Plug your camera into your computer and it should automatically organize those pictures in such a way that you can easily find them later. This is the idea behind photo album managers, but not everyone agrees about which ones are best for the job.

This is just as true on the Linux platform as any other. Photo management was a weak point of the Linux desktop very recently, but a number of projects have sprung up to address this. As such, if you're looking for the best photo album manager out there for Linux, you've got a few options.

Let's take a look at the four major programs on the platform and see what you think!

Shotwell

photo album manager

Soon to become the default in Ubuntu (and perhaps in Gnome itself) Shotwell is quickly becoming the go-to photo manager on Linux. At least, what's what I concluded in my recent piece when I called Shotwell the future of Linux photo management.

Here's why I think this program is good: it connects really well with social services, including Facebook and Flickr. Beyond that killer feature however, Shotwell excels in that it's really simple. The interface is clean and photos are sorted in a logical manner.

You'll find Shotwell in the repositories of most newer Linux systems, but if you can't find it, check out the official Shotwell page for installation instructions.

Picasa For Linux

photo manager linux

Picasa is not just a killer web service from Google; it's also a pretty fantastic desktop photo editor. Thanks to technology borrowed from the Wine project it works on Linux, although it's not as frequently updated as the Windows or Mac version of the software.

There are upsides and downsides to this Linux version. It's more integrated than simply running Picasa in Wine, but it's fairly obvious to the end user that it's not a native application. Expect some quirks for sure, but also expect to have access to Google's amazing photo manager on Linux.

Picasa includes everything from basic editing to creating albums to changing your desktop wallpaper to, of course, uploading to the Picasa web service.

Go ahead and download Picasa for Linux; you just might like it.

F-Spot

photo manager linux

The default photo manager in Ubuntu for quite a while, F-Spot is a pretty good photo album manager to have around. Some people love it, some people don't, but everyone can agree on one thing: it's there by default. F-Spot arranges your photos, uploads to social networks, allows for basic editing and even allows for extensions.

You'll find F-Spot in the repositories of your Linux distro, assuming it's not already installed.

Digikam

photo album manager

I have to admit, I don't really use KDE, but I'd be remiss if I didn't include Digikam in this list. The default photo manager in KDE is powerful, attractive and complex. You'll find all the features you'd expect from a photo manager along with a number of extensions for adding more functionality. It can even grab photos from your iPod, which could be useful.

Digikam works on any Linux system; even Gnome ones. Check your repositories for a download or take a look at Digikam's homepage.

Conclusion: Good Old Folders

I don't use any of these systems, because I've found a superior method: folders. It may seem like work, but organizing your photos into folders named by event is easy to use and works on any platform. There's no substitute for organization as far as I'm concerned. Still, it's nice to have the option of using a photo management tool, so we're lucky that Linux has four great ones to choose from.

What do you use to manage your photos? Did I miss any good ones? Sharing in the comments below is an awesome thing to do, and I'll think less of you if you don't.