Digital Asset Management, Part I

Now that you're shooting digital, are you making lots of new photographs? Take the time to review your digital workflow and make any necessary improvements before you fill up your computer with thousands of images.

“Asset management” (or, more naturally, file management) refers to the procedures you use to copy and store your digital image files both on and off your computer.

Following are a few asset management habits that will make working with your digital images safer and easier.

1. Work with image files as you would any other important computer file. Typically, it's best to copy the files from your camera’s memory card (CF, SD, MemoryStick, etc.) to your computer’s hard drive using your usual file copying procedures. In Windows Explorer or Mac Finder, put the new copies in their own folder, with a unique name, somewhere that you can easily manage them. You may want to create new directories/folders to group them by separate photo shoots or subjects. I usually name my folders by location and date, with no spaces, eg Crystal_Mill_20060605.

When done copying the files, safely remove the card from the computer.

2. Don’t alter the data on the removable card
Never delete or change the files directly on your card using your computer (including renaming them). This increases the risk of file corruption and may render the card unreadable.

Do not format or erase the card using your computer. When done copying the files, safely remove the card from the computer, and use the camera to format the card before the next shoot (and only after you've verified your copies of the files).

3. Back up the complete set of files to a second hard drive before you process the images further.
A FireWire, USB or network-attached-storage drive will provide an easily accessible copy should you need it. For this step, if possible, use a file copy or backup utility that can compare and verify the integrity of the copied files.

NOTE: If you are shooting in Raw mode, read the next section before making backups.*

4. Archive the files to DVD or CD
Keep copies of your most important files offline. Storing DVD or CD discs in a fireproof case or safe deposit box will provide a more permanent record of your work and allow you to retrieve your images should all other copies become unavailable. As in Step 3, be sure the software you use to make the disc archive verifies the data after copying.

Warning: Do not use cheap recordable discs. They only last up to five years without decaying, and the worst may survive only a year. Use only archival CD or DVD blanks, such as MAM-A Mitsui Gold (about $2 each), and store the discs in archival (acid-free) sleeves.

Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy
You can work on your images with peace of mind knowing you have three copies of your files. Move on to the next steps in your image processing workflow, such as color correction, resizing, sharpening, conversion to other file formats, etc.

NOTE: You will also need to frequently archive your working Photoshop files using similar procedures to those listed above. I keep my working PS files in folders separate from my original camera image files.

*If you are shooting in Raw mode
(and usually, you should be)

BEFORE MAKING INITIAL BACKUPS

1. ADD METADATA using your file browser of choice (we recommend Adobe Bridge), most importantly your name and copyright notice. (JPG shooters:You may be able to do this for JPG files too, depending on your software.) ADD YOUR METADATA BEFORE ARCHIVING so it stays with the file for all time.

2. Convert Raw files to a set of DNG* files to be kept in the archive and backup sets. During the conversion to DNG you can rename the DNG files to something other than the original Raw filenames. These will be your working files, so make the names easy to read and understand.

Example: "_MG_3045.CR2" becomes "crystal_mill_20060605_001.dng (year month date). The DNGs store the name of the original source Raw files so you can always find them later if you need to. Note the sequence number 001; when doing the conversion to DNG, I re-number the files using three digits.

3. Work with the DNG files, NOT the Raw files
After archiving the complete set of Raw and DNG to DVD, you can delete your original Raw files to conserve disk space. Make your camera raw conversions from the DNG files.

*Conversion to Adobe’s® DNG format is a highly recommended step. DNG is a universal, open file format for Raw image data. One of the best things about DNG is you can store camera raw converter settings and metadata inside the DNG file. Bye-bye sidecar files!

More info about Adobe DNG

4. USE CATALOGING SOFTWARE
I also recommend that you use image cataloging software such as Adobe Lightroom to make organized catalogs of your files. You can store image files offline and still search and retrieve them. More on image catalogs in a future article.