Let’s talk about storing and protecting your precious digital images for a moment, shall we? Why have your digital images on a USB? Where should I start? I feel there is so much information to share!

When I first started wedding photography, the best way to deliver images was via a compact disc. In fact, I have a huge box of CDs in my closet, which holds backup copies of all those past shoots and weddings. But, you know what? Between Brandon and myself, not one of our 5 computers has a CD drive. So, I’m not sure how to access any of the files on those CDs without buying a disc reader (which, I don’t want to do).

The point is, technology is constantly changing. To ensure your digital images survive the coming years, it’s important to back them up using the current tools available, and to do this regularly, and in multiple ways. You never want all your eggs in one basket, right?

Why Should I Make Copies Of My Digital Images?

When I send my clients their digital images, I do so via a download link. This is the base option for every shoot and wedding that comes with digital images. Once you have downloaded those images to your own computer, don’t stop there! If you’re lucky enough to have never had a computer hard drive crash, I hope you never experience that nightmare. But the fact is, the average lifespan of an external hard drive is about 3 years, and an internal hard drive is about 6 years. This means it’s bound to fail eventually. If you only have your wedding images saved on your computer, and that hard drive fails – goodbye photos. It can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to attempt to recover lost data, and often times it is unsuccessful.

“But I uploaded some of my photos to Facebook, and Instagram, so at least I have those.”

Yes, and no. Unfortunately, images uploaded to social media will be compressed to fit the size limits of those sites. Yes, you will be able to view the images, and maybe screenshot and share the images online without much noticeable quality change, but these will be too low quality to print or enlarge.

How Should I Make Copies of My Digital Images?

• Back-Up To A USB Flash Drive

Why have your digital images on a USB? The first, and easiest way to do this is to use a USB flash drive! I actually have an add-on option to make this an extra easy way to receive a backup copy of your images from the start. USB Flash Drives are very affordable, and I would recommend that you make or order a couple of copies for yourself, as well as some copies for your close family members to keep. This not only serves to back up the images you’ll have on the computer, but you will have extras in case one of the drives were to fail, gets damaged, gets lost in a drawer, becomes corrupted over time, or due to virus or malware exposure, or in the worst-case scenario, becomes lost in a fire.

My custom drives are fun and colorful and manufactured by USB Memory Direct, which is a great company to work with. They also back their drives with a lifetime warranty. They are all tested for the best quality, which is a huge plus. And that also means, that if one of their drives ever fails, they will replace it for free. (Of course, the images won’t be recoverable. Which is why it’s always best to have more than 1 backup at all times!)

• Back-Up To An External Hard Drive

This is a good option if you have a LOT of other photos, music/video media, or other large files to back up. OR, if you already own an external hard drive, this is a no brainer… get those images on that drive! And again, don’t just have those images backed up to one place. You should have multiple backups.

• Back-Up To The Cloud

There are many good online cloud storage services available. You may already have access to some cloud storage services. There is Amazon Prime, which offers free personal photo storage. As well as Google, which offers up to 15GB of free storage. Here are some other options: iCloud Photo Library, Dropbox, Flickr, Microsoft OneDrive, Zoolz Cloud Storage, and Backblaze.

• Print Those Images!

Make prints, give some of your favorite prints to family members, and consider ordering a custom wedding album. There’s nothing like holding an heirloom book in your lap that contains beautiful memories from the start of your life together. Being able to flip through the pages, or to share the book with visitors in your home is such a different way to experience your wedding story, as opposed as through a phone screen or laptop.