May and June have been a bit busy with all the weddings, so we haven’t had a chance to share any photography tips in a bit. So, today we thought we would touch base on different ways that you can archive your own photos. Since we photograph some of the most important days in people’s lives, we take the archiving and storage of the photos we shoot pretty seriously…Dan has definitely called me crazy, but I embrace my crazy;). We have a set of steps we take through the entire process from start to finish in order to insure we do not lose any of the files. Digital files can fail, and it can be a challenge trying to make sure you have back-ups for your back-ups for your back-ups;). When shooting film we feel much more comfortable being able to hold the negative/positive in our hands, but I of course worry about a fire so end up backing up the film by making it a digital file too.
First step is copying your digital files off of your card from your camera to a hard drive. We copy everything to a back-up hard drive as well (Pretty much everything we talk about here you will do twice in a different space in order to make sure you have your bases covered). This is probably unnecessary unless you are working on some really important files, but we also burn all of the raw files on to a DVD(s) and put it in a fireproof safe.
Second, we work on our digital files toning them, etc. During this process we make sure that when we finish we put a second copy of those files in another place (where we put the second copy of raw files).
Third, we upload the edited files on to a server. In our case we use photoshelter to store our images, it is a great resource for professional photographers. There are lots of options out there for these types of services, but you should make sure it is a reputable source.
Fourth, we burn 2 copies of all the selects and edited files on to archival DVD(s). They sell archival DVD(s) online, they are gold and allegedly last for up to 100 years. Since they haven’t been around that long hard to say really, but we use them in hopes they will last longer than your standard DVD.
Fifth, we send the second copy of the DVD(s) to our parents house in another state. You never know when we’ll have a hurricane or a fire.
So, when we finish a job we have a copy of the raw files in another state on a DVD(s), a copy of the selects and edits on archival DVD(s) in our home, a second copy in another state, a copy of the edits in cloud storage, and all the selects and edits stored on 2 different hard drives in our home. Take all this with a grain of salt, and apply as relevant to your personal photography archive. Most importantly you should have at least 2 copies on different hard drives. You never know when a disc or drive will go corrupt, and it is stressful enough when your computer dies much less when you realize you have lost all your photos of family and friends or music.
Oh, and you can always make prints on actual photo paper. Just make sure you have your prints made on archival paper or your print will fade;)
As always, questions are welcome;)
-D+A
Dreamland Images, Inc.
Creative Documentary Wedding Photography
Charleston, SC
