dpbestflow.org

Anyone who takes photography seriously must visit this site.

I first learned about DAM (digital asset management) when I was a full-time art director and part time photographer. One of the architectural photographers I worked with on large hotel photoshoots sent it to me, half-joking that it was required reading for the next shoot.

The book, by Peter Krogh, was eye-opening to me. This was pre- Adobe Lightroom and Aperture days. File formats were constantly changing and becoming obsolete. Keeping up with the technology, let alone the gbs of data was more than challenging. Peter was one of the first to outline the new photography workflow, from image capture to final archiving, in a way that made sense.

Fast forward to this evening, 11 November 2009.

Tonight I attended the roll-out of dpbestflow.org with its contributors, visionaries, and creators present for the celebration. Live demonstrations showed just how easy it is to navigate this comprehensive site to find the information you need.

(This event was one more check-mark in the 'reasons to join ASMP' column. It is ground-breaking work that will benefit every photographer.)

For two years, ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) has been working in tandem with the Library of Congress (both collaboration and funding) on defining, fine-tuning, and streamlining digital photography best practices and workflow.

This site will show you how to efficiently manage, protect, and preserve your ever-growing digital library. From software to hardware and the habits necessary to each, dpbestflow.org will bring your organizational skills (and professionalism) to a new level.

Seriously, check it out.

And if you don't already belong, check out asmp.org as well.