Many things have changed in the last 25 years – The world has gone digital, and so have our pictures!
Unless you are an avid photographer or a part of the growing amount of young people going disposable for the aesthetic; it is pretty safe to say most of the photos that you take are going to be digital. Even now with the updated film cameras and the right computer programs you can upload your film photos to your computer easily. Long gone are the days of blindly taking pictures, sending off your roll of film, and waiting weeks for your pictures to be returned to you. Then, of course, you would have to meticulously pick through the good and the bad until you hopefully landed on a few good shots, and that was just the beginning of the work! We cannot forget about the photo albums that never seemed to have enough space or the boxes upon boxes of pictures that you had to date manually. And despite your best intentions, you never got around to putting in a scrapbook. It is safe to say we have come a very long way – we live in a world where you can take a thousand pictures instantly, but this much accessibility brings a whole new issue – how do you store them?
With thousands upon thousands of pictures and other media files, such as videos, to choose from, it can be an overwhelming task trying to organize, edit and manage all of your files! This is where Digital Photo Management Software comes into play.
Digital Photo Management is what can take your cluttered computer files from an indecipherable mess to a well organized and easily managed system. By using great features like keyword searches, tagging, and color coding. They can be converted, resized, and easily shared all through one great program.
Why do you need photo management software?
A photo management software program is there to serve you, and the right program should make your life easier. The batch editing and file conversion features will take your projects to the next level. And the ability to group your photos by date, location, project, and other metadata saves you countless hours of searching through your computer for that photo you know you have.
Photo management software is vital when it comes to group projects and effectively running your business. Choosing the right software could be the thing that lands you a big deal or an important client, as well as making yours and your employee’s workload so much easier and more efficient!
Whether you are planning to use your software for personal use or for business, there are multiple reasons why it is useful:
#1 Saves you space
There is almost nothing more frustrating than trying to save a project and finding out you do not have enough storage! With a Cloud or Internet based software, you do not have to worry about running out of space on your personal device because all of your photos and data are saved in the Cloud or in your software. This will free up all that space on your personal device as well!
#2 Collaborating
Digital photo management programs are often essential when it comes to group projects. With the right software, multiple people can edit and store photos and videos or other media and easily access them remotely so that your projects can get done more efficiently!
#3 Revisit past projects
With photo management software, it makes it simple to revisit your past projects or memories and expand on old ideas as well as having your past work readily available for future use!
#4 See your progress
If you are a photographer, working on a project for a client, or just saving your family photos, having your pictures safely stored together by location, date, or project is a great way to see just how much progress you have made! Seeing past and present images side by side gives a great perspective on what changes have been made and what can still be improved!
What kind of features does digital photo management offer?
- Assists you in saving and organizing your media files
- Edits, exports, converts, and resizes your photos
- It saves you space by uploading to the Cloud
- Locates images and files through keywords and other search options
When it comes to photo management, it’s more about preference than quality.
How do you know which program to choose?
Luckily, there are so many options in the market right now. Not just to help you easily maintain and organize your photos, but many offer editing, tagging, and keyword searches, all to make your storing experience the most convenient and efficient that it can be.
In my research, I have found that when it comes to digital photo management, the possibilities are endless, and since there are so many options, it can be a daunting task trying to decide which one is the right fit for you. It really all comes down to your price range and personal preference. I’ve compiled a list of some of the best options out there to make that decision a little bit easier for you.
1. Adobe Bridge
Pricing: $20.99/mo
Adobe is trusted and true. It is a software that has stood the test of time, and choosing it is never a bad option.
Adobe Bridge is a fantastic tool for storing and managing digital files, including photos. It has many great features allowing you to add tags, watermarks, and ratings to your photos.
Another great feature is that it allows you to look through multiple photos at once. You also have the option to directly post your photos to your Adobe Portfolio, making sharing your projects more straightforward than ever.
2. Canto
Pricing: Varies
This software is excellent for businesses and companies. It works best when being used for large-scale projects. The great thing about Canto is the price is based on the user’s personal needs, so you will not be paying for features you do not need! Speaking of features – one of Canto’s best features is its Smart Search. This allows you to easily search tags, locations, or keywords to make finding the photo you are looking for so much simpler. It even saves your frequent searches! Canto is not just for photos though; they offer organizational and management tools for videos, music, documents, and other media.
3. Google Photos
Pricing: Free – 15GB
Google Photos is one of the best free photo management software on the market! It is simple and easy to use. This software is best if you really want nothing more than storage. Compared to some of the others on this list, Google Photos is pretty elementary. It does offer some editing and filtering tools, but it is mainly just the basics. The first 15GB’s are free; if you need more, then you will have to pay a small fee. I recommend Google Photos if you are looking for more personal management over business. It is linked right to your Google account, making it easily accessible no matter what device you are using!
4. ACDSee
Pricing: $59.99
The great thing about ACDSee is that it is easy to navigate! It is also highly inclusive, with 86 different file format options. As their website states – ACDSee is Built for Professionals. The quality and quantity of the options ACDSee has are really outstanding. This will take your projects to the next level. They have various editing options and will even let you edit multiples with their batching feature to save you valuable time! One thing to note: ACDSee is currently only available to Microsoft users.
5. Adobe Lightroom
Pricing: $9.99/mo – Basic Package
Another one on the Adobe wheel, Lightroom, is an excellent option for photo management and, more specifically photo editing! It is simple and easy to use. It easily stores your photos or videos by location or date and other metadata alike. Unlike some of the other programs, Adobe Lightroom offers multiple step-by-step tutorials to assist you and help you navigate the program. You can save your edits and create your own presets for future use and create multiple albums to help you stay organized. Another great feature is that you can upload your photos directly to your social media pages, making it so easy to share your work!
6. Magix Photo Manager
Pricing: Free – Basic Package
One of the best features Magix has to offer, is just how easy it is to upload photos from your Cloud storage such as Google Cloud Drive, Microsoft Onedrive, or Apple’s iCloud. The editing options are pretty basic, but it does have a great feature that recognizes faces and allows you to search through facial recognition. While it is a pretty basic photo management software it is definitely one to consider.
7. Apple Photos
Pricing: Free
If you are an Apple user, then this is a great option! Apple Photos has a lot of great features. You can easily organize by album, date, location, or their facial recognition feature. You can create slideshows or loops with your photos as well as reversing. They have a lot of good editing options and not just for photos but for videos as well. With Apple Photos, your work can easily be stored in iCloud so that you don’t take up valuable space on your personal device. Apple Photos is free and built into any Apple device. But, much like Google Photos, you will have to pay for extra iCloud storage. Luckily, their prices are reasonable, starting at just .99¢ a month.
8. Mylio
Pricing: Free
Mylio, while simple, is a great tool for organizing and storing your photos! It easily syncs pictures from all of your devices into one simple space. Once synced, you can access these photos easily on any device! If you already have many of your photos batched or in albums, Mylio will sync them onto your device so that you don’t have to waste time creating new albums. It offers basic editing and filters, and best of all – it can be used offline on any device!
9. Smart Pix Manager
Pricing: $49.95
With Smart Pix Manager, the possibilities are endless! It will automatically generate keywords from your images, making it that much easier to locate the right photo. It detects duplicates, so you don’t waste your time uploading, storing, or searching through multiples. It has a lot of great editing options – including red-eye removal. It even has an automatic resizing and conversion feature to make sharing your photos through email so much simpler! It can be a little bit difficult to navigate at first, but once you learn the system, it is a great option!
10. Zoner Photo Studio X
Pricing: $4.99/mo or $49/year
Widely regarded as the alternative to Lightroom or Photoshop, Zoner Photo Studio X is worth considering. It has excellent storage features with a sleek and simple design that makes navigating the program easy. It is great for editing photos and videos, with a lot of presets to choose from and a retouching feature to enhance all of your projects. Like most of the other programs, you can organize your media into various files and search by keywords, locations, dates, etc. Zoner Photo Studio X is always updating, so improvements and new features are constantly being added to improve your experience.
11. PicaJet
Pricing: $59.95
If you are a business owner or looking to share a program with multiple users, PicaJet is a great choice. It is designed for multi-user access, so it is perfect for group projects. It supports over 60 image file formats as well as all major video formats and will automatically backup your files to make sure that you never lose your work. It comes with great features such as Super Zoom to analyze and retouch any photo, a Hide feature for private pictures, and a rating system for your files to help you keep them organized and labeled. It is even available in over 20 languages!
12. Apowersoft Photo Viewer
Pricing: $59.95/year
With a sleek and straightforward design, Apowersoft Photo Viewer is simple and easy to navigate. It easily batches your photos for simpler converting or editing options. It doubles as a PDF viewer to easily keep all of your PDF files in one place. It has a one-touch screenshot tool that allows you to markup your photos with arrows, annotations, and other tools to assist in editing. It even provides free Cloud storage, and once downloaded, it will provide you with shareable links to send and store wherever you like.
Bottom Line
When it comes to Digital Photo Management software, it can be complicated trying to decide which option is the right one for you; some things you might want to consider are:
- Price – Finding out what fits into your budget and what features you and your team will be needing the most is a great place to start.
- Mobile – If you are often on the go or working with groups finding a program that is easy to use remotely or through a mobile app can be a deal-breaker and the thing that takes your projects and productivity to the next level.
- Media Editing – If you are going to be editing your photo and video files, choosing the right program is essential so that you can make sure that you and your team have all the tools that you need.
- Search Engines – A program with a great search engine will save you hours of time looking through your images trying to find the right photo. Choosing a software with an advanced search engine with Artificial Intelligence (AI) features, such as facial recognition, is essential for larger-scale projects.
- Wireless – A Wifi supported program is almost essential in this day and age. The ability to be able to connect and use your program from any location means that you and your team can get your projects done and meet your deadlines no matter where you are in the world!
It is pretty clear that there are many great options to choose from when it comes to digital photo management software, and any of the above would be a great asset to you, whether for personal use or for your business. If you want something simple and at low, to no cost, any of the lower-priced or free options would be a great choice; they all have advanced features that would be a valuable asset to any user. Or, if you are willing to spend a little bit more money and take the time to truly invest in your software, some of the more pricey programs would be very beneficial, and with all the great features, they will save you time and money in the long run. I suggest evaluating what you and your business need the most and aligning yourself with the right program that fits into your budget and has the right tools for you!