I've always used an application, Current is Microsoft Digital Image Library 10. I do use a high level basic folder structure... Family, Outdoors, Gardening (about 6 or 8) and use fairly simple folder naming convention for the folders with pictures that go in each, Gardening - Gardening 12-24-17 .
I like using the applications as they give you a continuous good preview by your sort, by date or folder structure plus search tags if you've used them. The sort by date continuous also helpful for identifying duplicate that were some how named differently. I used to do that a lot before I stuck hard and fast to naming conventions. You just point to your photo photo structure and it brings them in.
I have about 40 gig, 20,000 photo files so just folder browsing would never work. I don't think Microsoft Digital Image Library 10 is available anymore, it was a suite with Microsoft Digital Image Pro, it's a nice little package. Before that you used to sometimes get something similar when you bought a camera.Oh and maybe some photo editing applications might come with one also.
Good Luck it can be a handful.