I have been a professional photographer for 40+ years now and I have seen lots of methods for storing old photos. In my early days, storage meant using archival quality film protectors and storing prints and negatives in an environmentally controlled setting. These days, it is mostly about keeping up with lots of digital image files.
Today, I am going to discuss the ways to safely store and keep your digital image files. The process is pretty much the same for any digital file, but for our purposes, we are looking at photos.
For some of you, this is just storing the photos on your phone, but for others, like me, it needs to be as safe as possible while maintaining redundant backup copies.
Personally, I follow what is called the 3-2-1 backup plan. Three copies of the file, stored in two different places, with one being off-site. Mine is a bit modified, because I have two different off-site copies, but the principle is the same.
Where Not to Store Your Photos
Let me start here. There are lots of online communities that allow you to upload your photos. While using Facebook, Instagram, etc. is a great way to share your photos with family and friends, these are NOT good places to use as photo “storage”.
First off, these platforms do bad things to your photos when you upload them. When you upload an image to Facebook, for instance, that file gets compressed a lot to help it load quickly. Facebook does not want their site slowed down by loading a large image file.
This reduces the quality of the image considerably. If you were to download that file at a later time and have a print made, the quality would not be very good, especially if you wanted a larger print.
Just The Basics
For most people, they just want to store the photos they take with their phone or other personal camera. Depending on how many photos you take and how important it is for you to keep them, there are several different options.
The simplest place to begin with a phone is to start by turning on your phone’s backup. Most phones have some sort of built-in backup at little or no cost. Android phones usually link to Google Photos and iPhones can use iCloud for storage. There is likely a basic plan that is free with your account, but you can generally upgrade for more storage.
If you take a lot of photos, upgrading to a paid version will give you more storage space to hold all your photos and the cost is usually not very expensive.
If you keep a copy on your phone and a copy in online storage, you have given yourself a backup in case of some sort of device failure or loss. Losing your phone or your phone dying can be a catastrophic loss, if you do not have a backup.
Another Step Beyond the Basics
Beyond the basic step of this phone back up is making copies using personal storage media. In the early days of digital, we used CDs to store a copy of files, and then we moved to DVDs because of their higher capacity. Then we started using thumb drives and now external hard drives for backups.
Copying your files to some sort of personal media is a great way to keep an additional copy. When you fill one up, get a new one and start again. External hard drives can connect to your computer and are an inexpensive way to get a lot of space for storage. Just be sure to store them in an environmentally controlled space and not in a garage or attic, for instance.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can make two copies and store one copy at a friend or relative’s house in case of a disaster such as your house burning down. We don’t want to think of these things happening, but they do, and you could lose all your images, if the only copy you have is stored where something catastrophic happens.
Higher Capacity Cloud Storage
Yet another step up from the local storage and basic storage is using online (cloud) storage with a higher capacity. This type of service is when you need to store multiple terabytes of data.
These services can be more expensive, but they are well worth it if you really need to make sure you keep your files stored somewhere away from potential disasters. It is just another contingency plan. The hope is that if something goes wrong, you will have at least one copy of your images that survive.
What Is My Backup Plan?
My backup plan is a lot more redundant than what most of you will ever need. I have to ensure that I do the best I can to preserve these records and sometimes precious memories for my clients.
I start with copying my raw files to my computer as soon after the photos were made as I can. I now have a copy on my computer and on the cards that were in the camera. I rotate my camera’s storage media cards out as I shoot, so I will have that copy, as well as the one on my computer for a while. As a side note, when I finish shooting a job foe a client, I usually take the cards out of the camera and carry them on my person until I get to my computer. This way, if someone steals my camera bag and gear, I still have the images.
Next, my computer is set to backup everything to an external hard drive that stays attached to my computer until it is almost full. Then it gets replaced with a new one. My computer is also set to backup these files to my cloud storage, as well. Each of these backups are done automatically, at least once a day.
As an added copy, I often upload the edited final images to a photo site for my clients to be able to view and download, etc. This is another copy, just in case.
What Should You Do?
My backup plan is a bit extreme for most people, but I believe that everyone should be utilizing at least one of the techniques I have mentioned above. What your storage plan is, will depend upon your own personal needs.
Online (Cloud) Storage Providers
Here is a list of some of the online storage providers that I have used and know by reputation as quality providers. Maybe one of these will meet your needs.
Google Photos – Google photos work with your Google account on Android phones and you can upgrade to Google Drive for more space.
iCloud – iCloud is a good basic storage option for those who use Apple computers and phones. There are several options for storage, if you wish to upgrade.
IDrive – IDrive is one of the providers I use. There are several options to fit your needs from a little storage on up.
Backblaze – Backblaze is a great, simple way to backup one computer and its attached external drives. You can also choose plans that allow for backing up from multiple devices.
OneDrive – OneDrive is a good basic storage site and can be connected through your Microsoft account. If you use Microsoft 365, you have some extra storage to start with.
There are lots of other sites to choose form if you want to do a little digging around. I have used each of these services and had good experiences with all of them.
