Contributed by Info Guru Terri Wallace

The availability of cameras—on iPods, cell phones, and computers—means that people are taking more photographs than ever before.

The abundance of images creates a conundrum, however—how to organize the photos that are amassed. Fortunately, there are plenty of photo organization systems, as well as a plethora of ways to categorize photos, for ease of retrieval.

10. Wall Collage

A method of photo organization that doubles as a decorative piece is the wall collage. Group together photos by subject, size, or aesthetic aspect (such as all black and white photos) and show off your artistic expression while you keep your photos organized and visually appealing.

9. Photo Box

One way to organize photos for long term for long term storage, or for larger photo collections, is through the use of archival quality photo boxes. These photo-safe storage boxes allow images to be preserved and boxed according to date, event, subject, or dimensions in order to allow you to quickly locate just the right image.

8. Photo Album

A good quality photo album is the classic method for maintaining a photo collection that can be easily viewed and shared. Photo albums are useful for keeping chronological records of photos, or for creating a special album for each milestone event. Photo albums can also be personalized with monograms for a timeless gift.

7. Scrapbooks

Like photo albums, scraps books can be used to memorialize important events; however, scrapbooks also allow photos to be organized along with other items, such as letters, programs, or decorative papers and stickers that help create a keepsake to pass on to future generations. Scrapbooking is a popular pass time that allows for pictures and artistic expression to work together to create expressive representations of life events.

6. Electronic Storage

Digital photos can be organized in their electronic format by storing the files on a flash drive, CD, or on the cloud. Digital files can be easily shared and backed up to ensure their availability in the future. It is a good practice to create electronic back up files for all physical images that you wish to preserve.

5. Organize by Common Component

A less often utilized method of organization is the storage of material based on a common component. For example, pictures can be grouped together based on the presence of a common color, a shared background, or other likeness.

4. Organize by Size

Larger photos are easily organized in acid free folders that protect the photos from environmental factors. By storing photos by size, it is easy to find images to fill spaces based on their dimensions.

3. Organize by Subject Matter

Another easy way to storage photos for easy retrieval is to classify the photos by subject matter. For example, all photos of an individual family member can be grouped together, all images of that special vacation in Scotland can be kept together, and all pictures of your great-aunt Margaret can be stored together.

2. Organize by Date

Chronological classification of photos might be the most popular way to classify photos. This approach makes sense for images for which specific dates or occasions might be of particular importance. For example, you might wish to be able to quickly locate a photograph of an individual at a certain age, or a specific holiday. Chronological classification photo albums of pictures enables easy retrieval of date sensitive material.

1. Organize by Event

Milestone classification of images is another easy and popular classification method that is less rigid than the date method. Organization of photos by specific events, such as “Trip to Wales” rather than “October 23, 2013,” allows for photos to be grouped together to cover a span of time, rather than one specific date.