How do u lot store ur photos

puyjapin · Mar 4, 2009

Just a question regarding how you store most your shots?
I tend to keep way too many shots as I have a 500gb drive. I tend to create folders for any specific event or day out and have misc folders for each time I go out. I select my better shots for a seperate file. They are all backed up on a second HD, but as I get 4 gb worth I delete fro my laptop, leave on the HD external and then make a disc for a seperate copy..

Christie Photo · Mar 4, 2009

puyjapin said:
...then make a disc for a seperate copy..

Yeah.... ALL hard drives fail eventually.

I have a file of CDs and DVDs... one for each job, and then gang them together for back-up on DVDs.

-Pete

ann · Mar 4, 2009

i generally work with various projects.

each project has it's own folder with a sub-folder; orginal file, work files, print files.

I never delete anything.

i have 4 external hard drives and keep a copy of each folder on every drive.

it is over kill but it is my decision. For my students i usually recommend 2 back up copies.

At one time, i made copies on cd's or dvd (espeically when the file was bigger than a cd would hold), but with storage being so cheap i have switched to external drives. Not only faster, but easy to store.

One external drive is kept in a different location.

i keep nothing on the computer, until i decide to work .

I also keep a contact sheet of each folder, this is a habit retrained from darkroom work and i find helpful. Each sheet is placed in a protective sheet and placed in a three ring binder. So, i can review the contact sheets, in hand; which works better for me.

everyone's milage will vary.

having more than one back up is critical, IMHO

Chairman7w · Mar 4, 2009

Agreed, just picked a up 500gb hard drive yesterday for $119 for that very purpose. Two backups (stored at physically different locations is a requirement.)

mrodgers · Mar 4, 2009

I need to backup. I'm terrible at it. Partly because even with buying a bunch of DVDs, it is out of the question financially...

No one wants to hire someone who can only work in the evenings.

I'd like to do the external harddrive method, but those are way out of reach right now.

Anyone need someone to cashier in the evenings so we can get some stuff paid off?

bhop · Mar 4, 2009

In my film sleeve binder, and dvds for digital shots.

maulrat · Mar 4, 2009

I'm one of those guys who tries like hell to not upgrade his computer. My computer is so old, I'm still running Win2k. I store my RAWs on a data DVD. Every 4gb its backup time for me. I'm thinking of getting a 1TB usb ext hd from Amazon. They run about $120ish no tax/free shipping but like someone stated earlier; sooner or later the drive will go out which mades data DVD backup a good plan.

inTempus · Mar 4, 2009

Online Backup, Computer Backup Software & Remote Backup â Carbonite.com

$5 a month and you can back-up everything you own automatically. That coupled with a 1TB external drive and a ton of DL-DVD's and I'm pretty sure I'll never lose a single image.

El2 · Mar 4, 2009

I have two external hard drives and upload to Smugmug and/or my Flickr pro accounts.

ann · Mar 4, 2009

unless the storage company goes out of business, taking their servers, or junking them so you can no longer get to your images. (this really has happened)

dakkon76 · Mar 10, 2009

I just got a 1.5TB HD for $129. It's an internal, but I think the external version is only $20 more. Considering the budget of a professional photographer (money spent on lenses) ... it isn't too tough to buy 2 of these and have one backup the other... and repeat when one gets full. Even CD's and DVD's fail and become unreadable after several years. Best method by far (aside from remote backup, depending on cost) is tape backup, it remains the most reliable and longest-lasting form of backup media - but it's fallen by the wayside with every other type of media becoming so cheap.

Personally, I recommend the 2 hard drive method. Aside from fire or something like that, this is pretty fail-safe. For fire protection, get your internal 1.5TB HD's and then get external backup drives... backup once a month and keep them off-site at a family member's house or safe deposit box if you're that worried about it.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM

Stilltime · Mar 11, 2009

Right now I've just used DVD's or CD's, but with RAWs I feel like I have to get an external HD sooner rather than later. I would cry like a baby if something happened to my photos.

mosu84 · Mar 11, 2009

I have a 2TB home server that I use to store my data. It has 4 1TB hard drives that mirror the data so if one of them fails the data is still there. I use 500GB external drives to backup my most important data and I store those at the office.

I've used online backup in the past and have had mixed feelings about it. I certainly wouldn't use it as my primary means of storage.

TheSon · Mar 11, 2009

Chairman7w said:
Agreed, just picked a up 500gb hard drive yesterday for $119 for that very purpose.

WOW... you got jacked. I paid $65 for my 1TB fantom external and $106 for my 1.5TB internal.

$119 for 500gb is a good price maybe 5 years ago. I would return it and get a 1TB for under $100. Do a little research and you'll save a lot of money...

Here's a quick example ($80 w/ fs):
Fantom Drives GreenDrive 1TB External eSATA/USB 2.0 Hard Drive GD1000EU

Mystwalker · Mar 11, 2009

tharmsen said:
Online Backup, Computer Backup Software & Remote Backup â Carbonite.com

$5 a month and you can back-up everything you own automatically. That coupled with a 1TB external drive and a ton of DL-DVD's and I'm pretty sure I'll never lose a single image.

Thanks for info. This sounds like a great idea.

I currently make a DVD, store on two different computers, upload to Flickrs (still do not know if they will let me retrieve same size I upload), + back up to two external USB drives.

Besides the Flickr upload, everything is in my house.

I will feel safer with an external source I know I can retrieve my photo.