As a photographer, security and protection should be at the very top of your priority list. You might spend hours or days perfecting your photographs, only for the digital images to be lost due to human or device error. Imagery is not always easy, or cheap, to replace and it can take a major toll on personal and business relationships should such a mistake occur.
Our expert photographers have pulled together their very best tips on how to safeguard your shots and ensure that you have the most effective backup in place. Here’s our advice…
Memory card
When it comes to memory card storage, the key is to minimise risk by spreading your images across a number of smaller capacity cards. Should card error or malfunction take place, this means you are best protected. These are also such a convenient, light and portable way to save your photos which makes using a few smaller ones very easy. Remember to health check your cards on a regular basis with periodic formatting and automatic sync via Wi-Fi for an added level of security.
During use
Hardware may be tough but it will definitely pay off to stay conscious of the environment in which you keep and use your camera. Heat, moisture and humidity can all have a potentially harmful effect on your hardware, while you also need to protect against any damage when carrying your camera out and about. Invest in a sturdy padded case and make plans ahead when taking your camera on a long distance journey, in order to avoid any potentially irreparable damage.
Patience
It’s undoubtedly an exciting feeling when you’ve completed the shoot and you want to see the images but staying patient during the post-shoot process is essential. Downloads can take some time but don’t try to rush the process as this could cause technical issues. It’s also better to be safe than sorry by transferring a copy of your images onto the computer rather than just transferring them straight over. If you’re planning to wipe you card right after the download, check that all of the images have downloaded safely before doing so. You can also spread your shoot across a number of memory cards for optimum security.
Back it up
An external hard drive will superpower your protection plans in addition to a memory card. Choose a hard drive with at least 1TB of available space and consider spreading risk across a few different hard drives if shots are especially high-value either in a personal or business sense. Cloud-based tech means you can consistently back up your shots, too, for the best level of security.
If you store your shots on a smartphone or tablet, it’s essential to use Wi-Fi to sync up with your computer daily, or at least after every important shoot. And you don’t need to worry about taking up too much space on your computer, as there is an excellent range of device-hosted cloud services to choose from for a streamlined backup process.
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