You’re trying to create a fun project or a poster for a friend, but you need to find duplicate photos. However, you don’t have a lot of time to sort through all of the hundreds of digital files you have stored on your computer. You’re not alone in this problem. The good news is that it’s actually quite simple to find duplicate photos when you have a strong system in place. Here’s what you need to do in order to find duplicate photos the next time the need arises.
Label Them the Right Way
When you’re taking digital photos, you’re not thinking about how many photos you have on the camera or how you will find duplicate photos later. You just want to take ‘enough’ photos so that you have what you need when you need them. But to help you sort through these files later, it will help to label them correctly. One of the easiest ways to label your photos is to create a date system and a main keyword for each photo name in a set. For example, if you took pictures on Halloween, you might create the file name: 10312009 HALLOWEEN. This way, the files are going to be arranged by the time they were taken and they will all have the same file name. This makes for easy searches later.
Think About the Power of Folders
However while labeling each file the same will work when you’re not taking thousands of photos, you might want to be a little more specific if you want to use photos for certain projects. You may want to create folders that signify what kinds of photos you have stored there. For example, when you need to find duplicate photos, you might want to create a folder for nature photos, one for pet photos, etc. This way, you know the general area where a photo might be found, helping you quickly access the photo you want to print and use.
Use Duplicate Photo Finding Software
In addition, you might want to find duplicate photos with photo finding software. Instead, of having to look at file names and folders, this software will begin to look at the content of the photos and then arranges them by this content, showing you where the duplicate photos are. This way, you can delete any duplicate files you don’t need or you can store all of a certain type of photo in one folder for later use.
This sort of software is best for those who have thousands of photos or they know they have similar photos in their collections. The software can do all of the work of finding what you need without taking up a lot of your time.
It’s easy to find duplicate photos quickly when you know what to do – label the files and folders correctly, and call in software reinforcements as needed. Digital photos are terrific, but only if you can find the ones you really need when you need to use them.
Author Resource:
Max Smirnov, Image Comparer program author. With my program you can find duplicate photos automatically. http://www.imagecomparer.com