{"id":2333,"date":"2023-10-06T01:24:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T01:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeasavoyager.org\/?p=2333"},"modified":"2023-10-06T01:44:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T01:44:46","slug":"data-storage-for-photographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeasavoyager.org\/2023\/10\/data-storage-for-photographers\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Storage for Photographers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Knowing how to store data can be a challenge for anyone but especially for photographers. We’re entrusted with our clients’ most precious memories and it’s vital we know how to store and protect them. Whether you’re a newbie or seasoned pro, in this post we’ll go over the best practices for data storage for photographers. We’ll also run down how you can create a backup system that practically runs itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital archiving has been a hobby of mine for at least two decades. In that time, I’ve created and stored a variety of media: video, photos, books, music; you name it, I’ve got it. I’ve also experienced the heartbreak of hard drive crashes (RIP to my hard drive with 15 years of Japanese TV shows on it). As I’ve moved into photography and my business has grown, I’ve become more diligent about backing up my data. Because it’s not just my photos: it’s my clients’ memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe 3-2-1 Backup Rule says you need three<\/strong> copies of your data on two<\/strong> different devices in your home and one<\/strong> in the cloud<\/em>. Let’s break that down. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Three Copies of Your Data:<\/strong> Your data should be in three different locations at all times. Every form of media storage is prone to failure at some point. And you don’t want to lose an entire wedding gallery right before you send it because your hard drive bit the dust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two Devices:<\/strong> Media fails. Every hard drive dies at one point. Having your data on two devices means that you can always access your data if something happens to one drive. It also lets you archive your data so you’re not overloading your drives. Which you shouldn’t be doing. Also, defrag your hard drive every once in a while (I recommend Defraggler<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One in the Cloud:<\/strong> If I haven’t made it clear yet: hard drives fail. Having your data backed up in the cloud adds an extra layer of protection so that if something does ever happen to your data, you can get it back. Maybe your drives die. Or — heaven forbid — your house catches fire and you lose your drives. Cloud storage means that data is never gone for good (assuming you use the right cloud storage. More on that later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3-2-1 in Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What this means for me in practice is that every session is first on an SD card. The second I get home, it gets transferred to my working hard drive. I then keep the session on my SD card until I deliver the gallery just in case anything happens to my HD while editing. Would it be a pain to lose all my edits? Of course. But what’s worse: losing my edits or losing the entire gallery with no way to recover it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the gallery is delivered, everything is deleted off the SD card and then backed up on my backup hard drive and in the cloud. Working HD, backup HD, cloud. Three copies, two devices, one in the cloud.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n
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