So you got your folders organized? You have given your photofiles a name that does make sense (to you)? And you are still not able to find this very special shot that you made several years ago? Start using keywords….. Many programs that act as photo library offer the option to set keywords or labels to you photos. So start using this option and it will make your life a lot easier. Personally I use Adobe Lightroom which offers to set keywords, but there are other programs available that you can use. An other program I have used is Picasa, this program uses labels, which is almost similar to keywords. Just search for ‘photo library software’ on google and I’m sure you will find many options. (a page with a big collection that i found: click here) When you are using a library program that offers the option the add keywords make sure that you are using keywords that make sense to you. Yes I know that I am repeating myself, but maintaining a library all comes down to setting up a system that does make sense. So pick your keywords (or labels) carefully. I’ll give you an example: If you make a close-up serie of flowers, let say red roses. You could use the keywords, roses, red, flower, close-up. This should be enough. If you add words like nature or garden it wouldn’t harm, but if you start to add more keywords, it might get confussing. So don’t start giving a full description of your red roses in your keyword list. Okay I do hope these articles will help you to get your library organized and give you the overview you need. Good luck with it. previous: “Organizing your photos (part 2)”