WHAT PROGRAM DO YOU USE TO MANAGE YOUR DITIAL PHOTOS?The Challenge is to post a blog entry on your blog sharing how you manage your digital photos or to make a plan for managing your digital photos if you don’t already have a plan or program. Here’s my post regarding this challenge.I need help! Those who have known me for any length of time either in real life, on the SHS loop, or in the blogosphere, will know that I have a problem with procrastination. Acutally, I’m not “technically” a procrastinator. I’m more of a perfectionist – want to figure out how to do it right before I start, do it the right way the first time, etc., – type person which often presents with the symptoms of procrastination. (LOL).

PROBLEM:
I need a photo editing program, but I don’t know which one I need. I’m trying to decide between the following three programs:1) I have the Creative Memories Memory Manager program which is easy enough, but there are a few things about it which I have discovered I don’t like after using it for a short time. They are:*It doesn’t give the edited picture its own file name, at least I’ve not been able to figure out how to do that. If it can do that and you know how, please let me know. *Because I can’t get CM to give the edited picture its own file name, it’s really difficult to export both the original and the edited picture and sometimes I want both pictures for a blog or scrapbook. I was trying to post a few examples of pictures in this post to help this discussion, but it became too time consuming because of the above mentioned problem. So, I’m not going to take the time include any pics with this post or it would be another couple of weeks before I finish this up. *It was very time consuming to do export both an original and an edited picture since they can’t be given their own names right in the CM program. I had to export the original picture and then assign it a new name before I exported the edited picture. Otherwise, the folder wouldn’t accept two files with the same name.*I can’t view both the edited picture and the original picture side by side. CM will only show one or the other at a time. That also caused another aggravating and time consuming problem when exporting until I realized what was happening. When you slide the picture over to the export box that does NOT mean that exact image will be the one exported. For example, if you slide an original picture over to the export window and then edit the picture and leave the edited version as the one being viewed in the main viewing area that picture – the edited one not the original one you slide over to be exported – is what is exported. ,.,.. ERRR… That was quite irritating to say the least. Now that I know that’s what it is doing I can work around it, but it is time consuming and an additional unnecessary step, imo. But then I don’t have any other programs. Maybe they are all the same way.*I would probably use a few more editing features if I had them available. For example, I would probably edit out a slightly blurred volleyball or soccer ball and replace it with a sharper image if I had a program that allowed that. CM does not… or not that I’m aware of anyway. And, please remember I’m not talking about the CM scrapbooking program which I know will do that. I’m only talking about the Memory Manager program.*I would like to have all of my pictures in a chronological format like CM lists them, but I would also like my co-op pictures separate from all the sports pictures (which I also wanted separated by team), which are separate from our family pictures. The kink in that is I would like to be able to tag them all from a main vault, but the way CM is set up it would be easiest to give each of those things their own memory vault. That’s a problem for my personal pictures because, obviously, I do take some pictures of my own kids in each of those situations and I don’t want to have to copy/store them in 2 different places. I like the idea of separate memory vaults, but I wish there was another way to do that so I could tag them for personal as well. Now, I do realize I could setup them up as sort boxes, but I don’t want to do that and I won’t get into the details of why here.. it’s too complicated and well.. that’s it.. it’s too complicated and no one else will care (LOL). The point is I know I could do that, but I don’t want to do that.There are things I DO like about the CM program:*I like the way you can label the pictures. I’ve set up a system of labeling similar to what Stacy Julian recommends in the Photo Freedom book (which I’ll review after attending her lecture next weekend). I understand that similar labeling can also be setup in Photoshop Elements.*I like that CM will track the pictures which have been printed and backed up. *It is easy to export to a file folder for outside printing, to an email address, etc., or to the Storybook program if that’s what I decide to use for digiscrapping. I’ll decide that after I get this whole management issue figured out because I may go with Elements and that would take care of both problems in one program, I think.2) Photoshop Elements is on my list of programs to consider. Since I don’t have the program I can only go by information I’ve gotten from blogs, IRL friends, and internet loops. Here are some of the reasons I’m considering this program:* I would eventually like to try my hand at digital scrapbooking from scratch (IOW, not Smilebox or premade digital photobooks) so Photoshop Elements is on my list because I’m sure it is easier to navigate than the full blown professional PS4. If you’re been reading the blog very long you know it takes me a LONG time to find the time and energy to tackle something new. Also, my IRL friend Lisa keeps telling me there are some really neat challenges and such that we could easily do if we had Elements. *I need to know if Elements will work well for labeling and managing photos (seems to work well on one blog I read) or if I would need a separate program such as Lightroom for managing the photos. Can it do the things that CM won’t do that are listed above?*I already own the CM program so it’s tempting to just stick with it and not spend more $$ on a new program. However I would be willing to buy Elements if it does the things mentioned above which CM doesn’t do – separate file names for original vs edited pictures, viewing both simultaneously, etc. knowing that after I get all these digi photos organized I don’t want to then decide I should have spent an extra $50 to get more from the program. Right now I only have enough pictures in CM to know that it’s not exactly working the way I had hoped it would.*I’ve heard that the newer version 7 Elements program seems to have some bugs in it and that scrapbookers seem to prefer the older version 6 Elements program. I don’t know how long that one will still be available for purchase so I’m thinking I should just make a decision soon and do SOMETHING.3) Lightroom – This is also on my list since a friend recommended it as being easier to use than Elements and from what I can tell by the limited descriptions I’ve found it appears that it will allow more editing than the CM program. I’ve heard some complaints about it being a database format instead of file format. However, the flip side of that (imo) is the searching capabilities in a database program vs a file program are probably why it gets good reviews as a photo management program. SUMMARY: I have been digital for over 3 years now. I literally take thousands of pictures a MONTH so you can imagine the volume of pictures I’m going to have to import to a program, edit, purge, label, etc. I really want to decide ahead of time which program will work the best and then go with it. I don’t want to find out 10,000 pictures down the road that I should have just gotten xyz program instead of trying to make do with what I already own. I am going to set up files similar to Stacy Julian’s Library of Memories system. I want to digiscrap in the future so I want a management program that will work well with the scrapbooking program. CM Memory Manager works well with their Storybook scrapbooking program, but I’m not sold on the Memory Manager yet. If Elements will do both then I’m leaning that direction. If it won’t then I guess I’d be looking at Elements and Lightroom?So, there you have it. Those are my questions. If there’s something I haven’t thought of, PLEASE let me know. I’ve already been researching this for TWO YEARS. It’s time to finally make a decision and DO SOMETHING other than research (LOL). Oh.. and one other thing. I am CM consultant for those who don’t know that. I could make suggestions to Creative Memories regarding the changes I would like to see in their program, but the problem is I can’t wait months or years for a large company to make those changes if there is already another program on the market that will do what I’m looking for in a program.WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? 1. If you leave a comment on my blog and post about this challenge on your blog sharing how you organize your digital photos you can grab the 2008 Scrapbook Participant icon to display on your blog. Please have it link back here to this post or at least to my blog. MANY thanks to Jen from Bits and Pieces for creating this icon for me! I appreciate it, Jen.Also, you’ll be put into a drawing to win the following 7×7 Creative Memories denim album. I would like to allow plenty of time for discussing the pros/cons of various programs. I’d like plenty of time for the question and challenge to circulate so I can get information about these programs from as many people as possible. So, feel free to discuss the differences in programs and grab the 2008 Scrapbook Challenge icon anytime. However, the date for leaving a comment to win the album will be November 21st. Thanks SO MUCH for reading through to the end. I REALLY could use some help figuring this out! I MUST get my digiphotos organize because I waste a LOT of time searching for photos with my current system.