We love options. Which is probably why we edit our photos with a million different filters, exposure settings and sharpening tools, then save every single iteration to our camera roll. Except—shoot—now we have (gulp) over 6,000 photos, and our iPhone’s “iCloud storage full” messages are really getting annoying. Here, four tips for keeping the photos on your phone organized. (Because, c’mon, you’ve been meaning to do it for months.)
The Best Tips for Keeping the Photos on Your Phone Organized
Sort, Delete And Favorite Right Away
Train yourself to whittle down your photos right after an event or—ahem—latte photo shoot. So you took 17 pics of your coffee to achieve the right light for Insta? Don’t hold on to all of them. Toss the ones that don’t work and favorite the best one right away instead of trying to tackle 200 photos from the month in one big batch.
Create Albums On Your Phone
Create albums that live on your iPhone so you can easily sort into categories while on the go. Since iPhone sorts only by date and location, having a “Trips with Bae” album will make it easier for you to find that shot from your last couples’ getaway quickly and easily and also make editing down your camera roll more of a breeze in the future once everything is organized into distinct categories.
Back Up Your Phone Often
The best way to keep the memories but still save storage on your phone? Backing them up to your computer, cloud (we love Google Photos) or external hard drive. That means you can delete whatever you want since you have another copy—ya know, just in case you accidentally get rid of that perfect vacation #TBT you meant to save for a rainy day.
Use An App To Print Your Favorites
Having an app at the ready (like Chatbooks) to immediately send your favorites off to print instead of trying to wade through all 6,000 for a new gallery wall can take the stress out of saving (and framing) your dearest memories.