It happens more than you would like to think; getting an image with a generic or automatic name on it. We’ll receive images with  names like aerialphoto.jpg or even worse, the name assigned in camera. With a consistent renaming system, it will be easier to find photos and identify them for you and your clients. 

Here are three little things that make a big difference

1. 1. Have a consistent naming system using a date, descriptive and sequenced numbers. The date is so important in our company, but it doesn’t have to be exact, even Aug2016 works. The description is up to you; names, places, events all work. Just keep it short. And a simple 001 , 002, 003 sequence is all that is needed.
   2. Use a program like Adobe Bridge or Lightroom to rename and do edits. There are several free programs online that will also do batch renaming or editing. 
   3. Set up a folder system with dates and descriptives as well. Again, we use dates on all of our folders as well as client’s names. With my personal work, I have everything broken into months; Jan, Feb, March.

Once you set up a system, you may need to tweak it but don’t reinvent the wheel everytime you ingest your images.

A sample of how we rename images. They are kept in chronological order.