Every parent has that moment, or will, when they notice that their kid has become an adult. You were so wrapped up in the journey that you missed the arrival. A few weeks ago I returned from the 2023 Photo Managers Conference in Orlando and felt smacked by the same discovery.

When I was a young man, I remembered every movie I’d ever seen. Places I’d been. Restaurants enjoyed. People met. My photos were mostly a creative exercise, like a journal full of detail and consideration rather than documents of time and place. I lived in the fantasy that my photos were incidental to the journey.

These days, a professional photo session generally includes a flash drive or download of the image files from the shoot. That can be just a couple photos for a head shot to hundreds of photos for a big event like a wedding or reunion.

Sadly, too many of those precious photos end up languishing on a flash drive in a drawer or in an online gallery that doesn’t get a second or third look. And if they are downloaded, the images may be saved in some obscure folder on the hard drive that rarely sees the light of day. But what’s worse than not being enjoyed is the real risk of losing those special photos altogether.

When people reach out for help with their pictures, the conversation always starts with their number. The takeaway is that there is no right or wrong number for the images in your Photos LIbrary. If you are overwhelmed by the state of your collection, it’s not the overall number that’s causing the frustration but is more likely the result. Adjusting your point of view about photo management and understanding what all the numbers mean will deliver a happier outcome.

Want a sure-fire/first class/award-winning Mom experience for Mother’s Day? For you or for the Moms in your life?

Here’s what you do.

How do you keep your workplace/remodeling/physical therapy/window treatment/shopping reminder/dinged bumper pictures from cluttering up your Photos Library?

The thing about deleting pictures from your Photos Library is that they’re gone. I know. That seems stupidly obvious and not worthy of a 5 minute read.

One of the great things about Apple products is that Key Commands are consistent across the macOS and apps. With practice, key commands are much faster than using a mouse and have been a professional trick for decades.

Nothing will teach you more about the photos you create than a daily “take-out-the-trash” routine. Not only will it help you stay ahead of clutter overwhelm, but you’ll start to see the photos that work and the ones that don’t so much.

Yesterday we discussed the possibility that your Mac is actually functioning fine, it's just stuffed. Fortunately, it's not that hard to fix.

Once or twice a month I get a call from someone who wants advice on buying a new Mac. It's fun. I love helping people who are excited about the Apple ecosystem and want to find ways to take their Apple experience to the next level.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPod in 2001, he said it all by offering to deliver "1000 songs in your pocket." It was the promise of unlimited music at your fingertips, anywhere you were, all the time. And it launched the experience of mobile media.

When I was somewhat younger than now, I tended to leave all my clothes where they fell, thinking, I suppose, that my house elf would fold and stash them away in my bedroom closet and chest of drawers.