Page 11 - ISI_181_AprilMay

APRIL | MAY 2022 • IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT
Manage Your Photo Collection
BY BOB DELAURENTIS
(SENIOR WIRE) Shoebox storage has been
good enough for family photos for gener-
ations. Then came the explosion of digital
photography and smartphone cameras in
our pockets.
When the iPhone debuted in 2007, its
camera seemed like an afterthought. The
image quality was poor, and photo storage
software for family photos did not exist.
What a difference a decade makes.
Today smartphone cameras rival
top-quality pro gear. They generate gigabytes
of data, and they come with ready-made
solutions for organizing a digital shoebox
with 50,000 of your favorite images.
Because photo management software
has evolved slowly over the last decade,
you may need to rescue photos from older
devices. And although newer devices are
bundled with photo management tools, they
may not be set up for maximum advantage.
The key to a good digital shoebox is that
it stores all your photos in one place. That
should be your first goal.
The three best choices for digital shoe-
boxes are Apple Photo Library, Google
Photos, and Adobe Lightroom CC (Creative
Cloud). The cloud options built into these
tools are so useful, they should be a key part
of your workflow whenever possible.
Apple iCloud Photo Library is the best
choice for most people. It requires at least
one Apple device, and there is a mod-
est monthly fee for online storage space.
However, once established, you can upload
photos from just about any device, including
Android. You can also upload photos from
any Mac or Windows computer. Log into
your iCloud account with a Web browser to
upload files.
Google Photos is also excellent, but
it requires an always-on Internet con-
nection. On the plus side, it may be less
expensive for larger collections, and it
46 Soul, to Sartre
47 Polar parka
50 Passionate about
51 Winona of “Stranger Things”
53 Brings good luck to
55 Taunt
58 Drone or worker
59 If Tomlin came from San Fernando, she
might be called __
67 Trim, as a photo
68 Dry forecast
69 Religious doctrine
70 Credit card balance, say
71 Benchmarks: Abbr.
72 Jerk or twitch
DOWN
1 JFK’s successor
2 Nest egg initials
3 Flickable lighter
4 Go on and on
5 Kitchen allure
The key to a good digital shoebox is that it stores all
your photos in one place. © Scanrail, Bigstock.com.
can also accept photos from Android,
Windows, and Apple devices.
Adobe Lightroom CC is a bit more com-
plex and may be a bit more expensive in
the long term.
Less useful than photo management
tools, cloud services like Dropbox and Google
Drive can also be helpful. Especially when
copying the photos off of older devices.
But if the cloud is not an option, tradi-
tional alternatives such as an external disk
drive, a USB jump drive, or a computer, are
your only choices.
Unfortunately, the older the device,
the more challenging it can be to copy the
photos off of it. If a device is old enough,
you may need expert assistance.
With all the possible combinations of
hardware and software, you may need to
try a few different approaches to find one
that works for you.
If you have access to a Mac, try attaching
it to the device with an appropriate cable. All
Macs have an app named “Image Capture”
already installed that may recognize the
device and offer to move the images onto
the Mac.
In that case, the only other thing you
will need is enough storage space. I rec-
ommend using an external hard drive or a
6 Samuel Barber’s “__ for Strings”
7 Cyberchortle
8 Web addresses
9 Subject with numbers
10 Georgia or Washington
11 Pot cover
12 It may be blonde or pale
13 “Roundabout” rockers with a positive name
18 Word before hand or land
19 Capitol feature
22 Cave hanger
23 Plato’s school, with “the”
24 Paid back, as a purchase incentive
25 Tweezer targets
26 Whirlybirds
28 Realizes, as a goal
29 Entertains with a bedtime story
30 Give in to gravity
33 Recital rebuke
34 Flower bed tool
37 Province on four Great Lakes
39 Spooky
hOME & LIFESTYLE PAGE 11
large USB jump drive to store the images.
Image Capture will permit you to choose a
destination folder for the images it copies.
If you have access to a Windows computer,
try the File Explorer or Windows Explorer app
to copy the images off of the device.
The point is that mixing and matching
device types can work. Most devices will con-
nect with both Mac and Windows computers.
Without a cloud connection or a computer,
the options narrow sharply. The latest iPhone
and iPad models can use a standard USB drive
to move files between them, but most older
models do not. For older iOS devices, consider
SanDisk iXpand drives.
Android models are more flexible
when moving files, although moving from
Android to iPhone or iPad will require Wi-Fi
networking and Apple’s “Move to Android”
app from the Google Play Store.
PhotoStick (along with its counterpart
PhotoStick Mobile) is a specialized USB
jump drive that will search the storage of
the target device and automatically copy all
the images it finds.
This approach makes it very simple to use,
but there is always a chance it will not find
all the images. Do not assume it will work
perfectly. You won’t see any error messages
if it skips an image. It will be up to you to
confirm your image collection is complete.
I want to leave you with a few words of
encouragement amid these many options
and cautions. Few things are more precious
than family photos. This should be a one-
time project. It will take time and expense to
set up your digital shoebox, but once you’ve
completed the setup, you’ll find plenty of
benefits. Your photos will be searchable,
backed up automatically, and easy to share
via email and social media.
Perhaps best of all, they will protect your
memories for future generations. ISI
Bob has been writing about technology for over three
decades and is currently developing an educational app.
He can be contacted at [email protected].
41 Bass ending
42 Pendulum direction?
43 Links standard
45 Seemingly forever
48 Orange-yellow gemstones
49 Ukraine’s capital
52 The Nile runs through it
54 Detectives’ aids
56 Bosom buds, in texts
57 Nouveau-Mexique, par exemple
59 TV screen type
60 Fury
61 Easy throw
62 Laid low
63 Cut (off)
64 JFK alternative
65 Maximum borders?
66 Oft-candied veggie
© 2021 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.