Client Profile:
A busy executive approached Neat Freak with a significant photo organization project. He and his wife travel extensively, have lived in numerous countries, and have a large circle of family and close friends. His goal was to reduce the physical footprint of a lifetime of photographs and have easier access to the images digitally.
Project Summary:
27 large totes with photo albums, scrapbooks, loose photos, photo boxes, framed photos, negatives, and memorabilia filled an office. The collection spanned 60+ years and involved numerous families, trips, homes, and special occasions. The goal was to create digital photo albums that could easily be sorted and viewed on a computer. Photos were removed from albums, sorted and categorized, scanned and then loaded on a computer in digital format.
Challenges:
- 30,000+ photographs in multiple sizes and mediums
- Identifying locations, dates, and individuals in photos based purely on information in/on photographs with limited client input
Solutions:
- Project plan defining the final interaction the client would have with photos on the computer and working with that end result in mind
- Detailed database and family tree to aid in identification
- Workflow for processing large volume of photos in multiple formats
- Detailed date-oriented categorization process allowing for additional photos to be added and organized over time
Products and services used:
Neat Freak provided all operational elements and full confidentiality during the project. We used a nationally recognized photo scanning service. All original photos were cataloged and returned for archiving and images were on DVDs ready to be loaded. Neat Freak then loaded all DVDs onto an Apple laptop and created digital photo albums using client-approved labeling conventions to assist the executive and his family so they could easily access the archives.
Why Neat Freak was right for the job:
Entrusting the Neat Freak team with a lifetime of photos is something we don’t take lightly. And while sorting through 30,000+ photos would be overwhelming for most, we enjoy a challenge and always strive to create a system that gives the client exactly what they want. This project allowed us to tap into our inner “Nancy Drew” and create a working database of dates, times, locations and special people to provide an enjoyable, and manageable way to interact with photos. Collaborating on this project brought two brains to the table and we shared numerous “high five moments” when we made an identification breakthrough. This kept us enthusiastic about the project and was a perfect example of how Neat Freak can turn chaos into order!