing file names for digital images. As I said, invent your own code for your image file names and send your images out into the world at the speed of light.
This post was updated on January 22, 2022.