It’s Time to Backup Your Photos

It's Time To Backup Your Photos | GoodLifePhotoSolutions.com

Why Do I Need To Backup My Photos?

Imagine that your computer crashes. All of your files have disappeared. Which files will cause the most heartbreak: the old Word documents from 2018 or the digital photos of your daughter’s kindergarten graduation in 2016? I’m going to guess it’s the photos. 

If your home were to burn down or your computer or phone was stolen, you could replace physical things like a TV or a laptop, but you cannot replace the photos of your family vacations and your Dad’s last birthday. Those pictures are how we capture and memorialize the fleeting moments of our lives. To have them disappear forever in the blink of an eye is heart-wrenching.

One way to guard yourself against such catastrophes is to create multiple backups of your photos and have a system to keep those backups up to date.

Backing Up Printed Photos

Backing up your printed photos seems like a strange idea. We usually equate backing up to something digital, but there are ways to create backup copies of your prints for safekeeping.

The number one way to do this is to scan your printed pictures and create a digital backup. You may cringe at this idea when you look at the huge tub(s) of photos you have, but you don’t have to scan all of them immediately.  (Or you can give us a call and let us do the scanning for you!) As you do a quick sort, mark or pull out your favorites and scan them first.

There isn’t any reason you need to take the time, energy, or money to scan a fuzzy picture one of the back of your husband’s head or even all ten photos of the White House. Those are the ones you can toss.  Once you have a digital copy of your printed photos, you can use the tips below to keep your digital images safe.

It's Time To Backup Your Photos | GoodLifePhotoSolutions.com

For tips on scanning and storing your printed photos, please read Organizing Your Photos: Favorite Products for Print Pictures.

Backing Up Digital Photos: The 3-2-1 Backup System

Our photo-taking surged when my husband and I got our first digital camera in 2003. Then came the smartphone, and the numbers became astronomical. While I use my iPhone to take pictures most of the time, I also have a DSLR. So now I have images on my computer, my devices, and the memory cards of my cameras. Whew! That can be overwhelming.

The most recommended backup scenario is the 3-2-1 backup system. This is the system that the US Government recommends, as do The Photo Managers, our professional industry organization.

The 3-2-1 backup system means having 3 copies of your digital images (or files), using 2 different types of media, and storing 1 copy offsite (either physically or in the cloud).

It's Time To Backup Your Photos | GoodLifePhotoSolutions.com

Examples of the 3-2-1 Backup System

Here’s what my personal 3-2-1 system looks like.

Copy 1 – All of my photos sync to my computer through the Dropbox app.

Copy 2 – All of the files on my computer are backed up onto an external hard drive using Time Machine.

Copy 3 – All files on my computer are automatically backed up to the cloud using Backblaze.

Media Type 1 – the hard drives of my computer and external hard drive

Media Type 2 – the cloud copy stored by Backblaze

Offsite Copy 1 – the cloud copy stored by Backblaze (and I am slowly moving my photos onto Apple Photos so they are also being stored in iCloud.)

What might the 3-2-1 backup system look like for you? Maybe it is…

Copy 1 – on your computer

Copy 2 – in the cloud on OneDrive

Copy 3 – on an external hard drive

Media 1 – “hard copies” on computer and external hard drive

Media 2 – the cloud copy stored on Google Photos

Offsite Copy – a 2nd external hard drive you store at the office and change out every 3-6 months.

The number one thing to remember when backing up your photos is to do something, anything, even if it’s small, and do it today. Tomorrow could be too late.


*This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you purchase from a link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my business! See my disclosure policy for full details.

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If you want to work with a photo organizer near you to help you organize and preserve your photos, contact us or visit The Photo Managers to find one in your area.

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you purchase from a link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business. See my disclosure policy for full details.

It's Time To Backup Your Photos | GoodLifePhotoSolutions.com

12 Comments

  1. Sabrina Quairoli on April 2, 2018 at 12:45 pm

    I’m planning on scanning my old albums this summer. I have several albums that I do not have scanned yet and would love to have them on my external server as a backup.

    Great information here, I found that using automatic backups work nicely but I check them to make sure they are still running every few months. A few times in the past I found a back up stopped working.

    • Andi Willis on April 3, 2018 at 7:38 am

      So true, Sabrina! Just this week I discovered that my Time Machine hadn’t backed up in several weeks because the disk was full. Luckily I haven’t been home to do much work on it. It’s good to check those backups regularly.

  2. Filippus Tepper on April 2, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    Hello Andy,

    Bad news! I don’t back up my photo’s!
    I back up all my data, including photo,s, e-mails, documents etc!
    Why to make an exception for photo’s?
    My programs are on the C drive and replaceable.
    My data is on the D drive and irreplaceable.
    In my drawer are 4 (cheap) hard drives in a row.
    After “work” I fetch the “next” hard drive from my drawer and make the content of it equal to the content of my D drive using a free imaging program.
    Next “work” next hard drive (image / mirror).
    Consequently I have allways 3 previous versions of my data available.
    The scheme is simple , straight forward and takes “no” time or effort.
    Missing an external back up! But that could be easily added.
    Your proposals are of course much better, but useless unless implemented.
    But they are too complicated, so people dont do it’.
    Excuses for the bad English. I am from the Netherlands.
    Best regards, Flip Tepper

    • Andi Willis on April 2, 2018 at 7:01 pm

      It sounds like you have a great system the works well for you. So many people that I work with don’t back up anything so getting them to start with their photos is a good first step. I also alway suggest that clients create a backup of their entire computer and all of their data.

  3. Hazel Thornton on April 2, 2018 at 9:09 pm

    One backup idea I’ve found intriguing lately is to print out a selection of your very best digital photos on photo paper and store them in an archival box.

    • Andi Willis on April 3, 2018 at 7:37 am

      Yes! (Have you taken a peek at next week’s blog?) Printing photos whether in a photo print or in a photo book is definitely a form of backup.

  4. […] digital photos in a central location (we call your photo hub in the industry) and be sure they are backed up securely, this may not be the case in your situation. First, I suggest you create a photo hub and store your […]

  5. […] with their photos. Usually, it’s something like “if you only do one thing, please backup your digital photos.” Or it could be printing a favorite photo, sticking it in a frame, and finally enjoying it on a […]

  6. Janet Barclay on October 2, 2023 at 8:08 am

    My system involves Google Photos, my hard drive, OneDrive and Forever.com. It’s a bit clunky, but I’m working on it.

    • Andi Willis on October 9, 2023 at 11:23 am

      No matter what your backup system is, having one is the most important part. Good for you, Janet!

  7. Pam Holland on October 19, 2023 at 11:06 am

    Whoa! The 3-2-1 system is new to me an definitely worth considering. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  8. […] your data often. This goes for all your backups and […]

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