primarily i have one folder, Photography ..
in the main folder I keep year folders - photo_2010, photo_2009, photo_2008 and my newest folder - photo_2011
in the year folders i have 2 folders - time & money .. the time folder is family, as in family time - also, not to be confused with the 'Home' folder .. and the money folder because - these folders make money ..
so, in the money folder i have a work folder and a krow folder .. work folder has all my 'day' job, office pictures .. the krow folder is my freelance folder .. the money folder is also where i keep my references folder ..
so, inside each of the 2 folders, work & krow, i keep 2 more folders:
1 - event folder - whether it was a party, a grand opening, a concert, or race .. if it was a group, gathering or function it goes here in its assigned folder -> Photography/photo_2010/krow/naomi_derek_wedding/ ...
2 - portrait folder - model, head shots, still life, etc. ... if it was an object of focus it goes here in its assigned folder -> Photography/photo_2010/work/studentcards_grade10/ ...
then inside these 2 folders i have 3 or 4 folders more .. original, selection, retouch and web .. original has originals .. selection has originals i've selected from the originals folder .. retouch has retouches of the selection .. and web, has web formatted jpegs of the retouches .. not every client wants web images so, its not always apart of it ..
then i have the 3rd folder - the, reference folder - probably, the most important folder to keep .. in lightroom i'll periodically go through all the pictures unflagged and flag and export, for example - any picture with a nice landscape .. or busy crowd .. or well-made building, etc. ... So, i'll have folders that read - nature, people, architecture, etc. ... these images i may use for upcoming projects or not. but its good habit to have them around and ready to go ..
and thats that for the money folder ..
in my time folder there are 2 folders - martin & family
the martin folder holds one folder for each of our immediate family and follows the original, selection, retouch, web system. plus, i have an all folder for group shots and pairings usually just containing complete jpegs.
in the family folder, is a moms family and a dads family - which includes extended family jpgs, like - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, etc... no other folders in these ones .. just selection, retouch, and web.
after every year .. i trash ALL pics that are NOT in retouch folders ..
at one time i was sitting there with over 40,000 pictures .. never again .. just keep the ones you retouched
stay organized ..