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   'Take Control of Your Digital Photos,' Chapter 3

   Jeff Carlson

   This article is a pre-release chapter in Jeff Carlson's upcoming 'Take
   Control of Your Digital Photos,' scheduled for public release in August
   2013. Apart from the [1]introduction, these chapters are available only
   to [2]TidBITS members; see '[3]Streamed Advice for Managing Your
   Digital Photos' for details.
     __________________________________________________________________

Choose a Photo-Management Application

   Although it's possible to dump photos into a folder on your computer
   and call that 'organization,' this is one case where I don't recommend
   a do-it-yourself approach. My photo-management strategy relies heavily
   on software to organize images and apply essential metadata. The time
   you save when tagging and searching for images, in my opinion,
   justifies the price of a good photo-management program.

   But which one? I'd love to say, 'Go get this one program and you'll be
   set,' but that's not realistic: your photo library may already be
   stored in an application that makes it difficult to transition; or you
   may need something that offers more image-editing features than other
   programs.

   The good news is that there are several interesting options for
   managing photos. However, their features vary widely: some are designed
   just for speeding up the import process, some offer a photo-focused
   view of folders on your hard disk, and some are self-contained
   photo-management libraries. Because it's impractical for me to list
   every program out there, I've focused on the features that I consider
   most essential for effectively managing your photo collection. (I'll
   discuss specific programs that meet these criteria'and identify my
   preference'in a moment.) If you're unhappy with your current photo
   organizer and are looking for a better option, keep this feature list
   in mind:

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