How To: Back Up Your Photos Like A Pro!

This post is a little bit outside the norm but it is probably one of the most important ones you’ll read here in the LV Tips section!! It’s a little bit of insurance for all of your incredibly valuable memories, and something that will help give you some peace of mind knowing they are safe.

Let’s start with the options for backing up all of your photos and video. You can choose to:

1.     Backup to the “Cloud” or another online based backup system – which is great!

2.     In a folder on your computer – also great!

3.     To a Hard Drive – which is where we will focus here today!

Let’s begin with the idea that there are never too many places that you can backup your images. In fact, using more than one of these options is the best bet here, as you never know what could happen to your phone, your computer or your hard drives. (Misplacing or damaging these items is never ideal, but hey – it happens!) The last thing you would want to happen is to lose some images or video that are special to you, so I’m here to help!

If you haven’t used a Hard Drive before, here’s a quick little walk through that can guide you step-by-step! If you’re a visual learner, click that play button! If you want a written step-by-step, I recap in text right below!

STEP ONE – BACKUP

1)    Plug in and register your new Hard Drive. I recommend giving your Hard Drive a Name. (Ex. “Smith”, “Smith Family” or “Smith 2020”).

2)    Create one folder in the main Drive to import your images into. Give it a name. (Ex. “Lauren’s Photos”)

3)    Plug in your source of the Photos (ex. Camera, Memory Card, or Cell Phone) to your computer.

4)    Use your method of preference to Import your images into your new Folder you named in Step 2.

*I recommend using the “Image Capture” Application on your Mac, or just drag + drop on your PC to keep things simple.

5)    Import all the images since your last backup to your Folder from Step 2.

 EXTRA NOTE – If you have never backed up your images before, make sure that ALL your old folders, images, videos and files are copied to your Hard Drive. Repeat the above importing steps for each location you are currently storing your media.

Now that they are all on your Hard Drive, take these steps to make your life easier in the future.

STEP TWO – ORGANIZE

I will admit this could be overwhelming if you have never done this. If you don’t have the time to do this all at once, just break it up into sections to tackle in the coming weeks.

1)    Click into that main Folder on your Hard Drive (“Lauren’s Photos”) and begin creating Sub-Folders within it.

2)    I’d recommend doing this in a way that makes the most sense to you.

i)     By Date – Ex. “July 2020”, or “December 2019”

ii)    By Event Name – Ex. “Hannah’s 1st Birthday” or “Disney Vacation”

iii)  Or the BEST WAY - By Doing Both – Ex. “Family Vacation – Muskoka – August 2020”

3)    NOW, drag and drop all of the appropriate images from your main folder into these sub-folders.

EXTRA NOTE - By creating these folders and sub folders, it allows you to easily find the images you’re looking for in the future without having to sift through your entire collection.  They are easily accessible through scrolling or the search feature!  

STEP THREE - PRINT!

The last thing to remember is that you don’t want your favourite images to stay on your Hard Drive forever. I know that you have thousands of images of your family, your kids, and your vacations on your phones – and now also safely on your Drives.

I recommend making a routine of reviewing those new images you’re backing up every 3-4 months and send those favourites off to your printer. Update your personal albums or memory boxes of the memories that stand out the most!

If you need a recommendation on a new Hard Drive, I’ve linked a couple of favourites on my Amazon page below!

Option One - 1TB of Storage (A great place to get you started!)

Option 2 - 2TB of Storage (Double the storage, and more durable for on-the-go, to and from home/office/travel, etc)

Option 3 - 4TB of Storage (Probably more than you will need for your personal images, but if you have years and years to start backing up, check this option out!)

Hopefully this post was helpful, and will act as a reminder to keep those images safe! If you have any questions at all, drop me a line or leave me a comment below!

(Note: by linking you directly to a few products on Amazon I earn from qualifying purchases. I’d never direct you to a product I didn’t love or find useful and hopefully these help you on your search!)