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Digital Asset Management: An Introduction On How To Store Your Pics
By © Jay Watson
What does "workflow" really mean? After years of reading tutorials and hearing the word redundantly used, I still had no idea what this term meant. My current definition could now be stated as follows. "Workflow" describes the entire life span of a digital image from the time it is captured (or scanned) to the stages it makes through output and on to long-term storage. These stages include: downloading, batch renaming, rating, deleting, sorting, adding metadata & keywords, creating master files & derivative files, scheduling back-ups, building a catalog for the images, editing with PhotoShop, and getting the images outside the computer.
The tips shared in the two tutorials on workflow are what I consider to be the very least that should be followed by all photographers. There are more sophisticated methods for structuring images once they are brought into your system, however the basic methods I share will allow you to adapt and expand your database to future needs.
A View Point From An Insane World
Ever since digital technology widely became connected permanently to traditional photography, I have been the first to complain about how it is not in fact cheaper, easier, or faster then what is perceived by image users. Even though I was blown away at the advent of the inkjet printer in it's ability to affordably produce photographic results on my desk without the need of chemistry, I have also cried the blues over countless hours lost behind the computer. Ahh, coffee and Coltrane take me away. There were already countless photo related to-do lists that needed to be executed prior to digital photography. My PhotoShop workload put me over the edge. For years I felt like digital photography was stealing my freedom. The irony, that I had abandoned graphic design as a career choice due to my disinterest in being behind the computer, was killing me.
With the birth of the digital SLR, the word "workflow" became an overused buzzword and misunderstood by many. Slowly I realized it was a phrase that meant "additional tasks." I've read useless tutorials by other photographers who felt a need to express their own tips in order to help the masses who were suffering like me. Were they suffering, or was it just me?
Do I have an exact answer now? A definite "NO." Is there help out there? YES, and more is on the way. As I have learned, I am not the only one out there in the trenches watching the daylight pass and learning of my 9-5 friends talk of bike rides after work, or worse happy-hour! I don't know if I'll ever get the time back that I used to have unless I rethink the meaning of another lame modern catch phrase called "time management." Some of the most frustrating elements of the digital workflow have obviously been the insanity that revolves around equipment, websites, increased expenses, and the short-term shelf life of most of the tools and surrounding information. It was exactly this whirlwind of info and gear that clouded what I always felt to be most important about photography - the images. With the advantages of all the technology I had purchased, how come no one was there to help assist me on where to put all this junk? Where do I store all the info? What in the heck do I do with all these images? Some of them I absolutely love, some I hate, and others I am forced to keep. How do I organize my livelihood, my ideas, my ambitions, and my future into the space of a silver metal soulless box that sits near my desk?
There are no initial quick fixes, but the resolutions I have found have made my life much easier. For years I flopped my images around from hard drives, to fast burning CDs, to painfully slow burning DVDs, to neat wooden boxes on the shelf, and then back to unorganized hard drives. At one point I had cataloged all my images but the source files were scattered in multiple locations. I was experimenting without knowing what I was doing, and eventually stumbling upon some ideas that started making sense. After discussion with Joe Reifer, a photographer friend who has a master's degree in library science, I didn't feel so helpless after all. Another friend, Andy Franck who is a technical genius with the mess I described above was storing his images on multiple drives and like Joe and myself he was placing his work into multiple subfolders. Wow, maybe this isn't too hard. Finally Peter Krogh's book, The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management For Photographers came out. It was the answer to the missing pieces in my puzzle, and it is a must read for all photographers.
There are solutions available. Implementing a smooth workflow and an organized catalog into my database of images solved a huge problem with my internal fight against digital photography. Unknowingly it was my disorganization that kept me banging my head on the desk in the wee hours. My time management still needs attention, but the improved workflow has eased the angst I have carried against digital technology. Images are again becoming the most important aspect of the craft. My years of stumbling were not wasted, as I became faster with the workflow once I learned how to do it properly. It now feels less task oriented and more an extension of the image process. Now were talking! Correcting previous mistakes in my database, rebuilding my catalog, and establishing a system that will work for me in the future has brought added value to the images. It was unimaginable before, but it is now easier to share the images and to get the work where it belongs - out of the computer! This is making digital photography almost as enjoyable as my time away from the computer. Almost as enjoyable as my time in the water surfing, and now time behind the computer is almost as fun as time behind the camera.
The tip of all tips regarding workflow. Much of the work I did to my database of images and catalog were initially done on an as needed basis. Through practice the increase in efficiency allowed me to catch up by adding earlier work to the collection, thereby bringing new value to older images. This was a task I could psychologically get behind. If your images are all over the place and your frustrated by the ability to track images, or with getting them out of the computer, then take a look at my tutorials and refer to the list of resources. Software makers are finally understanding our problem. Books are now available on the subject, and hard drives are finally priced low enough at the storage sizes needed by a photographer. Help is already here, educating yourself what to do with these resources will be as uplifting as listening to Coltrane wail.
Jay Watson Bio
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