Old family photos in the cloud: how do you organize and back them up for the long haul

Keep a simple folder plan you can maintain and embed info into the files so it survives app changes. Create two top-level folders: Masters and Edits. In Masters, keep original scans at full resolution and a stable structure like 1970s/1978/1978-08 Lake Trip, with filenames 1978-08 Lake Trip - 001.jpg. If the exact day is unknown, do not invent one. Put your best precision in the filename and write "Circa Aug 1978" in the Description field rather than trying to use 00 for days because some apps break on that. Scan the back of any photo with notes and save as a paired file with -back and then copy the text into the Caption/Description.

Enter metadata into standard fields so it travels: EXIF DateTimeOriginal for date, IPTC Title for a short label, IPTC Description for the story, IPTC Person Shown and Keywords for people, and Location if you know it. Free tools like XnView MP or digiKam can batch write those tags and then batch rename files from the metadata. Face tagging in Apple Photos or Google Photos is fine for discovery, but also write the names into Keywords so the tags stay with the files, and keep a simple people.csv mapping faces to full names as a belt and suspenders. For backups, follow 3-2-1: keep your cloud library plus two external drives mirrored with a tool like FreeFileSync or rsync, store one drive at a family member's house, and encrypt them with FileVault or BitLocker. Generate checksums once for the Masters folder and verify annually so you catch bit rot early. I use SHA-256 and a file named checksums.txt next to each folder. For sharing, export an album as JPEG sRGB with embedded metadata and include a small readme text file listing the who and where. That way if you someday move clouds, the context goes with the pictures.

Future You will not thank Past You for keeping IMG_003. Batch-rename to YYYY-MM-Event-### and put the real stuff in metadata, not file names. Write DateOriginal, people as Keywords, and a short Caption. for unknowns use mid-year or mid-month and add circa in the caption. Pick one spelling per person and a simple Person|Family style so searches never miss. Follow 3-2-1 backups: main library, a local clone on an external and and your cloud, with the second external kept offsite and swapped every quarter. Use tools that write to files or XMP so your tags survive app hopping, and only share albums after captions are embedded.

Use decade folders with YYYY-MM subfolders and filenames YYYY-MM-Event-###. Fill EXIF DateOriginal, IPTC Keywords for people, and Caption for notes, using circa with mid-year dates when unknown. Do 3-2-1 backups with a versioned cloud, a primary drive, and a second external stored elsewhere. Share via cloud albums and export with metadata embedded or XMP.

Oh sure, because nothing says 'fun weekend' like renaming files until your eyes cross. Go with your decade folders, but slap on metadata tags for people and places right away - use something like Adobe Bridge if you're feeling fancy, saves headaches later. For backups, cloud is fine but mirror it on two external drives stored in different spots. one fire and poof, grandma's wedding is gone. Sharing? Google Photos albums work, just set permissions so Aunt Karen doesn't delete everything by accident. And for dates, cross-reference with old calendars or family stories - better than guessing. Pro tip: automate what you can with scripts, or you'll quit by photo 50.

I organize by year folders with subfolders for events, naming files as YYYY-MM-event-description-number. Add EXIF metadata for dates and tags using free tools like ExifTool. Backup to local NAS, external HDD, and cloud services like Backblaze for redundancy.

Yeah, sounds like a blast. my photos are still rotting in a drawer somewhere.