The estimated reading time for this post is 7 minutes
Having a smartphone means that you always have a camera at the ready whenever you feel like snapping a picture. With a smartphone you no longer regret leaving your camera at home, you can capture any moment of your life and transform it into a photo.
But with these capabilities and capacities come a new problem: how to organize your photos. Let’s face it, having thousands of photos doesn’t do you much good if they aren’t organized. The issue of organizing photos is becoming more of a challenge with the advancements in tech. With Flicker giving you 1 TB of storage for free, you now have a place to store all of your digital photos (or at least the first two million of them), but organizing those photos into meaningful collections is another matter.
Do you wish you had a tech fairy who could wave a magic wand and organize all of your photographs?
I haven’t found a tech fairy yet but I may have found the next best thing: APPO. I recently met Cathi Nelson at the Pennsylvania Conference for women. Nelson is the President and Founder of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO), and I talked with her about the common problem of photo organization.
If you’re overwhelmed by your digital and print photos you’re not alone. Nelson informed me that 75% of the photo books that are started online eventually are abandoned and never finished. The good news is that you can get help so that your most cherished memories are preserved and your photos become more than just digital files taking up space on your computer or in the Cloud.
About APPO
Nelson created APPO for professional photo organizers who want to help their clients manage their photos. “The goal of APPO is to bring your photos back into your life. We’re creating a new industry: the photo life management industry,” said Nelson.
APPO organizers first conduct a “needs analysis” to help them understand their clients’ goals. Nelson gave the example of a client who might have a lifetime of photos just inherited from her parents that she needs to distribute to family members. Another client may be someone who is downsizing his house and needs to deal with his photos. “They feel guilty throwing the photos away but the kids don’t want them,” explained Nelson
Dealing with photos can produce strong negative emotions. Getting rid of photos may be tough, but Nelson advises people keep the goal in mind. “The prevailing emotion for people is guilt and anxiety about their photos. The goal isn’t to save all of your photos, either printed or digital.” Nelson explained that the goal is to preserve memories so you should keep the photos that matter the most to you, the photos that tell the stories of our lives.
Nelson pointed out that we take photos chronologically but we think thematically. APPO organizers help clients organize their photos into themes, such as family vacations. Nelson said that people don’t need 25 photos of the Roman Coliseum so those would be sorted to find the best one. “What’s more important is to capture that memory and show what that experience was like.”
Nelson gave the example of people who might organize a family photo album chronologically showing their child throughout the years. “Here’s Johnny playing soccer when he’s five, when he’s six. How boring is that? How about a picture of Johnny with a soccer ball when he’s three and one where he’s scoring the winning goal in high school right next to each other? That’s a much more interesting visual display.”
Print vs. Digital
Most people have a combination of printed and digital photos and APPO organizers can help people with both types of photos. “The printed photo is still the best back up,” said Nelson. “If Moses had the 10 Commandments on an external hard drive we wouldn’t have them.”
Some people who have digital photos want them in print while others who have print photos and want to digitize them. Nelson says the clients decide how they want their photos preserved.
APPO Finished Products
The result of the organization of your photos can be more than the satisfaction of getting your photos under control. APPO organizers can use your photos to create memory books, photo albums, photo displays, scrapbooks, and genealogy books. APPO also helps convert videos to a digitized format so you can view them and preserve them into the future.
Some clients use APPO organizers one time for organizing all of their photos or for a single family event such as a wedding, while others are recurring clients. Nelson gave the example of a client who handed her a memory card after each vacation which Nelson then turned into an album.
This time of year, APPO organizers help people create their holiday cards. “They can help you pick the best photos and put together a nice collage and order your photo cards for you,” said Nelson.
Finding an APPO Organizer
Organizers can be local or work remotely. Nelson talked about an organizer in Florida who organized the digital photos of a client in New York using shared Dropbox folders. Remote organizers tend to work with digital photos while print photos are usually handled by a local organizer.
APPO organizers can be found in the UK, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. You can locate an organizer using the APPO website.
Pricing
APPO doesn’t set prices but Nelson said many of its member organizers charge somewhere between $65-$85/hour. She pointed out that many have package deals that give clients a better price and an expectation of what a project will cost.
APPO Blog
The APPO has a blog that gives photo tips such as how to create a photo book for teens and how to declutter your fridge.
Become a Photo Organizer
If you were born with an organization gene and have a passion for photos you can become a photo organizer and help others organize their photos. Members of APPO are independent businesses who get support from APPO. Support can range from helping the organizer set up a business to establishing a pricing schedule, marketing, and finding clients. Organizers may specialize in organizing print and/or digital photos, whichever format they’re more comfortable with.
APPO offers a certification program to train and certify members to work with clients, products and projects. Members go through six training modules including management, organization, copyright laws, and more. After completing the training, members need to meet certain standards to become certified. About 35% of APPO members are certified.
APPO holds regional events and member meetings so members can get updates on the latest products and services and test new photography products before they come to market. APPO also has an online community where members can support each other, answering questions and offering suggestions.
If you’re interested in becoming a photo organizer, check out the APPO website for more information.
Your Thoughts
Are you challenged by organizing your photos? Do you have a mixture of digital and print photos? Which do you prefer? Do you wish you had a tech fairy who could wave a magic wand and organize your photographs? Do you like the idea of getting help with your photographs? Would you like to become a photo organizer? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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Verizon Workshops in the Philadelphia Area
If you want to learn more about using your phone, check out workshops given by Verizon. Here is a list of workshops given in the Philadelphia area in November:
•Android: Apps for Everyone, November 20, 5:00 p.m., Willow Grove, PA:
https://vzwworkshops.
•Android: Doing More with your Motorola Device, November 20, 6:00 p.m., Ardmore, PA:
https://vzwworkshops.
•Android: Getting Started, November 26, 5:00 p.m., Mount Laurel, NJ:
https://vzwworkshops.
Don’t live in the Philadelphia area? Check with your local Verizon store to see which workshops are offered near you.
See, Getting Schooled in Tech! for more information about Verizon workshops.
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SkyMotion Update
Good news for fans of SkyMotion hyper-local weather technology. The company was purchased by Accuweather who plans to incorporate SkyMotion’s forecasting capabilities into AccuWeather’s mobile apps and website. SkyMotion will continue to be available as a separate mobile app.
You can read more about this acquisition in Accuweather’s official announcement.
Hi Carloyn,
I need to organise my photos. I have 50 Gb to sort through. I’ll delete a lot of them. I wonder sometimes whether they will survive me. I have many of the best ones on Facebook and Pinterest. I thought about getting a flash drive and just slowly go through them and save all the best to the flash drive. That method should be good for a few years. I can get a 64 Gb flash drive for about £20. I just bought one as a Christmas present for a student.
I wonder if someone would pay me to teach people how to edit their photos? 🙂 I just remembered what I was going to do this afternoon. I have a building to photograph before they demolish it!
Hi Mike, Yes, I imagine that you have quite a few photos to organize! For storage, you may want to consider Flickr that gives you 1 TB of storage for free. Plus it’s a great way for others to discover your artistry! :-bd Be sure to check out my Flickr article: Flickr – The Solution to Your Photo Storage Issues https://wonderoftech.com/flickr-photo-storage/
That’s a great price for a flash drive, Mike. That will make someone very happy this Christmas!
You would be a great teacher for editing photos, Mike. Perhaps you could become a photo editor and organizer!
Hi Carolyn,
I’m glad I squeezed out time today to visit your blog – so sorry for not visiting as often lately – just spending time with Dad while he’s here for a few days 🙂
I liked your informative post about APPO and all the information you shared. I guess those who love photographs are going to love the way it organizes it all for you. Speaking of myself, I hardly click much of pictures except when I am on vacation or literally hold a camera in my hand that keeps reminding me of ‘clicking’, so organizing the ones I have isn’t much of a problem with me. But my sister is just the opposite and she clicks whenever and wherever she finds something worthwhile, so I’d be forwarding this post to her for sure.
Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, How lovely to see you back here again. You were definitely missed, though I am delighted that you have an opportunity to spend time with your father. Please send him my best. Although I’ve never met him, I feel as if I know him from your touching and brilliant article about him.
Thanks for sharing this with your sister, Harleena. Yes, often people take dozens of photos when all they really need is one. Sometimes more isn’t merrier!
I am photo lady and this is one of my right-hand hobbies. Every time I walk out and see something good, my smartphone is out to capture it, If I woke up and think am smartly dressed my sister has to do the shooting. Now appo is very helpful and I have come to like it very much. Thanks for sharing ~ Anetta
Hi Anetta, How exciting that you are a photo lady! That’s great that you are making good use of your smartphone camera. Having a lot of pictures means that organizing them can become a challenge. I hope APPO is able to help you get your photos organized, Anetta!
Hi Carolyn,
It is a coincidence that even I had an article to do with images & pics today 🙂
Hmmm…professional help to organize my photos?? I am not sure if I will ever use that. I do have a lot of photos, everytime I take a vacation, I come back with hundreds of pics. I do have them organized in my external HDD and it is very less likely that I need them to be reorganized or even cleaned up.
Yes, the example of inheriting photos might actually make sense for this service now. But now, if I have to inherit, i am sure none of my great grandfathers had a camera at that time for sure 🙂
Hi Praveen, Yes, some people are naturally organized and don’t need the help of others. But for those who are overwhelmed by photos, APPO can help them get control.
You may even want to check out the APPO blog to get ideas on photo organization.
I have photos dating back to the 1800’s from our family so I imagine that some people have photos that are even older.
Thank you for your insightful article on the services a personal photo organizer can provide. As the founder of APPO, I like to remind people that this is a new and growing profession. It is only in the past 10 years that we have had the ability to snap hundreds of photos in an instant. The goal is to not save all the photos but the handful that tell your family story. On Sunday the New York Times had an article called, Out Source Yourself to Success ,which talked about the growing need to seek help in many areas of our lives. In all the photo organizing projects I ever completed for someone no one ever said, “Darn I wish those photos were still unorganized in boxes and on my hard drive , instead they were delighted to be reintroduced to memories from their past.
Hi Cathi, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me about APPO and for letting our readers know about the services that APPO organizers offer to help them with their photos.
Here is the link to The New York Times article titled Outsource Your Way to Success http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/magazine/outsource-your-way-to-success.html?_r=0
Wow Carolyn, I’m very sentimental so I can’t imagine not wanting your photos. Now if you had a bunch of duplicates and had to clean some out I could see that.
I have almost 30 photos albums and yes, I still print them out and put then in there. I love to take the time usually twice a year and sit on the floor going through them. Oh sure, having them digitally it neat but as many as I have and as many years as I’ve got that would be very hard to keep them in the order I would want by month, year and occasion.
This is pretty cool though to have this company put them in order for you if that’s the type of service you need. I guess I can see where that might come in handy.
Another great share, thank you so much Carolyn.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, How wonderful that you have so many photo albums and that you take the time to look through them regularly. I’m sure that ritual brings back many amazing memories for you.
That’s great that you have your photos so well organized, Adrienne. I imagine even with you having a camera on your iPhone that you’ll still have your photos well organized.
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for another great review of a product I had not idea existed 🙂
What really grabbed my attention is that it works with prints. In this digital age, I miss seeing my pictures in print, which I haven’t for years now. I actually have lots of my print photos digitized now. A lot of them wich I use for my blogs.
Of course this product seems to be for pros only, but it’s nice to know about it 🙂
Hi Sylviane, You’re right, APPO organizers work with print and digital photos, most people have a combination of both. Just the combination of formats can be overwhelming to people, which is where APPO organizers can help.
The good news is that APPO organizers can help anyone. While they are pros, they work to help everyday people organize their photos. I included information about becoming an APPO organizer in case any reader wanted to get started in the field.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us and for your kind words, Sylviane!
I don’t take that many photos, so no photo organizing problems 😉
I tried developing my photography skills this summer (it worked for a while, until my camera stopped working). I haven’t fixed it yet (I got busy with other habits, and my upcoming blog :D).
All of the photos I have are digital (all of the old photos, print ones, are in my grandparents’ house). To be honest, I kind of dislike photos (specifically, being in a photo, but I do like taking photographs).
Anyways, thank you for sharing, Carolyn 🙂 Appreciate it!
Hi Jeevan, Yes, those who don’t like being in photos tend to be the ones behind the camera! That’s great your developing your photography skills. You may end up with more photos in the future as you practice your new skills!
It becomes tedious work to organize photos on later time when we have thousands of photos at hand. This is great concept which will help people in organizing photos easily and properly for later use. Plus it will bring best shots of memories they have stored online. It is very advance concept for modern tech user. I love it.
Hi Narendra, Excellent point. I’m glad you like the idea of APPO. You’re right, photos can transform from fun into a chore when you get overwhelmed by the number of photos you have.
I saved my all pictures in Facebook, Google Drive. It wll be more than 20 GB+. Now it is tough to understand to know a certain picture location. I am also thinking how to organize such pictures. The place you shared will be helpful for me. But i haven’t such amount to pay. it is better if there is any free service
Hi Ahsan, Yes, you certainly do have a lot of photos! APPO recommends that you keep your photos in one location so you know where to find them. Even if you don’t want to hire an APPO organizer, you can still check out their blog to get great ideas for organizing your photos yourself!
Wow, these are great tips. My wife does our pics and the organization issues are a problem. I am going to immediately forward your post. Finally, I live near Willow Grove so I am going to try to get to the Nov 20 seminar. Thanks for the post.
Hi Steven, I’m very pleased that this article was helpful to you and your wife in discovering APPO and the Verizon class. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us. 🙂
I’ve never heard of APPO before Carolyn. Being married to a very gifted amateur photographer, I find myself surrounded by albums and shoe boxes overflowing with prints. Then, there’s the digital photos on CDs, DVDs, flash drives and cloud storage. I’m definitely forwarding this article to my husband (as well as sharing it where I can). Thanks!
Hi Sherryl, How wonderful to be married to a talented photographer! I imagine you have plenty of treasured memories preserved in your photo collection. But organizing them is probably quite challenging. An APPO organizer may be a perfect solution for you and your husband.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Sherryl.
Hi Carolyn,
Nice & such a really wonderful post about, Organizing Photos. Well Carolyn, there are also many online ways & sources for Organizing Photos & specially in smart & android apps. So I just mean to say. There are also many ways to Organizing Photos 🙂
Hi Disha, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, there are apps that will help you organize your photos. iOS7 organizes photos you take on your iDevices into Collections according to date and place. But when I spoke with her, Nelson pointed out that no algorithm can truly understand the context of photos to arrange them in meaningful ways. Isn’t it reassuring to know that humans are actually better at something than tech is?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, Disha!
I am glad to read your blog post. As everybody says that photo or an attractive image can say thousands of words. Right??? You have lots of memories of your past which was most happiest moment of your life and always photos of that moment helps you to remember that memory again. Thanks for sharing your blog post. 🙂
Hi Chetan, You’re exactly right. Photos are very important so making sure they’re organized and backed up is essential. In disasters when people have only a few minutes to leave their houses the first thing they try to save is their photos.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Chetan!