Backup strategies for photographers

[Yogesh Sarkar]

This is the backup strategy I am in the process of implementing now:

Primary data storage on internal drives.

First backup on a 4TB WD My Book.

Secondary backup in the form of JPEGs on an external 1TB HDD.

Offsite backup in the form of JPEGs on Smugmug.

I have nearly 3TB of data, so managing it is a little more expensive.

 

[amitw79]

However, you can export all your RAW images to JPEG and store them in your 1TB drive and keep it off site if you wish.

Thanks YS. Thats a good suggestion.

 

[Ankur003]

Apart from the workflow which is similar to Ankur , I also keep one copy at my office, for the necessity of actual physical separation. I also use a paid software called "second copy" for the backups , as I'm quite unable to write my own codes, and I find it to be absolutely brilliant .
Cheers
Somnath

Dada , how do you manage physical separation? any setup to keep HDD in office and run backup without hassle of carrying it off?

 

[iamsomnath]

Dada , how do you manage physical separation? any setup to keep HDD in office and run backup without hassle of carrying it off?

Yes through "Second Copy" , my office PC can access and backup from the home rig. No to and fro carrying the HDD around. Quite handy.

 

[Ankur003]

Yes through "Second Copy" , my office PC can access and backup from the home rig. No to and fro carrying the HDD around. Quite handy.

But that means your both HDDs are connected to WEB every time. That is in contrast to your requirement for OFFLINE data/backups priority.

 

[iamsomnath]

But that means your both HDDs are connected to WEB every time. That is in contrast to your requirement for OFFLINE data/backups priority.

Ah , I am a simple finance guy , spare me the mumbo-jumbo . All I care for is that I have my images backed up in two separate places , 3 copies at home ( one in the laptop , 2 in two 4 TB EHDDS ) and 2 copies at office , one in the internal HDD and another in external HDD. Such system has seen me in good stead so far. The neighbourhood tech-wizard has programmed in such a way that twice a week , at stroke of midnight the machines wake up and do the needful while I sleep in quiet peace . I also cut a set of DVD every year on my birthday , a reminder which never fails.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Make sure at least one of the backups is offline is connected only when backup needs to be done. There is a rising threat of ransomware these days. These ransomware encrypt data in your HDD, as well as any connected cloud and external drives. Rendering data and backup inaccessible, without the right key. For that, these malware authors demand a ransom in the form of Bitcoins.

 

[SJM1214]

This is what I do...

I have two WD My Passport 2 TB external HDD. All of my images are stored in this HDD.
Moreover, I have 4 free accounts at mega.nz which gives 50GB free cloud storage. All processed and shorted images are stored at mega.nz.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Ok this is my backup strategy these days:

All the videos I shoot regularly for vlog and a few other files are automatically backed up to an external 1TB drive, which is connected to the computer 24x7.

All photographs and videos are periodically backed up to external 4TB drive, after a trip or a shoot.

I tried implementing a cloud backup strategy earlier this year and managed to backup around 2.5TB of data, before they decided to end their consumer line of backup system and I ended up dropping cloud backup plan, since it had taken me months to backup the data and a single day to undo all of it, thanks to that announcement.

 

[anoop0]

I backup my photos-straight-out-of-camera photos in 2 TB HDD (password protected) in nested folder
Year -> Month_Small_Decription
Same goes for edited photos.

There are two photo services for free, where I store and backup my photos online-
1. Google Photos (Unlimited Photos for 16MP with slight downgrade in quality): Good for sharing with friend & Family. Another good thing with google its it makes really cool collage and small video out of videos or photos. Also reminds, on anniversary of those dates. It's nostalgic to see photos from past.
2. Flickr (1 TB with original quality): Good for storing original quality albums and sharing with others.