Do you play tag?

With your photos that is? 

[LOL  You thought I was going to play tag with you didn't you?  I so wish we could have one big scrappy tag game - imagine the giggles!  Winner could take home a bag of scrap goodies and losers would have to clean up after the crop!  OK - meet you in my front yard in half an hour ;) ]

But I digress. I was going to ask if you regularly tag your digital photos with key words?  I have found this practice so helpful - especially because I take A LOT of photos. When I want to find photos from an event I just do a quick search and it pulls up the photos. 

I just use the program that was on my computer (Microsoft) so check to see of the program you use has this feature.  If not there are a lot of programs that do.  I just add very simple tags that will help me narrow down my search.  I do it whenever I upload photos to my computer so I stay on top of it. 

For example Harper was on TV the other day so I snapped a few pictures of it so I could make a scrapbook page. (She was on TV with her school to promote a running/self esteem program she belongs to called Girls on the Run.)

(Yes the photo isn't great but I wanted to record the moment and it still captures that for me.)

I uploaded the photos from my camera and there were over 30 pictures (she was on 5 times in an hour).  Even before I went through them to delete the ones I didn't like or need I tagged them.

Just a simple tag - Harper on TV.  Sometimes I just type the kids names or words like - Spring, Museum or 4th birthday.  Words that I might use to search my computer with.  Sometimes when I search it pulls up a lot - depending on how generic the word is but that is good sometimes when I am not looking for an event photo but more of a photo to suit a story I am telling.  For example, I may be writing a scrapbook story about how I hate winter so I search "Spring" within my photos and it pulls up everything I tagged with spring.  I then can pick photos that work with my story.  Same goes for birthdays, holidays or other events in our lives.

I love this system. 

And then when I have a few moments I do go through my photos and delete the ones I don't want.  I don't always have time when I first upload but I do try to do it somewhat regularly.  I take a lot of photos and if I don't delete I end up with too much (overwhelming) and there is no point in keeping the ones I will never use.  I have two steps to this.  I do a "first delete" which is the really obvious deletes - like duplicates of the the same moment (I have a habit of taking two of every picture to make sure I "got" it) or really out of focus or "bad" shots.  Then later when I go to print I get more critical and start figuring out what I really want to print or keep and what I really don't need.  Sort of like when you are cleaning out the closet.  First step, toss away everything you hate.  Second step really ask yourself, "Are you really going to wear that again?"  Same with the photos.  Best done in two steps.

So basically try and find out if your program has this feature and try it out.  Don't worry about tagging the backlog of photos if you find the task overwhelming.  Just start with the new ones you upload from today on.  As a scrapper I bet you like it - no more searching forever for that one photo of Jimmy that you know is there somewhere!  Hope this helps someone, somewhere. :)

And remember I said I was going to scrap last night for the first time in a bit.  Well I did.  I got a page done that is a gift for someone (can't show it until she gets it) and I am really happy with it.  It had been half done for awhile but I was stumped on one part.  Inspiration hit last night and I am really happy with the way it turned out.

And then I started in on some more class stuff.  I worked on the embellishments for my Altered Canvas Memory Clock class (offered at all four GASCs).  Just love the way these turned out.  We will be making them in the class to be used on the canvas.

And then I need to do some number organizing for the class.  Some yummy felt numbers.

And now I am off to go cake shopping with Magnus.  It is his birthday soon and we are celebrating this weekend and he gets to pick his cake today.  Can we say excited???