If you had “Organize Photos” as a resolution this year we’re
here to help!
March Tip – Create a Digital Photo Hub
Create a Digital Photo Hub to house all your photos and videos. Having everything in one place makes photo organization much easier! You know where to look, you can quickly eliminate duplicates, it’s easy to back it up, and it feels so much better! Keep reading for information on where you should create your Digital Photo Hub.
How To Choose Your Digital Photo Hub
Consider these 4 possible locations for your Digital Photo Hub (DPH) – the location you will store your entire digital photo collection. Each location has pros and cons associated with it and will determine the
organizational framework of your digital photo collection. Keep in mind you want your organizational system to be simple and easy to understand. You must be comfortable using it.
- Locate the DPH on your computer’s hard drive. This is the general preferred location as your digital photo collection is easy to access, organize, use and maintain. You may set up your file structure chronologically, thematically or as a combination of both. This location allows your DPH to be independent of any software that could become obsolete, unsupported or changed. There is no expensive software to buy and no learning curve. There is no risk of your metadata being stripped from your images. This format is very portable, it can be moved to any computer and used with any
operating system. There is no time spent uploading and downloading images. - Locate the DPH on an external hard drive (EHD). This location has many of the same benefits as locating the DPH on the computer’s hard drive – it’s easy to access, organize, use and maintain. The file structure can be set up chronologically, thematically or as a combination of both. Your DPH remains independent of any software that could become obsolete, unsupported or changed. There is no expensive software to purchase. The format is portable though the EHD itself may not be – if switching between operating systems, PC to MAC or some other system, the EHD may not be formatted in a way that can be read by the new system. There is time spent moving images to the EHD and a bit of a learning curve in understanding how to use the EHD, move files to it, and backup the files on it. The backup process will require a more dedicated effort as it may not be as automatic. EHDs have a life expectancy of about 5 years – it will be necessary to replace the EHD on a regular basis. EHDs have become more cost effective in the last few years, purchase one with enough space for your photo collection to grow.
- Locate the DPH on the “Cloud”. I am using the term “Cloud” to refer to any photo storage site accessed through the internet. One major disadvantage of using a Cloud backup is that you need an internet connection to access your photos. The format of your file structure may be dependent on the storage site you select. Not all sites retain the metadata associated with your images or keeps your images in full resolution. With some it is also difficult to download your photos and may be expensive if they charge for you to do so. Some offer video storage and some do not. Cloud
storage is relatively inexpensive, and you can often store a large number of photos and videos in your DPH. With Cloud storage you are subject to the terms and conditions of the company you choose to contract with. You need to read their terms very carefully, so you understand the agreement you are entering into. The companies offering Cloud storage could change ownership, management or direction. They could go under suddenly or change the way they do business leaving you without access to your photo collection or having to quickly find a replacement. It can be very time consuming to upload and download large numbers of photos. It is very important you keep a backup copy of your DPH in at least one other location. These companies deal in huge amounts of data and need to maintain and upgrade their servers to remain effective, this means they may be moving your data around without you knowing. Please back it up! - Locate the DPH in iCloud – Apple’s internet storage site. I’ve added this Cloud option specifically as it has become so popular with MAC and PC users alike. Photos in iCloud are stored at full resolution. iCloud will sync your photo collection across all your connected devices. You may or may not want this feature as deleting a photo on any of your devices, say your phone when you need more space, will automatically delete that photo from iCloud and any other devices iCloud syncs with. Storing photos in iCloud allows you to keep optimized (a smaller sized copy) photos on your devices (like your phone and computer). This saves lots of space on your devices, just be sure to keep a backup copy of the full-resolution images in iCloud somewhere else (Apple recommends this but up until this week it has been very difficult to get images OUT of iCloud to back them up. Now you can select the images from iCloud you want to download, previously it was one at a time or everything!) If you choose to use iCloud to house your DPH you will have the same pros and cons as option #3.
There are pros and cons for each location for your Digital Photo Hub. Determine which location works best for you and begin moving your photo collection to this central location. Wherever you decide to locate your DPH it is imperative that you also create a backup copy of your entire collection. See information on the 3-2-1 Backup Method in our January 2018 Newsletter.