back up, back up

When delving into the world of photography be it a non-tech savvy iPhone user or a high end professional, the advice is always the same. Back up your work. 

The Cloud, Google Drive, multiple hard discs, USB sticks, servers, the list is extensive so there is no excuse for my critical faux pas that sees me, the weekend before I get my Hard Drive back (and £400 down), still lamenting and pondering my recent back up error. 

I had a WD 4GB Hard drive, highly reviewed on amazon, loads of storage and compact so as to be useful for my situation, I move around a lot for work and when travelling home at weekends. Unfortunately when climbing in and out of the helicopter at work and having the HD in my bag with me it got knocked around a bit too much. The dreaded clicking started. It loaded, then it didn’t load, then it would load again. In the back of my mind I planned on getting a new one, sorting my storage life out and heeding the many warnings I had learnt about. The day before I had planned to travel into town to purchase a new HD it gave up the ghost. Dead. Unreadable.

£400!! to recover roughly 90% of images taken over 2 years.

Let’s keep it simple…

Lesson 1 - Types of storage

My knowledge of the different types of storage was limited at best and as is the way these days, that missing knowledge was a few clicks away on a search engine. Research the different types of storage because there are enough to suit each need and as I found out there are ones that don’t like to travel, to be moved around or knocked about a bit. They are your stay at home HDs, your ‘I will travel but only 1st class’ type of HDs, whereas a SSD HD is your hardy traveller, your ‘run and gun’ photographer’s ideal partner however, you will pay a much higher price. Keep researching and find the best one to suit your budget whilst also considering your overall storage plan. Always keep in the back of your mind how much your files are worth to you!!

Lesson 2 - Map out and plan

Again, an understanding of how each programme or app works in terms of where it is putting your files is essential, research each one using google or YouTube and find a way of getting your head round the differences. I watched a few on Lightroom and now understand what keeps it happy and how I can back up all the files I use on there. This step is really important!! Think ahead and even map out on a piece of paper a basic diagram or mind map of how you intend to sort and transfer files. Will you treat images the same as video? Are you going to use the same HD for each media?

Lesson 3 - Find a sustainable system

I’ve found backing up every couple of weeks works for me, with the amount I shoot this is a sustainable system even when i’m travelling with work. Test and adjust for how much you shoot and then get into a routine, find a quiet moment and let it do it’s thing. If you find it’s not working or you have to adapt and plan ahead on the times you will be busy then so be it.

This is a very simple starter for ten but hopefully will help start the thought process and highlight the importance through my costly mistake!!

Good luck out there :)