How do y'all store your digital photo files? Please advise

[CarolynM]

Hi! I have a few questions.

1.Please tell me: How do y'all store your digital photo files?
Do you use data CDs, external hard drives, or what do you do?
I know many of you probably keep the RAW files (or original JPEGS); do you also keep ALL the PSD files (the files that you kept your working layers) AND your final copy that you flattened and printed the photo?

2.If you enjoy shooting wildlife photos as a hobby and you do NOT have a photography business, not counting purposely deleting the obviously real bad images---wrong camera setting/blurry unuseable images,etc; do you keep most or all of your good photos as digital images and only print the "cream of the crop" best photos? Do you keep all your nice digital images that are keepers or do you only keep the "cream of the crop" best digital images and delete all the rest?

3.IF you take many wonderful photos, (as I have seen on TPF) and assuming your home walls are already filled with excellent nature photos, do you still print the photos and put them in an actual photo album that perhaps is on your den coffee table? Or do you mostly keep your wonderful photos as digital images? Assuming you do store these full res. digital images at home, do you also store the same full res. digital images online somehow?

Please advise!
Thank you!
CarolynM

[Daniel Bates]

I use external hard disks, and as a last-ditch emergency measure, I post them to several free image hosting sites. That has saved me a couple of times. I don't keep PSDs unless there's something very, very special about the way I processed a particular image.

I don't print anything. I would like to, maybe, but the hassle isn't worth it. Yet.

[CarolynM]

Originally Posted by Daniel Bates

I use external hard disks, and as a last-ditch emergency measure, I post them to several free image hosting sites. That has saved me a couple of times. I don't keep PSDs unless there's something very, very special about the way I processed a particular image.

I don't print anything. I would like to, maybe, but the hassle isn't worth it. Yet.

Thanks for your reply Daniel!
How large of size of external hard drives do you usually purchase & use?
Do you use any of the software that comes on the external hard drives or do you delete or uninstall from the drive the software--ie encrypting stuff or something that syncronizes the data that is on your home computer and the external matches it file for file--makes duplicate of all folders you ask it to & saves it to the external. (ie:Store & Go on a passport size external hard drive)
CarolynM

[Daniel Bates]

I've been using a 500 GB hard disk because I found it on sale, and I needed to store video on it. I would suggest getting multiple smaller, cheaper drives and mirroring them, because all hard drives fail sooner or later.

I don't use automatic backup software either. (Perhaps I should.) Every so often, I just perform a massive copy-and-paste operation.

[Jim Victory]

I use (4) 500GB HD to store my raw files with each one being a backup to the other. When they fill up I store them. I also store my processed files to HD and DVD.

I print my best work and keep it in a portfolio albums by category. I put some on the wall but most are in my portfolio.

In addition I maintain a website with examples and to provide links to stock photo files, that are not available to the general public, for customers.

[groovyone]

I have multiple HDDs and some DVDs burned with RAWs. As for printing, I have several portfolio books in 11x14, 8x10 and 4x6. I usually feel like the process is more complpete when I print them.

[Sonny]

I have a DROBO

They recently added Firewire 800 and it's now expandable to 16TB!

[kenw]

online storage is the most secure, but...you gotta be online to get at 'em.

Combine the online (for longterm) and CD or DVD or external hard drives (for quick access) and you're probably in really good shape.

[Jenny Z]

I burn them to CD's, and I keep them on an external hard drive.

[ggeen]

Originally Posted by CarolynM

1.Please tell me: How do y'all store your digital photo files?

2.If you enjoy shooting wildlife photos as a hobby...

3.IF you take many wonderful photos, (as I have seen on TPF) and assuming your home walls are already filled with excellent nature photos, do you still print the photos and put them in an actual photo album...
CarolynM

1. I use a combination of external hard disk drives and CD/DVD ROMS. The CD/DVD's being a backup copy to the extnernal HDDs.

2. Yes, love shooting nature type photos as a hobby. I'm strictly amateur hour here.

3. I have some prints made and have them hanging around the house and office. I have several 11x14 print on my office wall. I just had a few extra frames hidden away in the closet so I put them to use.

I don't do scrap books but I have done a couple of coffee table books. That is having the images printed right on the bound pages as opposed to making a print and sticking that in a book. I used RitzPix for my photo-books, just a mile from the house, but there are many, many quality printers out there on the internet.

[deleonphotographyvideo]

DVD is a good option

[Wes]

My computer has a 750Gb primary drive that is used for programs only. My data drive is 1TB, and I have another internal 1TB drive that I use solely as a backup for my images. When it fills up I'll add another 1TB drive until I run out of drive bays, at which point I'll go with external drives.

[canoflan]

external hard drives, mirrored for backup

I save all files that are sharp in case I need to pick the best parts of one to fix the best one with a small imperfection (i.e. cut and paste, etc...) in PS. Storage is so cheap now (500 GB under $100), no excuse for not backing up.

[Hanky]

LOL, Digital files. Can't bring myself to kill my babies so I have 3 externals full and they are all also on DVD's, and check your dvd burn options to best utilize space.

[ara.bentley]

Well, I do a few things...

We have an external hard drive that I save to everyday. Then every week or so we save the info onto another external hard drive that is in another location somewhere in the house. I have had too many friends get comp equip stolen and an external just sitting there is an easy target. In addition to that everytime I finish up editing, printing or whatever else I do with my photos I save them to dvd and put them in a folder in a file cabinet. I don't do online storage yet - but sounds like a good idea. Loosing my photos would be the biggest upset for me if we were ever robbed.