What is a Photo Manager?

As a long time photo teacher and photographer, I am never surprised by new ideas in the world of photography. I grew up with 110 and disc cameras, graduated to 35mm in my preteen years and got my first lessons in darkroom printing in college. Right about that time, Adobe introduced Photoshop. We didn't care much about Photoshop in 1997 and thought that digital art would never compare to "real art". 25 years later, the reverse is true. Digital photography has become the standard and the norm. Film is a luxury and a niche area, but I'm happy to say it is making a comeback because my students are hooked on the magic of the darkroom!

But cell phone cameras rule. Fewer people own cameras that aren't built into a phone, yet more people are taking photos than ever before. The average person takes approximately 175 photos a month which means roughly 2000 photos per year. And when it comes to a lifetime of photos, we are now looking at upwards of 100,000 photos that document a lifetime of milestones and memories. What do we do with these images? How do we make sure that a few of these thousands of photos make it out of the cloud and on to the next generation? This is where a photo manager takes the lead.

Over the next few weeks I will be introducing the concept of a photo manager to many of you for the first time. Curating, organizing and preserving digital and print photographs is a growing concern for anyone who takes pictures. Photo managers take the worry and the overwhelm out of their customer's hands.

Follow me as I work to preserve my family photos, dig deeper into the business of photo management and expand on my love of photography.