You just received your online gallery from your photographer, and now you’re wondering… what do I do next? What are the best practices for photo storage of my wedding files? We recommend of course, always printing your photos, but beyond that, you may want to back up your digital files in multiple locations. USB drives can fail and will go out of style like floppy disks… your gallery may expire… and what if you lose the password to your Dropbox? It is so important to practice digital redundancy so you can rest assured you always have access to your professionally-taken and treasured photographs.

Not so long ago, we had few location options for where to store our data. Now, there is a bewildering range of storage options that you can use to store your files. Your photos are among the precious memories that will need secure storage, besides printing them. Even with the latest technological advancements, not all will always be up to date, accessible, or the most secure. Below find a compilation of our recommended storage options. For best practices, we recommend choosing at least two methods for protecting your files!

Google Drive

Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google to share, access, and work on online documents from anywhere. Users store files on Google’s servers, and you can synchronize the data across several devices. It is a safe and convenient location to store your wedding files and within reach of your tablet, computer, or Smartphone. To access Google drive, you will need a Google account which comes with a free 15 GB storage.

To upload your photo files on your phone:

• Open the Google Drive app. On your iPhone, Android, or Tablet
• Tap Upload
• Select your files or folder then tap upload
• Files will be uploaded to the Google Drive
• You can view the files or folder in My Drive

To upload your photo files on your computer:

• Go to drive.google.com
• Click New, the File Upload
• Select the photo file to upload
• Drag the photo file to the Google Drive folder

Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud storage and synchronization app that is operated by Dropbox Inc. The free storage app can help you store your wedding and other memorable photos in various formats. It has simple sharing options, auto photo upload, and syncing from across multiple devices. When you sign up for a personal account, you will get free 2GB of storage, and you can access anything stored in your Dropbox from any browser. The storage option is compatible with desktop apps, Android, or iOS devices.

To add and store photo files in Dropbox:

• When using your computer, you can copy and paste, use the Save as … option, or drag the photo files to your Dropbox folder.
• Once the files are in the Dropbox folder, they will sync automatically with connected devices and Dropbox.com

Using dropbox.com:

• Start to Sign in dropbox.com
• Click on Upload

 Files:

• Select the Files, then pick the photo files
• When finished picking click Open

Folders:

• Select Folders to upload, and then select the folder
• When finished picking click Upload

USB Flash Disk

The data storage drive consists of a flash memory, integrated with a USB interface that is rewritable, and removable. It has no movable parts like in a hard or optical drive. When you need to store files, you insert the disk into a computer USB port.

Add and Store files using USB Flash Disk

Using Windows OS

• Locate the drive with the photo files or folders that you need to copy
• Plug in the Flash Disk into an open computer USB port
• Open the USB Flash Drive to create a new folder
• Copy and Paste, or Drag and Drop, the photo files from your computer onto the created folder in the USB drive
• Safely eject the drive, and unplug disk from the USB port

Using Mac OS

• Plug in the flash disk into an available USB port
• Select the flash drive from the devices
• Create a new folder, and rename it for the photo files you are to copy
• Navigate to the folder with your files on your computer to select the photo files you need to copy
• Drag or copy the photo files onto the renamed USB folder
• Click the USB icon and eject the disk for safe removal

Always store your USB drive in a safe place, and feel free to place an extra copy somewhere secure like a jewelry safe or safety deposit box. USB drives should always be stored with their covers and caps on. As sturdy as the devices are, lint, dust and other particles can cause damages. Keep the covers on will protect your images and lengthen the life of the drive.

Be sure to always use the “eject” procedure before removing your USB drive from the computer port.

iCloud

iCloud is a standard app that is usually in our iPads and iPhones. Once you sign up for iCloud, it works in the background where it connects to the cloud storage and backs up the phone’s photos. Its greatest benefit is that when you use many devices to photograph, iCloud will store all your photos.

To upload files on to your desktop computer:

Step 1: Using the  iCloud Drive toolbar, click the file Upload button, choose the photo files you want to upload then follow the set of instructions.

OR

Step 2: When using iCloud.com or iCloud Drive, drag the stored photo files on your desktop or other folder to the iCloud Drive icon or window.

If there is message that there is not enough space when you try to upload, then you should remove any unwanted files or upgrade the iCloud.com.

Download files on iCloud.com on computer:

Using iCloud Drive, select the files to download, and then in the iCloud Drive toolbar, click download. On the Computer, the files are saved in Downloads folder or your other specified folder.

External Hard Drives

These types of drives are connected outside the computer when you need to back up or restore files. External drives are portable, and store large files, like videos, audio, and photos. The hard drive will store your files in a secondary physical location and it is offline. The price of the drive depends on the storage size, where the larger is more costly.

Upload files onto an external hard drive:

• Most of these devices are connected to a computer using the USB port.
• Plug the external drive onto an available USB port
• The external drive will be identified in File Explorer
• Create a new folder in the external folder where to copy the files
• Click File explorer, locate the source drive with the stored photo files
• Copy or drag and drop the photo files onto the new folder in the external drive
• Close the File explorer and safely eject the external drive

Always store your hard drive in a safe place, like a fireproof safe, and feel free to place an extra copy somewhere secure like a jewelry safe or safety deposit box. Be sure to always use the “eject” procedure before removing your hard drive from a computer port.

Replacement Options

If your original and backup copies are lost, you may order replacements through our studio in accordance with our current fee schedule. We are also always here to help you order prints, albums, and other products! Feel free to contact us anytime if there is anything we can do to assist.