Hey you! Backup your image files!

Every time I release an image gallery to a client, I include a reminder to backup of the image files on their end in a safe place, I use a file compressor. And though I send that reminder out to everyone, I know many people think it’s a time-consuming task to backup of images. However, it’s SO important to make sure not only the images I take for people are safe, but also to make sure all those photos you take yourself- on a DSLR or on a phone- are safe, too!

So, this month’s photo tip is not just for you photographers out there. It’s for every single person who has digital photos they never want to lose. So, basically, it’s for everyone! 🙂

Why backup your photos?

Everyone has heard the horror stories: “My hard drive died and I lost everything!” “I lost my phone and hadn’t backed up my images for months!” These stories of lost memories make my heart sink. Just last week a client emailed me to tell me that their wedding images were on a hard drive that went bad and they needed access to their gallery again. Being a professional with a pretty solid backup system, their images were safe so all was well, but this email hit me in the gut! While I do my best to encourage my clients to backup images in more than one way, I realize that not everyone has this habit but they do have hundreds or thousands of special photos that would be devastating to lose forever. Just imagine, photos you took the day your baby was born, special videos from your child’s first birthday… these are all moments that we can preserve and relive forever if we keep them safe.

But, hard drive failure happens! Natural disasters happen. If you don’t have a solid way to backup files in multiple ways (hard drive and in the cloud), your image files are not safe and these priceless photos and videos could vanish forever. That’s a devastating thought!

Resource on how to backup your photos

Obviously, I have a solid backup system for my professional and personal photos because this is my business. But, I understand that it’s kind of a daunting thought to figure out a backup system for images if you’re not a professional in this industry!

Many people don’t know this, but I’m married to a tech guru who recently took his passion for tech and launched a blog that’s geared toward the normal, everyday person- especially parents. It’s called Go Go Dadget and his goal is to talk tech in a fun, approachable way without all the focus on technical jargon.

Because my husbands a bit of an expert, I encouraged him to write an article all about how people can backup their own images (from their DSLRs and phones!) and keep them safe. I wanted a comprehensive guide to the easiest ways to backup image files, and he created just that! The full article is live today on Go Go Dadget so you can now read it and get all of my husband’s tips on how to easily and seamlessly make sure your images are backed up and stay protected.

Whether you have image files that photographers have taken for you or you just want to be able to protect the images you have taken on your phone, this post is a must-read for everyone! And – shameless plug for my husband who loves this blog so much- if you like what you read, it would be awesome if you would share the post on social with friends because I truly feel that more people need to be talking about how to make sure you never lose a special photo. 🙂

I hope this has been a good reminder to backup the images you don’t want to lose! If you’re a client of mine, look forward to more reminders like this in the future because I know sometimes you need to hear things multiple times to put them into action. 🙂