Pictures: Organizing – Viewing – Sharing
I deal with a lot of picture files (my library is currently 5000 pics and growing) and I like having easy ways to view and organize my pictures on my computer. I also like being able to share my pictures with others via online services. Here is a quick rundown of what I use on my Mac and PC and maybe it will help others looking for similar solutions.
PC:
For viewing photos, I use IrfanView and it is the photo viewer I compare all others too (make sure to install the plugins as well). With IrfanView, there won’t a single type of photo you won’t be able to view. It also has some basic editing ability and allows thumbnail browsing of directories. Good slideshow options as well. I organize photos on my PC in basic directories since they are truly organized and maintained already on my Mac.
I have tried and recommend Picasa for organizing photos on your PC. It does an excellent job of viewing and organizing your photos on your PC. It also should handle all the viewing and organizing you’ll need.
Mac:
For organizing photos, I use iPhoto. Think of it as iTunes for photos. It handles large amounts of photos and allows many options for organizing. I also use the Keyword Assistant plugin and the FlickrExport plugin with iPhoto to make “tagging” and uploading to Flickr easier.
For viewing images, Preview works well, but I prefer Xee and Phoenix Slides for browsing and viewing images that aren’t in iPhoto. It’s the closest to IrfanView that I’ve been able to find for the Mac.
Sharing:
I recommend 2 services for sharing and it will depend on your tastes and what you have setup already on which you would prefer. I would suggest either Flickr or Picasa Web Albums for sharing photos online.
I personally prefer Flickr as a more robust and feature rich service, but Picasa Web Albums has some advantages due to its simpler functions. Obviously Picasa Web Albums is built into the Picasa program (and for Mac you can use the Picasa Uploader) so that makes it easy to use from that program. Flickr has many free tools for uploading and LOTS of third party uses and functionality that Picasa Web Albums does not have – which can make it either a better or worse choice depending on your needs.
That’s the quick and dirty. All of the options presented are free (except for FlickrExport plugin but the official upload tools for Flickr are free) which makes it all that much easier to try out these different options.
Seriously… IrfanView on the PC is freakin’ awesome. I wish they made it for Mac.
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