Photo Tips

A few simple habits make the difference between a photo collection you enjoy and one you avoid opening. These tips work with any computer, phone or photo app.

Folder naming

The goal is a folder list that sorts itself into the right order and tells you what is inside without opening it.

• Start with the date in year-month-day order, for example 2025-07-19. Folders named this way sort chronologically on every system.
• Add a short, specific event name: 2025-07-19 Lake Balaton Weekend instead of Summer or New Folder (3).
• Group by year at the top level so no single folder grows to hundreds of subfolders.
• Avoid characters that some systems reject: / \ : * ? " < > |. Letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and underscores are safe everywhere.
• Keep originals separate from edited and shared copies, so you never overwrite the best-quality file.

Photos/
  2025/
    2025-03-08 Grandma's 80th Birthday/
    2025-07-19 Lake Balaton Weekend/
      Originals/
      Edited/
      Shared/
  2026/

Renaming individual files is optional. If you do it, a pattern like 2025-07-19_1432_001.jpg (date, time, number) keeps files in order even when they are copied out of their folder. Most photo managers can batch-rename a whole folder at once.

Backups

Phones get lost, drives fail and accounts get locked. A backup is only a backup if your photos survive losing any one device.

Follow the 3-2-1 rule

• 3 copies of every photo you care about
• on 2 different types of storage (for example, a computer and an external drive)
• with 1 copy kept off-site, such as a cloud backup or a drive stored at a relative's home

Avoid common backup mistakes

• Sync is not the same as backup. If a synced service deletes a photo on every device when you delete it on one, it won't protect you from mistakes. Check that your service keeps deleted files for a recovery period, or keep a separate copy.
• Social media copies are not backups. Uploaded photos are usually compressed and may lose their original date and details.
• Test a restore now and then. Open a few random photos from the backup to confirm they are really there.
• Back up right after importing, before you start deleting or editing. A monthly reminder works well for phones.
• Replace ageing drives before they fail, and keep backup drives unplugged when not in use to protect them from power surges and ransomware.

Selecting favorites

Choosing is the step most people skip, and it is what makes a gallery worth looking at. Work in passes rather than trying to decide everything at once.

1. First pass, reject: remove obvious failures such as blurred shots, closed eyes, accidental pocket photos and screenshots.
2. Second pass, keep: from each burst or group of similar shots, keep only the best one or two.
3. Third pass, favorites: mark the photos you would show someone who wasn't there. Star ratings help: for example, 1 star = keep, 3 stars = share, 5 stars = best of.

When you can't decide between two photos, ask:

• Is the most important part (usually the eyes) sharp?
• Does it show a moment or feeling, not just a place?
• Would someone who wasn't there understand what is happening?

For a shared gallery, 10–20% of what you shot is often plenty. Look at your selection again the next day: fresh eyes make cutting much easier. Move rejects to a separate folder and only delete them after your next backup.

Sharing privacy

Photos often reveal more than you intend. Before you share, check who can see the gallery and what the photos give away.

Choose the right audience

• Public: anyone can find it. Suitable for landscapes, pets and work you want people to see.
• Unlisted link: only people with the link can open it, but links can be forwarded.
• Password or invite-only: the best choice for children, homes and private events.
• Where your service allows it, set an expiry date or turn the link off once everyone has seen the photos.

Check what the photos reveal

• Location data: phone photos often store GPS coordinates in the file. Many sharing apps let you remove location when sharing. Check your app's share options, or remove the details on a computer before uploading.
• Backgrounds: house numbers, car number plates, school names, tickets, boarding passes, ID cards and computer screens.
• Routines: posting "we're away for two weeks" photos while you're still away tells people your home is empty.

Respect other people

• Ask before posting photos of other adults, and ask parents before sharing photos of their children.
• Remove a photo promptly if someone in it asks you to.
• Protect accounts that store your photos with a strong, unique password and two-step verification.

Quick checklist

• Folders named YYYY-MM-DD Event Name, grouped by year
• Three copies, two storage types, one off-site
• Favorites chosen in three passes
• Audience chosen before sharing; location and backgrounds checked

Want to apply all of this to a whole collection? Follow the step-by-step Photo Guide.