You’ve had your session, and you’ve downloaded your photos from the gallery. Maybe you’ve chosen your favorites, shared them with friends and family, and even had some prints made.
Now what?
Preserving your digitals is an incredibly important step, and as the client, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have them in a secure place where you can access them in the future.
The online galleries sent to you are only active for so long. They come down after a certain amount of time. I do back up client images, but there is no guarantee I will always have access to them in the future. If you end up needing me to un-archive older photos, there will be a $250 fee to cover the time spent on this process.
Here are some tips to ensure you can enjoy your images for years to come!
1. Download all of the photos from the gallery. Sometimes, after a session, the client will only download their favorite photos. I get it. You may have instant connections to some of the photos, but in the future, you may change your mind. Download the entire gallery, then organize them into folders with your favorites. Trust me on this.
2. Computers fail. Downloading your images onto a computer is going to be the easiest way to go, but computers are known to crash unexpectedly. Leaving them on your computer is okay if you have enough space on your hard drive, but you shouldn’t rely on this as a secure backup option.
3. Online backups are essential. This is one way you should be backing up all of your photos. Amazon Prime has unlimited photo storage for all its members. This is a great option because it’s free if you’re already paying for a Prime membership. Google and other Cloud-based services charge after a certain amount of storage is reached, but there are plenty of other options out there. If you’re using an online platform to backup your photos, be sure the platform is not going to compress your photos at any point during the storage process.
4. Hard drives are a must. This is a second form of backup. It is important not to rely on USB drives or CDs as they are already outdated technology and can fail more easily than a hard drive. Your hard drive should be placed in a fireproof and waterproof safe. It also doesn’t hurt to have two hard drive copies with two separate geological locations. I keep one copy of all important personal images in my parents’ safe. Note: I am not responsible for any hard drive failures, as technology does always have a chance of failing. This is why multiple backups are crucial!
5. If you are unsure of how to backup your photos properly, I do offer a few services to help clients ensure the safety of their images. Please inquire if you have any qualms or questions about doing this yourself.
By taking these steps, you are investing your time in protecting your memories for a lifetime.
