5 ms·

I have been struggling to manage my family's photos and videos, and it has really been a nightmare. I'm currently using flickr, but it leaves much to be desired

by calebm 12y ago

I have been struggling to manage my family's photos and videos, and it has really been a nightmare. I'm currently using flickr, but it leaves much to be desired. This looks like exactly what I've been looking for.

imjk 12y ago
What problems in particular were you having that makes this is a great solution?
balls187 12y ago
I have always been a fan of Smugmug. It's super easy (imo) to use, and there are a number of great export plugins for LightRoom.
- r00fus 12y ago
  I love smugmug, but the import/export is getting very tiring. Seriously, MacDaddy?
  - balls187 12y ago
    I just export from Lightroom, which is part of my workflow. For everything else, I just use facebook.
wbond 12y ago
I was thinking the same thing, but iCloud accounts can't be shared very easily/well between devices. I spent a bunch of time researching, but ended up shelling out for Dropbox Pro and Carousel on our multiple phones. Then I use selective sync to not fill our laptops with the full-res photos.
dba7dba 12y ago
Another fan of smugmug here. You can't beat unlimited storage for $40/year. Granted upload is limited by upload speed but by letting it upload overnight, that hasn't been a problem for me. Smugmug has app on iOS/Android that work well also. Here's how I manage family photos/videos as a Mac user: 1. Use "Image Capture" to import photos/videos from camera/iphone/android into Mac. Do NOT use iPhoto to import although OS X recommends it. It's the root of all kinds of problems afaik. "Image Capture" is free tool included with OS X. Just open "Image Capture" and insert your memory card or plug in usb cable. 2. Once imported, use ExifRenamer (or other alternatives) to rename files to date/time taken. This ensures each photo/video has unique serial. With the new names, you can easily tell when/what/where/why just by looking at filename. 3. You can group files into year-mm-dd or any other method you like. You can do it manually easily or use "Big Mean Folder Machine 2". 4. Once you have grouped files into year-mm-dd, now you can import them into iPhoto. I do this purely for easier browsing/etc. 5. Within iPhoto, you have photos grouped into year-mm-dd. #Now you should NOT keep ALL your photos/videos in ONE iPhoto database/folder. You should create 1 iPhoto database/folder for just 1 year using tools like "iPhoto Buddy' (free) or "iPhoto Library Manager" ($20). That way iPhoto data doesn't get too big. #I back up both the renamed files (divided into yyyy-mm-dd) AND the iPhoto libraries to external HDs. Backing up the renamed files as simple files is critical imo. #Whenever iPhoto is updated by Apple and I open an iPhoto library from older version, that iPhoto Library needs to be updated by the newer iPhoto. Not a big deal though. #Backup to Smugmug Now after above are done, I start uploading photos to smugmug. I may do maybe a month at a time or something like it. With smugmug, I can recover photos even if I lose both my Mac and external HDs. It will be painful but possible. Obviously Amazon S3 is another option. I would just zip up the files and encrypt them if using Amazon S3.
- r00fus 12y ago
  How do you handle bursts? That's my biggest problem with iPhoto - I need an easy elegant tool to handle my 6-shot DSLR bursts before they get synced into the cloud.
  - dba7dba 12y ago
    In ExifRenamer, you have this option. When files names will be identical, you can use following option: >> Increment counter field until file name is unique. You can also use 'A Better Finder Rename' for renaming photos.
- ValentineC 12y ago
  >Another fan of smugmug here. >You can't beat unlimited storage for $40/year. Granted upload is limited by upload speed but by letting it upload overnight, that hasn't been a problem for me. Smugmug has app on iOS/Android that work well also. SmugMug doesn't support RAW in its "unlimited" plan though, does it? You'll have to purchase the SmugVault extra.
  - dba7dba 12y ago
    Unfortunately no. But I don't shoot raw so not a problem for me.

by calebm 12y ago

imjk 12y ago

What problems in particular were you having that makes this is a great solution?

balls187 12y ago

I have always been a fan of Smugmug. It's super easy (imo) to use, and there are a number of great export plugins for LightRoom.

r00fus 12y ago
I love smugmug, but the import/export is getting very tiring. Seriously, MacDaddy?
- balls187 12y ago
  I just export from Lightroom, which is part of my workflow. For everything else, I just use facebook.

wbond 12y ago

I was thinking the same thing, but iCloud accounts can't be shared very easily/well between devices. I spent a bunch of time researching, but ended up shelling out for Dropbox Pro and Carousel on our multiple phones. Then I use selective sync to not fill our laptops with the full-res photos.

dba7dba 12y ago

Another fan of smugmug here. You can't beat unlimited storage for $40/year. Granted upload is limited by upload speed but by letting it upload overnight, that hasn't been a problem for me. Smugmug has app on iOS/Android that work well also. Here's how I manage family photos/videos as a Mac user: 1. Use "Image Capture" to import photos/videos from camera/iphone/android into Mac. Do NOT use iPhoto to import although OS X recommends it. It's the root of all kinds of problems afaik. "Image Capture" is free tool included with OS X. Just open "Image Capture" and insert your memory card or plug in usb cable. 2. Once imported, use ExifRenamer (or other alternatives) to rename files to date/time taken. This ensures each photo/video has unique serial. With the new names, you can easily tell when/what/where/why just by looking at filename. 3. You can group files into year-mm-dd or any other method you like. You can do it manually easily or use "Big Mean Folder Machine 2". 4. Once you have grouped files into year-mm-dd, now you can import them into iPhoto. I do this purely for easier browsing/etc. 5. Within iPhoto, you have photos grouped into year-mm-dd. #Now you should NOT keep ALL your photos/videos in ONE iPhoto database/folder. You should create 1 iPhoto database/folder for just 1 year using tools like "iPhoto Buddy' (free) or "iPhoto Library Manager" ($20). That way iPhoto data doesn't get too big. #I back up both the renamed files (divided into yyyy-mm-dd) AND the iPhoto libraries to external HDs. Backing up the renamed files as simple files is critical imo. #Whenever iPhoto is updated by Apple and I open an iPhoto library from older version, that iPhoto Library needs to be updated by the newer iPhoto. Not a big deal though. #Backup to Smugmug Now after above are done, I start uploading photos to smugmug. I may do maybe a month at a time or something like it. With smugmug, I can recover photos even if I lose both my Mac and external HDs. It will be painful but possible. Obviously Amazon S3 is another option. I would just zip up the files and encrypt them if using Amazon S3.

r00fus 12y ago
How do you handle bursts? That's my biggest problem with iPhoto - I need an easy elegant tool to handle my 6-shot DSLR bursts before they get synced into the cloud.
- dba7dba 12y ago
  In ExifRenamer, you have this option. When files names will be identical, you can use following option: >> Increment counter field until file name is unique. You can also use 'A Better Finder Rename' for renaming photos.
ValentineC 12y ago
>Another fan of smugmug here. >You can't beat unlimited storage for $40/year. Granted upload is limited by upload speed but by letting it upload overnight, that hasn't been a problem for me. Smugmug has app on iOS/Android that work well also. SmugMug doesn't support RAW in its "unlimited" plan though, does it? You'll have to purchase the SmugVault extra.
- dba7dba 12y ago
  Unfortunately no. But I don't shoot raw so not a problem for me.