What Is A Photo Manager?

Photo Managers didn’t exist a couple of decades ago, but the way we take and view photos has changed drastically in recent years too. I’m old enough to remember buying a roll of 24-exposure film, carefully choosing which 24 photos to take, then bringing that film to the drugstore to be developed. Later, we’d pick up the envelope of printed photos and flip through them hopefully, inevitably finding a few that were unusable with thumbs in front of the lens, closed eyes, or lighting issues. If we were lucky, that roll of 24-exposure film would yield 15 - 18 usable photos.

Fast forward to the smartphone era, and many of us take at least a dozen photos a day including screenshots, photos of meals, or a series of 20 shots of the dog doing something cute. Having powerful cameras in the palm of our hands is amazing, but often we snap pics willy-nilly and then forget to go back later to delete the duds, edit the good ones, and organize them. Before you know it, you’ve got camera roll chaos. It’s possible to manage this chaos yourself, but you belong out in the world making new memories, not at home sorting through your old ones. A trusted photo manager can help control the chaos and preserve your best photos so they can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Why Do People Hire a Photo Manager?

People hire a Photo Manager for the same reason they hire other service professionals like a personal trainer, a contractor, or an interior decorator — because they lack either the desire, time, technical knowledge, or equipment to do the project themselves.

Of course you could organize your own photos, but do you want to? When will you do it? And how will you do it? If you those questions throw you for a loop, you might benefit from hiring a photo manager so you can finally check “organize photos” off your to-do list!

Who Do Photo Managers Help?

Just about anyone can benefit from getting their photos organized and safely backed up, but here are just some examples of how a photo manager can help:

• You’re a busy parent of even busier teens – You’ve snapped dozens of photos per week of games, recitals, and concerts since your kids were little, and now have approximately one bajillion photos on your camera roll. You likely also have older photos you can no longer easily access because of the rapid change in digital technology over the past couple of decades — they’re stuck on outdated media like CDs, memory cards, external hard drives, etc. A Photo Manager will gather all of your photos from all sources, then combine them into one collection that is organized, searchable, and shareable and help you decide the best place to store and backup your photos. A Photo Manager can also create photo books and slideshows for those upcoming graduation celebrations that will be happening before you know it.

• You’re a mom with young kids — You have kids elementary-aged and younger and in addition to photos, you are overwhelmed with kids’ art projects and other keepsakes. It feels wrong to toss them in the trash, but they’re also too large, awkwardly shaped, and plentiful to store for years. A photo manager can help digitize the art and keepsakes, then create photo books and other products to view and enjoy the masterpieces easily. Also a photo manager can use your photos to design a family yearbook — a photo book of family memories from the past year.

• You’re going through a family separation or forming a blended family — Among the sensitive details to work through in a family separation is the question of who gets custody of the photos. Every family situation is unique, but often both parents want access to pictures of the kids and dividing a photo library can be a daunting task. A Photo Manager can help digitize old baby photos and other media so both parents can have a copy of past memories, organize and duplicate a digital photo library, and also setup a digital photo sharing system that allows parents in separate households to share photos of the children with each other going forward while maintaining the overall separation and privacy of each household. 

• You hate technology and it hates you back – Maybe you’ve mastered the basics of digital life, but sometimes have the urge to throw your phone in frustration when issues arise like pop-up alerts about full camera roll storage or syncing errors. What’s the best cloud storage option?? What is a .heic file and why can’t you open it?? Why is your storage always full?? If you get a new phone, will you lose your photos?? A Photo Manager can explain it all,  recommend best practices, and implement solutions for you. It’s kind of like having your own personal help desk for your photos. 

• You have aging parents – Watching our parents age often creates a sense of urgency to digitize old family photos, slides, films, and other media. A Photo Manager can help with digitization of old memories, and also help you decide on the best method of storage that preserves your memories and simplifies sharing with extended family near and far. Using modern tools, we can record audio of your parents telling the stories behind stories, link it to a QR code, and then produce a photo book featuring both the photos and the QR code you can scan while viewing to hear the stories in your parent’s own words.

How Do Photo Managers Work With Clients?

Photo managers can work with their clients in person or remotely. After an initial meeting to gather photos and talk about project goals, most of the work can be done without the client present. That means your photo project will be off of your plate so you can focus on other things and let your photo manager work her magic.

If you’d like more information on photo managers, check out The Photo Managers (TPM). TPM is a professional organization of photo managers nationwide. They provide training and networking opportunities for photo managers across the globe as well as information for the general public on organizing your photo collection.