Photo Organizing Essentials

A reliable 5-step process to preserve and organize family photos and home movies

We take photos to remember the people, experiences, places, and memories we love. But the number one word that people use to describe their family photos is overwhelmed. Do you feel overwhelmed by your photos and phone, computer and cloud?
Instead, how would you feel if all your:
  • Physical photos including prints, slides, negatives, albums, and scrapbooks
  • Home movies including video tapes, film reels, and DVDs
  • Digital photos from your phone, camera, computer, and cloud

were sorted, searchable, shareable, and safe?

I've been scanning and organizing photos for 30 years and I'm the founder of Chaos to Memories, an expert photo organization studio. We work with clients across the US and around the world and we specialize in large and complicated photo archives.
In this course you'll learn the 5-step process we use for every project, common mistakes to avoid, and best practices to ensure success. I believe that photos capture important memories and should be organized for today and preserved for generations to come. That's why our proven process:
  • Works with any photo collection, large or small, physical or digital, recent or old
  • Doesn't lock you into one kind of software, phone, computer, or cloud
  • Relies on industry standards for dates, file formats, search, and backup

Who's this course for?

This course is accessible even to beginners, but still technically accurate and full of best practices that professionals can use. The ideal student for this course is:
  • Anybody who feels overwhelmed by their photos and doesn't know where to start
  • Professional photo organizers who need a big-picture roadmap that's based on industry standards and proven success
  • Serious photographers who feel confused by all the photo organizing courses on the market that offer conflicting advice

Course Includes

  • Almost two hours (1:43) of self-paced video training in 30 lessons
  • Photo Organizing Essentials Resource Guide (PDF)
  • Photo Management Workflow Guide (PDF)
  • Gathering Physical Photos Guide (PDF)
  • Photo Storage Best Practices Guide (PDF)
  • Gathering Home Movies Guide (PDF)
  • Video Format Conversion Table (PDF)
  • Film Estimating Guide (PDF)
  • Gathering Digital Photos Guide (PDF)
  • Downloadable transcripts for every lesson to use as reference notes (PDF)
  • Access on computer, tablet, or smart phone
  • Immediate access to all lessons with no expiration

Enjoy the the first five lessons for free and check out the course curriculum below.


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“I highly recommend this course - whether you're planning to digitize your photo/video collection yourself, a new professional photo organizer, or if you want to get it organized before hiring a pro. Succinct, easy to follow, and full of actionable steps, this course will be your North Star!”

- Marci Brennan, Owner of Past Present Pix Photo Organizing

"This course is jam packed with valuable information about gathering, organizing, and preserving photos. Adam also covers how to gather, organize, and protect your digital files. He shares so many great tips and common mistakes that you should know before beginning your own photo organizing project. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in this topic."

- Susan Wolak, Owner CEO/Founder of Save A Memory

Your Instructor


Adam Pratt
Adam Pratt

Adam Pratt loves people, photography, and a good story! He’s spent the last 30 years at the intersection of creativity and technology, including 20+ years at Adobe where he worked on the Creative Cloud team. He has experience as a photographer, book author, software trainer, and photo organizer. He’s also the founder of Chaos to Memories where he helps people enjoy their photos again by turning their photo chaos into precious memories they can enjoy and share.


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Course Curriculum


  Module 1: Introduction
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  Module 2: Gather
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  Module 3: Preserve
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  Module 4: Organize
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  Module 5: Share
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  Module 6: Maintain
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  Module 7: Conclusion
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  Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions


I'm an experienced photo organizer, so is this course still relevant to me?
Absolutely! This course is the backbone of the workflow we use at Chaos to Memories, and the perfect complement to our more advanced courses.
If I'm just getting started, is this course too advanced for me?
This is the perfect course to start with because it offers an overview of the five-step process we use on every project. It's practical and accessible, even for beginners and DIY photo organizers.
The course title is about photos, but does it also cover home movies?
Yes, this course covers physical photos, home movies, and digital photos.
What makes this course different from all the other photo organizing courses in the market?
Three things stand out. 1. I've been shooting, scanning, and organizing photos for more than 30 years, so you get to learn from my decades of real world photography experience 2. I worked at Adobe for 22+ years as an expert consultant in digital imaging workflows, so this workflow is grounded in industry standards for quality and preservation. 3. At Chaos to Memories we work with thousands of clients around the world and organize millions of photos every year, so this proven workflow is used every day by our expert staff.
Do I need to use Adobe Lightroom Classic to take this course?
I think Adobe Lightroom Classic is the best software to organize photos, but it's not required. The focus of the course is on best practices and industry standards, not software.

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