Digikam creates a My Albums folder by default, which holds all of your images. You can shift your images to subfolders later. The albums can be sorted by their directory layout, by the collection name that has been set in the album properties or by the date that the albums were first created (this date can also be changed in the properties of each album).

There are several ways to create a new album:

Once you have chosen to create a new album, provide some basic administrative information about the new album, such as an album title. Optionally, choose a collection, insert some comments, and select an album date. Collections are a way of organizing your albums by a common label. This label is used when you select View+Sort Albums+By Collection. The comment is shown in the banner at the top of the main window. The album date is used when you select View+Albums+By Date.

Digikam uses the first photograph in the album as the preview icon in the My Albums list. To select a different one, right-click the respective photograph and select Set as Album Thumbnail from the context menu.