Software for browsing and indexing photos with descriptions, locations, dates, keywords etc.

[krs000a]

Hello,

I'm sorry for this long post, but I would be really thankful if someone had some suggestions for me. Here's the deal: I'm looking for a software in which I can "index" my photos -- I don't know if "indexing" is the correct term, but please read on and I'll explain:

My photos are pretty much already organized. They are all currently named in this format <year>-<month>-<day>--<hour>-<minute>-<second> (in the instances of where the exact time is not known, I have simply just put xx-xx-xx instead of the time, or when a whole series either has the wrong timestamp, but I still know the correct order the pictures were taken, I have numbered them instead of including a time).

I have also grouped each day's photos into separate folders as <year>-<month>-<day>.

So basically, my photos are already organized neatly, the problem is that it's very difficult to find a particular photo when everything is named by date / time. Therefore, I would like a software where I can import the images to, and I want to be able to label with various descriptions, information, keywords, etc, but I DON'T want the program to rearrange the way my folders are, i.e. I want the picture to remain where they are, I would just like the software to create some sort of metadata or configuration files, so while viewing the photos within the software, I can take part of this information. In detail, I would like:

- Picture descriptions -- I want to input a short description for each photo. When I later browse the photos within this software, I want these descriptions to show.

- Location -- Would be great if I could also set the location for where the picture was taken, but this is not crucial, as I could also just include this information in the picture description.

- Tag people in the photo -- sort of like the feature that is available on social media sites like Facebook. Then while browsing photos within the software, each photo should list the people who are tagged in the photos, and I can click on a name and the software will automatically pull up all pictures this person is in.

- Keywords -- I should be able to include keywords for each photo, for example "cat", "restaurant", "beach" etc, and in a similar manner as the tag system, I should be able to click on one of the keywords and browse other photos with the same keyword. Would also be great if the software had a search box where I can input any tagged person (by typing), keyword etc and browse all relevant photos.

- One important feature is, that regardless if the software uses the timestamps from the photos, I MUST be also able to manually change this date within the software, as many timestamps are not correct. Also alot of old scanned images will be used for this project, in other words photos that lack timestamps. So I must be able to set the date and timestamps manually after the program automatically uses whatever happens to be included within the image.

Now, I did try Adobe Lightroom, and while it appears to be a very powerful software, it felt just a bit too overwhelming for me, as the software does A LOT of things that I am not in need of. For example, it had so many settings for post production, etc, which I have no use for. I wish to find something a bit more basic, but still capable of doing what I want.

Do you have any suggestions? If you have no better suggestions that Adobe Lightroom, is anybody able to confirm IF Adobe Lightroom can do all of my requirements? If it can, and there are no better options available, I just have to use it. But I thought I would ask you experts if there are any other options you think I might consider.

One option I suppose would be adding a description in the filename, but it just feels like there should be a special software that can do the things I request.

It doesn't have to be a freeware software, I don't mind paying for a software if it can do the things I want.

Thanks so much for reading -- any suggestions welcomed.

 

[bent christian]

This is what Adobe Bridge exists for.

 

[Cariboo]

Search the forums first, ask your questions later. Search for DAM software, then go to each software's website & user forum to figure out which is too complicated for you? And you don't have to use all the complicated features.

 

[Russell Evans]

http://www.cdwinder.de/

http://www.cdwinder.de/en/en/en/sample_photographer.html

http://www.cdwinder.de/en/en/geotagging.html

Thank you
Russell

 

[Bobby49]

Although I use the File Information function of Adobe Photoshop for loading in lots of terms, you can do a lot with the simple file name. For wildlife, I generally enter the scientific name into File Information.

It would help to know what OS you use and what camera brand you use.

When I shoot RAW files, those transfer to my computer looking like IMG_####.CR2. Obviously, that is not very descriptive. However, within 12 hours, I have those files in the Canon DPP to get edited and saved as ABCDE######.TIF. I choose the letters to mean something to me. For example, if I shot at Yellowstone Park, the filename would look like YELL######.TIF.

Using Windows File Explorer, I can rename that to be YELL######bison.TIF or YELL######grizzly.TIF. All of those files are going to exist in a directory named Yellowstone2017, or something descriptive like that. Each directory holds no more than 6 months of images.

Now, once I have sorted out the best ones, I generally convert them into JPEG, so a new file becomes YELL######bison.JPG.

So, somewhere in the many hard disk drives, there are several versions of the .CR2 file, the .TIF file, the .JPG file, and downrezzed versions of the .JPG, just depending on what it is to be used for.

Within Windows, I can do a search for "YELL" and find a lot. I can do a search for "bison" and find a lot. I can do a search for the terms I entered in File Information (Photoshop). I can look for files according to the date range.

 

[Mystery member]

Naming the files according to Date/Time isn't efficient, considering that most of the images will have that information embedded. I'm rather attracted to the idea of searching for the text of file names using the Windows indexing system, as already mentioned.

For my stuff, I retain the default names as applied by the camera, and save images in "Project" folders, such as "Melbourne 2013". The viewing program that I use is Picasa, and the images are cataloged according to Year and Project.

 

[Nick Payne]

I've been using ThumbsPlus for this purpose for many years. http://www.cerious.com/

 

[Nic Planarchy]

I can confirm that Lightroom will do all the things you list.

 

[krs000a]

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. Now I have some different software and options to look into and see which suits me best.

 

[Glen Barrington]

It does everything you asked for.

 

[Steve Bingham]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

 

[bent christian]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

 

[Patco]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

Yes, and Bridge CC is available here:

https://www.adobe.com/products/bridge.html

It is a separate download from PS CC, and apparently available to anyone for free, whether or not any other Adobe CC applications are installed. I haven't installed it myself, though, so I'm just going by what I've read at several sites, including some Adobe forum posts.

 

[Steve Bingham]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

I guess we disagree. As a retired teaching photography pro (of some 50 years - see my bio) I still know many full time pros. Lightroom was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) serious photos that needed cataloguing. Bridge and Lightroom do NOT have the same filing capabilities. They do, however, use the same raw conversion engine - or at least one that is very close. As a user, and beta tester, I have been using Photoshop for some 24+ years. I think I know the system.

Actually, Bridge is NOT free. It is part of the Photoshop package that must be paid for. Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 is the current version

 

[bent christian]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

I guess we disagree. As a retired teaching photography pro (of some 50 years - see my bio) I still know many full time pros. Lightroom was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) serious photos that needed cataloguing. Bridge and Lightroom do NOT have the same filing capabilities. They do, however, use the same raw conversion engine - or at least one that is very close. As a user, and beta tester, I have been using Photoshop for some 24+ years. I think I know the system.

Actually, Bridge is NOT free. It is part of the Photoshop package that must be paid for. Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 is the current version

Was teaching a paid gig for you? Hope not.

Back in 2005, Adobe bridge was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) files of various types that needed cataloging and meta data attached for search. This was long before Lightroom existed. It still works very well as an asset management system today. I use it all the time for batch file renaming of various file types on my Windows machine.

Adobe Bridge is free. It needs to be downloaded as a standalone application .

 

[Steve Bingham]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

Yes, and Bridge CC is available here:

https://www.adobe.com/products/bridge.html

Trial downloads are free . . . do you like trial software?

It is a separate download from PS CC, and apparently available to anyone for free, whether or not any other Adobe CC applications are installed. I haven't installed it myself, though, so I'm just going by what I've read at several sites, including some Adobe forum posts.

 

[Steve Bingham]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

I guess we disagree. As a retired teaching photography pro (of some 50 years - see my bio) I still know many full time pros. Lightroom was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) serious photos that needed cataloguing. Bridge and Lightroom do NOT have the same filing capabilities. They do, however, use the same raw conversion engine - or at least one that is very close. As a user, and beta tester, I have been using Photoshop for some 24+ years. I think I know the system.

Actually, Bridge is NOT free. It is part of the Photoshop package that must be paid for. Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 is the current version

Was teaching a paid gig for you? Hope not.

Actually if you read my bio you would see it was! I live very handsomely on my retirement.

Back in 2005, Adobe bridge was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) files of various types that needed cataloging and meta data attached for search. This was long before Lightroom existed. It still works very well as an asset management system today. I use it all the time for batch file renaming of various file types on my Windows machine.

Adobe Bridge is free. It needs to be downloaded as a standalone application .

I believe this is a TRIAL version, but I could be wrong as I have always used it with Photoshop.

 

[Patco]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

Yes, and Bridge CC is available here:

https://www.adobe.com/products/bridge.html

Trial downloads are free . . . do you like trial software?

It's not trial software, Steve

It is a separate download from PS CC, and apparently available to anyone for free, whether or not any other Adobe CC applications are installed. I haven't installed it myself, though, so I'm just going by what I've read at several sites, including some Adobe forum posts.

--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels

--
Steve Bingham
www.dustylens.com
www.ghost-town-photography.com
Latest postings are always at the bottom of each page.

--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels

 

[edispics]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

I guess we disagree. As a retired teaching photography pro (of some 50 years - see my bio) I still know many full time pros. Lightroom was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) serious photos that needed cataloguing. Bridge and Lightroom do NOT have the same filing capabilities. They do, however, use the same raw conversion engine - or at least one that is very close. As a user, and beta tester, I have been using Photoshop for some 24+ years. I think I know the system.

Actually, Bridge is NOT free. It is part of the Photoshop package that must be paid for. Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 is the current version

Was teaching a paid gig for you? Hope not.

Actually if you read my bio you would see it was! I live very handsomely on my retirement.

Back in 2005, Adobe bridge was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) files of various types that needed cataloging and meta data attached for search. This was long before Lightroom existed. It still works very well as an asset management system today. I use it all the time for batch file renaming of various file types on my Windows machine.

Adobe Bridge is free. It needs to be downloaded as a standalone application .

I believe this is a TRIAL version, but I could be wrong as I have always used it with Photoshop.

 

[Steve Bingham]

Two popular choices. Bridge which comes with Photoshop CC. Lightroom which does a better job in terms of being more complex.

I use Bridge, although my CC subscription also includes Lightroom. Why? I consider Bridge to be sufficient for my needs. Lightroom, on the other hand, was designed for the serious pro photographer's filing needs. Your call. I suspect Bridge might be all you need based on your explanation.

I am pretty sure that Lightroom and Bridge have all the same filing capabilities. Lightroom is basically the Bridge and ACR engines combined into one application. Bridge is designed to be used with all Adobe applications, so it might have other features that Lightroom does not. If anything Bridge is more powerful where filing needs exist, not less. It is designed for use by all professionals who use Adobe software. Also, it is FREE.

I guess we disagree. As a retired teaching photography pro (of some 50 years - see my bio) I still know many full time pros. Lightroom was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) serious photos that needed cataloguing. Bridge and Lightroom do NOT have the same filing capabilities. They do, however, use the same raw conversion engine - or at least one that is very close. As a user, and beta tester, I have been using Photoshop for some 24+ years. I think I know the system.

Actually, Bridge is NOT free. It is part of the Photoshop package that must be paid for. Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 is the current version

Was teaching a paid gig for you? Hope not.

Actually if you read my bio you would see it was! I live very handsomely on my retirement.

Back in 2005, Adobe bridge was originally designed to be a filing system for serious pros who had 100,000 to 500,000 (sometimes more) files of various types that needed cataloging and meta data attached for search. This was long before Lightroom existed. It still works very well as an asset management system today. I use it all the time for batch file renaming of various file types on my Windows machine.

Adobe Bridge is free. It needs to be downloaded as a standalone application .

I believe this is a TRIAL version, but I could be wrong as I have always used it with Photoshop.