How to save & backup your wedding photos

05.01.2021

Even though today it's much easier than it used to be to instantly take as many photos and videos of your daily life as you want, losing them remains as frustrating as it has always been.

And while losing the photo of your last meal may be something you'll quickly get over, what if one day you lose your wedding photos, your grandparents' photos, or the photos of your child's first birthday or your last vacation? I bet you probably want to keep them safe! Well, I have some news to share: Losing your data is not an "if" but a "when" 😱; if you don't do what is necessary that is!

So keep reading!

Everything you need to know about securely storing your wedding photos

Nothing lasts forever. Hard drives fail, flash drives get lost, laptops get stolen, online services go out of business, and let's not start talking about fires, floods, and earthquakes that can destroy digital files as well. Today, when we lose our photos, they are gone for good because we keep them only in digital format and we rarely print them. In this case, if you lose your digital data, there is nothing you can do.

But you can take some precautions:

# 1 Take care of your digital storage means

Store your hard drives and your SSDs, your CDs or DVDs in dark, dry places, such as a drawer at home, not, for example, in the glove compartment of your car where the temperature can largely vary.

Safely remove your hard drives and flash drives from your PC, TV, or tablet following the instructions of your operating system.

If your flash drive has a cover, use it to protect it from dust.

Don't keep your external hard drives plugged into your PC/mac at all times, as your data can be erased by both human error or malware. You may delete entire folders by accident, or by making mistakes when copying files. If your PC/mac is infected with malware, it can also damage files on external hard drives.

#2 Backup, backup and backup!

local storage: USB STICKS, HARD DRIVES, SSD, cd/DVD

Copy your photos to at least two digital storage devices: USB sticks, external hard drives, another desktop computer or laptop, at home or at work.

Keep your backups in different locations, as your data is at risk of being stolen or destroyed by fire, flood or an other disaster: keeping an off-site backup at the office, a friend or relative's house, or your country home is always an option to consider.

If you already have a depository at a bank, keep one of your hard drive backups there.

If you still use DVD players, burn your photos to DVDs. Keep in mind, however, that their life expectancy is short and you'll need to re-burn them every few years.

Also, don't forget to move your photos to modern storage!

You need to keep moving your photos to new storage systems before the old ones fail or become unreadable; just like we had to move our VHS videos to DVD and then to USB or scan our negatives to digitize them!

Cloud storage

Backup of your photos online (in the cloud), but keep a second or even third backup on your hard drive, as online services also shut down and face technical problems. Also keep in mind that data in the cloud is not under your control. The cloud is just a someone else's computer! You could be locked out of your account in the event of a hack and have your data deleted, or you could lose access to your account because you're not willing to pay the price the company may decide to charge you at some point.

Photo Albums / Photo Books 📖

Creating printed albums is another way to keep a backup of some of your photos; and one of my favourite ones! In the event of a burglary, your photo albums are the last thing the intruder will consider taking, compared to your laptop or TV. At the same time, you can enjoy the lost joy of browsing through your album! Do you remember this feeling? Do yourself a favor and create a good quality photo album with your favorite pictures; they are so nice to have!

And you can do it even if a lot of years have passed from your wedding or other event! You just need to have the digital files of your photos! Take a look at some ideas here.