Remember cassette tapes?  No?  Then this article might not be for you but read on just to be sure...

I was in a really cool vintage shop in downtown Raleigh recently. Walking by their music section with all of the 8-track and cassette tapes reminded me that it would be a good idea to check in with my past clients about photo storage.

I'll keep this simple and to the point.  Your photos are in danger of being lost forever.  Yes, that's a dramatic statement, and it's also true.  I receive calls and emails every month from past clients who no longer have access to their memories for one reason or another. 

Between technology obsolescence and plain bad luck, the list looks something like this. (I've gotten all of these and more):

1. Photos were only backed up on a work laptop and the IT department wiped the hard drive during an upgrade.

2. Got wedding digitals on a DVD back in 2008 and currently have no computer that will read a DVD.

3. Literally can't find the USB drive and that's the only place the photos exist.

4. Fire, Hurricane, other acts of God destroyed the device the photos were on.

I could go on, but I'm sure you can understand there are a thousand ways to lose something.  Especially something that depends so heavily on technology.

I'll spare you the drama and cut right to what you can do to be sure your digital photos are protected from loss. This is going to be more of a philosophy than a technique. It's a simple concept, one you've heard before if you have a retirement or investment advisor.

DIVERSIFY

This time it's not about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or cryptocurrency.  It's bout WHERE your photos live.  In general, You want your photos (all of them) to be in at least three separate places, so if something goes sideways with one of those places, it's not a big deal. 

Here's a short list of my favorite ways to back up my own personal photos:

1. Dropbox- Every photo, both personal and professional has been backed up to my Dropbox account at some point. I have the app on my phone and when I take a photo or video, it automatically uploads in the background.  So, if my phone memory fills up, I can delete with no stress.  If my phone gets lost or destroyed, my photos are safe.

2. Amazon Prime- Yep, a little-known fact is that if you are a Prime member (and I bet you are) you can upload unlimited photos at no extra cost. They do have a cap on videos, but will happily add video capacity for a fee. There is a dedicated photo app you can get on your phone and desktop computer to make backing up your memories easy.

3. Google Photos- Most folks have a Google account of some sort.  If you do, they include a good bit of storage for free. Check out this helpful video from a nice lady I've never met, but has great info ;) 

4. A portable hard drive- It's a really good idea to back your important data in a place you can physically get to if needed.  Let's say one of the cloud services experiences an issue and loses your photos, if you have them stored on a hard drive you can easily access, then it won't be a big deal.

I keep copies of all my photos (yours too) in a water-tight hard case buried deep in the trunk of my car. That way, if Russian hackers delete my Dropbox or Amazon Account, I still have my photos.  The downside is that I not only have to remember to physically plug these drives into my computer to update, (which I do ever two weeks) I also have to be sure I'm updating to new drives as technology and connections evolve.

5. iCloud- Even though I've been an avid user of all things Apple since 1986 (you read that right) iCloud is the one service I know the least about.  I do know that you can use it for photo storage, though the amount of space they give you for free is much less than Google or Amazon. I also know that if you are an Apple device user, iCloud integrates seamlessly into that ecosystem.

No matter which direction you go, it's important to lock down one or more of these services as soon as possible.  The clock is ticking and your memories are worth it.