Don't Organize Photos by Person! - Organize by Date and in Computer Folders

[@LAVBell]

I completely agree! I’ve been organizing photos (mine & others) for 20 years. Chronological folders on your computer with redundant back ups to external hard drives and the cloud is the absolute best and easiest way to go!

[@Pixologie]

Thanks for the confirmation and for watching!! Cheers! Mollie

[@tommarywiegel4447]

The amount of photos that come into my world from so many different sources, my phone, my husband's phone, text, Snapchat, shared Google albums ... I feel like the folder organization is the only way to feel like I have some control of what I am choosing to archive for my family. I completely agree it is a much faster way of organizing photos especially now that I have a more consistent practice of working on them.

[@Pixologie]

Thanks Mary!!

[@JenniferSKinney]

I’m 100% in the chronological camp!

[@Pixologie]

Awesome! 👏 Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing!

[@Goffic]

It's all overwhelming. I'm being forced to move 22,000 Picasa photos to the Mac Photos app on an M1 Mac Mini. Over the years I have developed a folder system, top level named My Photos, below that a series of sources of the photos, below that which camera was used, below that folders of photos with the folder name as date in YYMMDD form, location or subject. This works for me even if it's a rubbish way to do it. What I want to do is tell Photos to keep exactly to my existing structure, I don't want any albums, facial recognition etc. I also don't want to have my 22,000 stored in my folder structure then stored again in some Photos structure just to suit the app. Can I achieve this? How? Thank you from the UK.

[@Pixologie]

Hi there… you could just move your folders into the Mac Finder and not import them at all. Otherwise, you’d have to manually build the folder structure in the Photos App on your Mac. Here’s a video on using Mac Photos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2W1Yq2MorF1mq8si=m61DI5vPdtJoZuZY Hoping this helps! Mollie

[@Goffic]

@@Pixologie That's kind of you to respond so quickly and I have watched the recommended video before asking my question, hence it is so overwhelming. I accept I'm a pedant but experienced users throw about terminology that we greenhorns don't comprehend. So, all my 22,000 photos are on my Mac so telling me to move them into the Mac Finder throws me, they are already accessible via Finder. Their highest level folder is named "My Photos" and there are multiple folder levels below that which I'm used to and a structure that works for me. So I want to avoid building a structure within the Photos App that duplicates what I've already got, I want to point the Photos App to my existing structure under the name "My Photos" hoping that the Photos App isn't clunky and prescriptive and insistant that, like a lot of Apple stuff, you, the user, does it Apple's way or not at all. Terry

[@Pixologie]

Okay. . . sounds like you have a Folder structure all set in your Finder. Unfortunately, you would have to import all of your folders/photos into the Photos App to achieve viewing them in the Photos App. Then, most likely, build the folder structure again in the Photos App. You are correct that you have to do it Apple's way. What was your goal if you could point the Photos App to your existing structure? To be able to view them on your Phone's Photos App? Hoping this makes sense! Cheers! Mollie

[@Turtelik]

I do it chronologically -> years -> months and if we have a big event/trip I put them in a separate folder within the year. I have a question how to deal with the photos when you don't know the exact year? You just put them in "I believe this is this decade"?

[@Pixologie]

Hi there - Yep - we call it Estimated 1980s or Estimated 1981, etc. Sometimes we just don't know and then we might use a "Undated" or "Unknown Date" to name a batch. Hope this helps! Cheers! Mollie