I am looking for software that can be used to organize & manage my 10k photo collection (just personal pictures from multiple years not anything professional). For many years, I have used iPhotos then Photos but DO NOT want to "curate" my photos within each library. Also, I DO NOT want to store them on the Cloud. I want to load & store my photos onto my Mac's hard drive for easy access anytime. I want to categorize them into folders or albums myself for easy viewing. I want to then be able to access them for transferring to other devices & create my own backups for later retrieval. I am not so interested in editing as much as storage & access. thanks for your recommendations.
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Photo management/organization on MAC desktop
- Thread starter YapperMac
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I am using Lightroom, it allows me to organize my photos how I want and use keywords. Everything is on my computer nothing in the cloud. I just wish it was not a subscription program.
Thanks for responding - I don't want subscription program either. I'm just thinking that maybe all I need is some type of a viewer app since I have all my photos already within folders (exported from libraries) sorted by year, categories, etc. Wondering if I could just download some type of "browser" to see them full screen & scroll through multiple photos in a folder at one time?
I don't let ANY photo editing app control the organization of, nor "sort" my photos.
This has always been my way of organization and it won't change (I'm old).
What I do:
I created a separate partition on my internal drive, named "Media" (for photos, etc.).
On that drive, I've created folders for pics from each of my cameras through the years.
Here's a screenshot:
Granted, I don't take thousands of shots like some users here do.
But I'll GUESS that even if one does, this system can still work.
I might -open- these folders in my editing app, but beyond each app's own "metadata libraries", I almost NEVER "import" a photo -- it stays in MY "library".
By have the photos all on one partition ("Media") it's easier to keep backed up.
No system files, accounts, etc., to replicate.
Works for me.
This has always been my way of organization and it won't change (I'm old).
What I do:
I created a separate partition on my internal drive, named "Media" (for photos, etc.).
On that drive, I've created folders for pics from each of my cameras through the years.
Here's a screenshot:
Granted, I don't take thousands of shots like some users here do.
But I'll GUESS that even if one does, this system can still work.
I might -open- these folders in my editing app, but beyond each app's own "metadata libraries", I almost NEVER "import" a photo -- it stays in MY "library".
By have the photos all on one partition ("Media") it's easier to keep backed up.
No system files, accounts, etc., to replicate.
Works for me.
If that's all you want, Preview will fit the need. It's easy and you already have it. I have Lightroom, PhotoShop Elements, and a couple of others. I always use Preview when 1) I do the initial cull after I get home from a shoot. 2) When I just want to show some photos to other people.
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I’ll just toss this in as a suggestion. Whether you have 10k of photos or 100k, it’s nice to have a simple image browser with a built in editor. You set up whatever organization you want on your drive. The app merely browses those folders. And provides easy control of viewing size, sorting, etc.
These type of browsers tend to be cheap. Lyn is a good example, there are others. Might take a look at some of them.
These type of browsers tend to be cheap. Lyn is a good example, there are others. Might take a look at some of them.
If all photos have it's EXIF information it's easy job with renamer apps. This is how I organize my photo archive.
- Install "A better finder rename" application. I found this very useful for renaming.
- Drag and Drop your photos to app. I don't recommend to put all of them together. Instead make it part by part. Like 1500 photos each time or less.
- Choose "Date & Time" option.
- Use YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS as rename structure. So you can order folder by date easily.
- Make sure app recognize all photo dates correct. You can use different options to find it.
- Perform renames and now you have a photo folder that you can order by date.
- Now you can put every year to it's own category.
- And even you can create month categories inside of that folder.
You want XnViewMP, as @Fishrrman suggested. It's essentially a free version of Photo Mechanic, which is the gold standard for sorting/editing/batch metadata editing. You can take a huge folder of images and move them (or copy) to new folders, rename them, add captions & keywords, etc.
Also you can just open a folder and sort basically any way you want, then browse through them one page or one image at a time. You can also make slide shows if you want.
To organize your images into folders, use a date-based system that works for you, so when you open a finder window, you're presented with folders in descending order, with the most recent folders at the top. Try a folder naming convention like YYMMDD-subject. So a folder of photos that you took on June 27, 2024 at a car show would be 240627-CarShow. In your main photos folder, it would appear above a folder of photos from the previous day's rodeo, which would be 240626-Rodeo.
I usually go one step further, and batch rename the images within those folders after I've done my edit. XnViewMP and Photo Mechanic (and Bridge) allow you to do this. That way after you've selected your favorite images within a folder, you batch rename them consecutively with your top picks first, so you'd open a folder in your finder and see, for example, 240627-CarShow_001.jpg, 240627-CarShow_002.jpg, 240627-CarShow_003.jpg, etc.
That way you can always quickly find your favorite photos, just by opening a folder in the Finder. They would be the ones with the filenames that bring them to the top of the list when you view the folder by filename.
And of course, please back up your images to at least two separate external drives. With all your images on your computer, they are at risk. If an image doesn't exist in three separate places, it doesn't exist.
Also you can just open a folder and sort basically any way you want, then browse through them one page or one image at a time. You can also make slide shows if you want.
To organize your images into folders, use a date-based system that works for you, so when you open a finder window, you're presented with folders in descending order, with the most recent folders at the top. Try a folder naming convention like YYMMDD-subject. So a folder of photos that you took on June 27, 2024 at a car show would be 240627-CarShow. In your main photos folder, it would appear above a folder of photos from the previous day's rodeo, which would be 240626-Rodeo.
I usually go one step further, and batch rename the images within those folders after I've done my edit. XnViewMP and Photo Mechanic (and Bridge) allow you to do this. That way after you've selected your favorite images within a folder, you batch rename them consecutively with your top picks first, so you'd open a folder in your finder and see, for example, 240627-CarShow_001.jpg, 240627-CarShow_002.jpg, 240627-CarShow_003.jpg, etc.
That way you can always quickly find your favorite photos, just by opening a folder in the Finder. They would be the ones with the filenames that bring them to the top of the list when you view the folder by filename.
And of course, please back up your images to at least two separate external drives. With all your images on your computer, they are at risk. If an image doesn't exist in three separate places, it doesn't exist.
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I agree, I have already organized "backup" of all my photos exported from my MAC photo libraries by years, by category, etc. into file folders for easy access. I just need a way to view or display them going forward.
Thanks for the backup tip - I have multiple MACs so I usually will import my photos from my iPhone (quarterly) to my iMac library then export to Finder (yearly) saving these files onto a different iMac as well as external drive. This has worked for many years (since 2005) until Apple replaced iPhotos (which was a great photo management tool) with Photos (which I am sooo frustrated with their curation process). I don't have a storage or safekeeping issue but rather an issue with retrieving photos to easily view or browse without drilling down to search individual folders.
Anyone familiar with Tonfotos? It appears to be a photo management database that allows you to browse & organize photos stored on your computer. Also, consolidate photos from various sources (phone, camera, hard drive). Looks like you can try for free then purchase software for install (which I prefer since old school method). Thoughts?
I haven't heard of Tonfotos, have not tried it.
But the idea of a database, like with iPhoto and then Photos, is what I stay away from. I don't like having to rely on a database to sort and find images, when the Finder already exists.
In my mind, each image is its own thing that should stand alone and not require a third party app in order to be found and used.
If a database is what you want, though, then you should still backup regularly. Memory is cheap, and photos are irreplaceable. Good luck!
Well, tonfotos seemed like a great solution for consolidating several thousands of photos into one place (pulling/linking photos from existing folder structure) & has the capability to organize by categories, dates, etc. at a reasonable one time cost. However, the catch is that it scans photos then uses facial recognition to index by person. Ugh, I know that I am old school but I can't seem to get away from artificial intelligence (assuming that it correct terminology) used in sorting within databases which is annoying.
Ok, at this point, perhaps, I need to go back to basics. Is there a simple program like a gallery that you can add/delete photos into one library that does not perform any type of scanning, sorting, indexing, etc. but rather you just "dump" photos into it so that they are all consolidated into one place. After loading, then it allows you to view your photo collection (assume default by date) & manually categorize them into albums, folders, etc.
While not create your own folder structure and then use finder to put the files where you want them? Then you can use any simple viewer (like Preview) to look at them. It sounds to me as though you are looking for something that does what you already have the tools to do.
What am I not understanding?
I have organized all my thousands of folders by categories, years, etc for storage & backup purposes (the time consuming hard part is done). However, for ongoing viewing purposes (what should be the easy part) rather than search thru my files within Finder, I would like to be able to look at ALL images (even if only thumbnails) at one time (more of a visual than just a file name) in one place (without searching thru directories and/or files to find them). I would like to scroll thru a "catalog" of ALL photos displaying images on my desktop as I scroll. Once I have sorted them into albums, I would be able to scroll thru my photo collection (& view larger if I want) for just those within that category if I choose to do so. I want to be able to see all my photos in one view at one time & narrow down my view if needed. Maybe I'm looking for something that no longer exist?? Perhaps, the best way to explain it is that I want to load my photos into a simple database that captures by date only doesn't need to filter by memories, people, location, etc (no complexity). (I guess I am looking for a user experience similar to iPhotos before curation was required) On another note, I'm not so interested in editing capability (since personal photos only nothing professional) just ease of use in importing, viewing, and exporting.
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Depends how you built your folder hierarchy. With an app like Lyn (not unique in this respect) the preferences allow one to set how deep in the folders you choose to present thumbs in the browser window. I’m not sure how deep it will go. Nor do I know how deep you went (thousands of folders) for a relatively modest number of images. While one would have to go into prefs to change the depth setting, prefs in these apps are modest and streamlined.
I don’t see anything unique in what you’re looking for. Probably time to pick up on some of the suggestions and see if they meet your needs.
Last, if you’ve spent a lot of time on “folders by categories”, and you consider these categories important, you might want to reconsider what sort of app you want. Categories are very important to me. I use Lightroom and use keywords extensively. If I have a food pick, taken in Italy, a part of a shared group and what I call a keeper, the image is filed in my date driven hierarchy and the image is keyworded food and travel and distributed and keeper. I can drive down into any of those keywords, or combination of keywords very easily.
Some folks abhor library based approaches. Some people abhor Adobe. But if DAM is important, Lightroom rules. Want to see images in different folders, on different drives, control click on what you want and it all shows up in the browser window.
The upside of browser apps is they’re cheap and simple. The downside is they’re as flexible as your file system hierarchy. Some can do keywords, but that means their maintaining a catalog, using sidecars or writing metadata to the file, all which can be problematic.
I don’t see anything unique in what you’re looking for. Probably time to pick up on some of the suggestions and see if they meet your needs.
Last, if you’ve spent a lot of time on “folders by categories”, and you consider these categories important, you might want to reconsider what sort of app you want. Categories are very important to me. I use Lightroom and use keywords extensively. If I have a food pick, taken in Italy, a part of a shared group and what I call a keeper, the image is filed in my date driven hierarchy and the image is keyworded food and travel and distributed and keeper. I can drive down into any of those keywords, or combination of keywords very easily.
Some folks abhor library based approaches. Some people abhor Adobe. But if DAM is important, Lightroom rules. Want to see images in different folders, on different drives, control click on what you want and it all shows up in the browser window.
The upside of browser apps is they’re cheap and simple. The downside is they’re as flexible as your file system hierarchy. Some can do keywords, but that means their maintaining a catalog, using sidecars or writing metadata to the file, all which can be problematic.
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OP:
In reply 12 above, you said that you already have your photos in a folder/file hierarchy created "in the finder" (as I do myself).
Here's something else to try:
"PhotoScape X"
It comes in free and paid versions.
The free version is ALL YOU NEED.
It has a "viewer mode" that may do what you want.
The viewer presents a "folder/file" list (from the finder) on the left, and you just choose from it.
And it also has pretty nice editing tools, as well -- although you don't have to use them unless you wish to.
I strongly suggest you give it a try. Again, it's free.
In reply 12 above, you said that you already have your photos in a folder/file hierarchy created "in the finder" (as I do myself).
Here's something else to try:
"PhotoScape X"
PhotoScape X for Mac and Windows 10
Free Download PhotoScape X - Fun and Easy Photo Editor. PhotoScape X is an all-in-one photo editing software which provides photo-related features such as Photo Viewer, Editor, Cut Out, Batch, Collage, Combine, Create GIF, Color Picker, Screen Capture, RAW images and More. Best Photoshop...
x.photoscape.org
It comes in free and paid versions.
The free version is ALL YOU NEED.
It has a "viewer mode" that may do what you want.
The viewer presents a "folder/file" list (from the finder) on the left, and you just choose from it.
And it also has pretty nice editing tools, as well -- although you don't have to use them unless you wish to.
I strongly suggest you give it a try. Again, it's free.
I use PhotoScape for my quickie browser. The free version is fairly complete on the browsing side. Batch changes including renaming you have to pay for. For the OP, Finder type functionality with batch functionality should be highly desirable.
Overall I’d say this:
I use it very little. Too cluttered an interface, hasn’t been consistent in its performance over the years. Just opened it, this version seems fine. Annoying to press on a bit of functionality and find I have to pay for it.
This thread actually got me looking for a replacement for PhotoScape. Probably will go back to Lyn. I know it, a license will cost me half of the full cost as I have an older license, cleaner UI, looks more modern. In the past they’ve had performance issues at times. Current version, in trial mode, seems fine. No free version, 15 day trial.
For a freebie, OP would be pressed to do better than PhotoScape.
Overall I’d say this:
I use it very little. Too cluttered an interface, hasn’t been consistent in its performance over the years. Just opened it, this version seems fine. Annoying to press on a bit of functionality and find I have to pay for it.
This thread actually got me looking for a replacement for PhotoScape. Probably will go back to Lyn. I know it, a license will cost me half of the full cost as I have an older license, cleaner UI, looks more modern. In the past they’ve had performance issues at times. Current version, in trial mode, seems fine. No free version, 15 day trial.
For a freebie, OP would be pressed to do better than PhotoScape.
