A Practical File-Naming System for Family Photos
By ImgHeal
Make sources and restored copies easy to identify without inventing dates.
Assign a stable identifier
Give each photograph a short unique identifier, such as family-0042. Add descriptive words only after that identifier. Names and dates can be corrected later while the stable identifier continues to connect the scan, back inscription, and edited versions.
Separate fact from estimate
Use unknown-date or circa-1950 when the year is uncertain. Do not let the scan date become the photograph's event date. Keep longer notes in an index with columns for identifier, people, location, estimated date, and the person who supplied each detail.
Name versions clearly
Use suffixes such as source, restored-v1, and colorized-v1. Avoid labels like final-final that do not explain what changed. Send copies from a sharing folder and keep the source folder protected from accidental overwrites.
Before you finish
- Assign one identifier per photograph.
- Label uncertain dates explicitly.
- Use clear version suffixes.
Further reading
- National Archives: Digitizing Family Papers and PhotographsGuidance on careful digitization, file organization, metadata, and backups.
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