How to organize your pictures quickly while on vacation
Sometimes less is more and if you have ever come home from vacation with 1,000 pics on your phone, you understand why.
It’s not news that we take pictures differently than we used to. With cameras in our pockets 24/7 and ‘free’ digital pictures, we are snapping away at extraordinary rates. And this is just our daily picture taking. When we are on vacation, we amp it up even more because we’re supposed to take pics on vacation, right?
What if…we did it differently this time?
1. Less is more. We have fallen into some bad habits with our smart phones. We take 5 pics to get the ‘best’ one and because it’s so easy, we snap pics of everything we see. Do you ever look at your phone pics after a vacation and wonder why you have 10 pics of the sand on the beach? The challenge is that all of these extra photos result in time you need to spend sorting, deleting or just dealing with them. Have you ever gotten that dreaded message on your phone, ‘Your storage is full’? Ugh! Not only do they steal your time, but they also steal your space.
What if we made a mental shift? What if you took pics on vacation as if you had to pay for the film? Would it change the way you take pictures? Would you make different choices?
2. File pics in an album right away. Have you ever created an album on your smart phone? If you haven’t, learn how, quick!. Google it! On an iPhone, it’s as easy as going to Albums and hitting the + sign. While you are on vacation, take 1 minute each day (seriously, that’s all it will take) and file them into an album. Getting everything filed into one location is a huge first step and will make the next steps even easier. Bonus: if you are a Mac Photos user, and all of your devices talk to each other (if they aren’t talking, let’s make that happen!), this album will show up there, too. Another time saver!
3. Delete in the car, on the plane or in the line. Probably the biggest time saver when it comes to dealing with your vacation pictures when you get home is taking out the bad ones and the ‘duplicates’. Whether you are on a road trip or flying, there is almost always downtime. Use that time wisely and go to your newly created album and start deleting the pictures you know aren’t going to make the cut.
4. Pick your favorites while they are fresh. One of the hardest things for me is taking 1000 pics down to a reasonable number for a project (e.g. album, slideshow, etc.). It’s overwhelming if I have to do it all at once. One way you can prevent this is to select your favorites while the memories are fresh, maybe during some of that downtime. You’ve filed them into an album, you’ve deleted a bunch, now spend a few minutes to choose your favorites. On an iPhone, click the heart. It’s that easy.
5. Make sure you have a backup. Have you ever dropped your phone in the lake? Ever had a phone fall out of a pocket and get lost? I could tell you some stories. Please make sure that you are backing up your phone photos while you are on vacation (and always, really). So much of this can be done automatically and wirelessly. A quick tip…if you are using Dropbox or OneDrive, to make sure that the photos upload, open the app periodically to let the magic happen. A few options include:
When I go on big trips, each day I make myself write down in easy bullet form what we did because I know that I won’t remember everything. I’m always so grateful when I get home because the memories are captured. This is the same thing. If you make yourself take only a few minutes each day to do this while you are on vacation, you will save so much time AND you will arrive home, ready to share your vacation and tell your story. That would feel amazing.
Safe travels!
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Holly Corbid is the Founder/Owner of Capture Your Photos, where we help you to organize, preserve, and share your lifetime of memories. Helping you touch hearts with your photos is our passion. We specialize in digital photo organization and work remotely with clients all over the country.
Holly is also the creator of The Photo Organizing Blueprint, an online course that provides a step-by-step guide to organizing your photos.
Find us at www.captureyourphotos.com or contact us here.