Root folder structure...

[kovacj]

Got the book mid-last week and about half way through* - i.e. I'm at the "little bit of knowledge = much danger" phase.

My first task will be to create both the root RAW and derivative folders and start making and filling buckets.  Any suggestions on what a good root file structure would be?

Being an amateur (at best) photographer, I don't have quite the volume of images that a pro would have to deal with, so everything will easily fit on a single HDD*.  Would it be better to partition my drive into two logical disks (i.e. one for RAW and one for derivatives)? or should I go with a RAW and derivative folder off the root on the single disk?  i.e.
option 1:   E: drive = RAW and F: drive = derivative files
option 2:   E:\RAW\buckets and E:\derivative\buckets
option 3:   ??

* actually a couple of dedicated data storage internal HDDs in a RAID level 1 config

I find that in my current aggregation of miscellaneous archiving strategies (soon to be deprecated), I spend too much time on navigation when editing images (i.e. Photoshop->File>Save...->far too many mouse clicks to find the folder where I want the image saved->OK).  Is there a structure that's better in terms of minimizing the amount of navigation required?

Thanks in advance,
Jarek

PS  Peter - great book BTW, this subject is all about the details and you've done a terrific job..

[peterkrogh]

Jarek,
If you don't have a huge number of files, then you could go either way.  I like the idea of a volume for each (RAW and Derivative). 

By saving new versions into the most recent bucket, you will reduce your navigation time, I expect.

As for finding stuff, as I suggest in the book, if you use DAM software, it can be done much more easily.

Peter