...in the end, photographs need a lot of care. I hope it is you who said this.

What is digital asset management apart from a buzz word? Digital Asset Management (DAM) refers to every part of the process that follows the taking of the picture, through final output and permanent storage. Anyone who shoots, scans or stores digital photographs is practicing some form of DAM, but most of us are not doing so systematically or efficiently. We present a tool, a plan and practical advice on how to file, find, protect and re-use photographs, focusing on best practices for digital photographers using digiKam.

Can you find your digital photographs when you need them, or do you spend more time sifting through your hard drive and file cabinets than you would like? Do you have a systematic approach for assigning and tracking content data on your photos? If you make a living as a photographer, do your images bear your copyright and contact information, or do they circulate in the marketplace unprotected? Do you want your future grandchildren admire your photographs you have taken yesterday? How to prepare to change your computer, your hard disk, the software, the operating system and still manage to find your pictures?

We try to answer all those questions. But let's take them one-by-one.