It’s Time to Backup Your Photos
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.
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).
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.
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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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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My system involves Google Photos, my hard drive, OneDrive and Forever.com. It’s a bit clunky, but I’m working on it.
No matter what your backup system is, having one is the most important part. Good for you, Janet!
Whoa! The 3-2-1 system is new to me an definitely worth considering. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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