jwegge11 Loc: Stillwater, MN

I would sincerely appreciate any advice on two topics.

1). Organizing and viewing photos---I'm curious what advice you have upon returning with a card full of new pics. What is the first thing you do to view, delete and organize all of them? I'd love to hear your thought process on this.

2). Suggestions on a favorite External Drive for storing and organizing my work OR do you have an offsite backup such as one of the monthly pay services available that you like and trust? I am not very tech saavy so user friendly is key!! I found an External DiscGo Edge drive we've had around but funny how it has never gotten used. Anyone have any experience on the DiscGo Edge drives?

I have a newer laptop and was amazed when I looked at what storage is left after all of my photos have been put on there with RAW files etc. Not much room remaining.

Thanks so much in advance for taking the time to assist a newbie.------ Jeff

notnoBuddha

This reply is a case of don't do as I do - do as I know. As a rule I delete pictures daily, on the camera - many are obvious they are garbage. At home I do some basic editing - another chance to trash, transfer to both an off site storage {using Shutterfly at this time} and a seperate hard drive. I as a rule do keep a copy of some on my computer hard drive if I know I am going to edit in the next few days. I know I don't have the best system nor do I use what I have in the best way. I believe teis is an area that many know they can and should do better.

arphot Loc: Massachusetts

I use a back up external drive and burn to disk as well. Brands (externals) haven't come into consideration as they've all worked well for me (I go for the bang for the buck ;) ) . . . I have Fantom drives mostly. CD's or DVD's @ mid-line quality work for me as well. As you can tell, this is my way and not necessarily the best. Others might recommend that you purchase the GOLD cds that last a hundred years (of course by that time I'd forget where I put them . . . or even had them!). I haven't tried online storage beyond the ordinary photo sharing sites, so I can't comment on them. Good luck in your endeavor!

Cornishpete Loc: Illinois

I use the Procrastination method of organizing. That way I always have a thousand images just sitting waiting to be dealt with someday, um, I mean someyear. As I sit here typing, my desk is littered with digital cards and flash drives, although I am not certain of that as they are covered with correspondence and bills waiting to be dealt with, so out of 'sight out of mind'. So, my friend, this is not meant to be good advice, just comfort to other lazy folk like me.

As for external storage, I do have an Iomega brand 750GB which cost about $80 from Tiger Direct.com a couple of years back, but for that money they now have 2TB external drives and even a 3TB is under a hundred! Wow!

My question would be, 'Why aren't you using your Discgo Edge drive?' it couldn't be that you are perhaps too like me and many others and just don't 'getter dun'?

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

This is a common topic on photographic forums. I have a unique approach to storage that I'd be glad to share with you.

Any physical storage media is prone to corruption or being destroyed by natural calamity. Fire, theft, floods wind etc. can destroy your computer as well as any backup storage on site. Hard drives crash and viruses destroy everything.

When I process photos straight from my SD memory cards I store the final edited & processed file to my hard drive. I then immediately upload that photo to albums stored at SmugMug.com. It costs me about $50 a year for the service that doesn't restrict the size of the files uploaded or the quantity. They, in turn, backup their database containing your images to three physically separated sites. I can retrieve any photo from any computer connected to the internet 24/7.

If you calculate the cost of physical backup drives and pay yourself minimum wage for the time it takes you to run multiple copies of your work the $50 a year cost of doing it all with SmugMug is a drop in the bucket.

Also consider SmugMug can be completely customized by you and password protected, hidden albums set up by you should you want to use SmugMug as a professional site. A ton of professional photographers use SmugMug.

There's my method of organizing and backing up my work. No hardware, no software, no time wasted.

Terry Scott Reed Loc: Reading, PA

I don't keep photos on my hard drive. I use a dedicated external drive with a USB connection. After a shoot, I get the files off of flash memory ASAP, and before I do a thing. Then, I verify that the files have been transferred completely before deleting them from the card. If the files are from a client shoot rather than personal. I burn a CD or DVD. Once a week, I backup to an additional USB external drive. (I've been using Accomdata, but only because they were a good buy. But I've got good service from them...) My CDs, DVDs, and the second drive are stored at another location other than my office, in a completely different building. I am reminded of an acquaintance who was proud to boast he had a fire recovery emergency plan for his business. When fire hit, he discovered it wasn't wise to have kept that in the building that burned...

billybob40

EXTERAL HARD DRIVE! A 1 or 2TB, tigardirect.com has them for under $100. I use smugmug.com to store and display picture for customers to see, you can lock them or not.

billybob40

My laptop has a 100 HD, I use it for my on site photography. And with it a 500 external hard drive its as big as a bill fold and cost $50.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Hard drives have two jobs - store your invaluable work and fail so they lose your invaluable work.

I'd recommend SmugMug online, external hard drive storage, and CD or DVD backup. Put the CDs or DVDs of especially important shots like family somewhere safe like a safe deposit box at the bank in case your house burns down.

I can't tell you how many news reports I've seen of houses burning in a forest fire and the people grab THEIR FAMILY PHOTOS and run for it with just those and the clothes on their backs. Better to have backups on disk in the bank, I'd say.

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

I used two external drives, and burn to disk once a month. I don't use an online storage site, unless you count flickr. Disked are put in a firesafe lock box along with our immigration paperwork, life insurance policies, and other important documents.

LarryD Loc: Mojave Desert

I would hate to lose my photos... but it happens.

I've still got sleeves and boxes of film negatives and cases of slides... It's much easier to organize digital images..

So:

(1).. Set up a file system, just like any file drawer. Initial broad headings (say, Nature, Portraite, Family, etc); then break those down (National Parks, House on Elm Street, and so forth)..... and further until you're comfortable..

Doesn't do much good to just have everything "on the computer"..

(2).. Have enough flexibility in your processing computer for both files and working... Software like Photoshop use the empty areas of your hard-drive as a scratchpad when you are processing.. Not enough room, photoshop is slow...

I installed a 1 Tbyte Seagate SATA drive into my computer just for processing and to act as an "Active Library". It has the same file set-up that my "Archive Library" has.

(3).. Use a seperate Archive Library. This can be an external hard drive or on-line. Your keeper negatives (RAW files) should be stored here. I use a WD 2 TByte external. You should also save your final edits too so you won't need to duplicate that hard work and time if you lose the main Library images.. I find it useful to download the Card images here at the same time as I do to the Active Library. This way I always have 2 copies of all RAW images in seperate , all the time.

(4).. Never work on your only copy of an image. Anything can happen while you are processing (power outage, computer glitch) or you may simply "save" your edit and lose your original accidentally..

(5).. I have an additional 2 Tbyte external that mirrors the Archive Library.. You may find it overkill, but I have had a main computer harddrive fail.. It's worth the extra hundred bucks..

billybob40

Myself I trust no one on line with my pix. I have a 1TB Dell I got from 199computer.com for $200. Fastest PC I've use out of about 15 in 3 years. Always back up your pictures when your put them on your PC. Name your file date it on your PC, then copy and put it on a external drive (1 or @ TB)you can get it from tigardirect.com for $100. or less. I PP alway make a copy.
A story that gave me my first heart attack. I was selling records, LPs, and junk on ebay, about 25 items a day. THEN my PC chashed, no back up. People all over the world waiting. I don't like waiting why such you have to. Not I have two table top and one laptop, my wife has one table top and a laptop if I should need it. OH! I have external drives 1 TB, 2 500HD, and a 40HD. I back up about every thing I do. You my say I'm crazy but theres a time you will see why I do this. I work with 2PC every day. Also I have two ways to get on line. hope this might help and GOOD LUCK in what every you may do.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Sounds like you need to mirror image everything you do with your eBay to an external drive so any of your other computers can read the backup immediately after a crash. But then again, one lightning strike and all your computers and drives are fried. CDs, DVDs, and online backup at SmugMug still give that extra security that no drive can ever provide.

billybob40

I have every on power strips, we have a lot of lighting here. I also have smugmug but not for all the pictures I have, thats for the business end. The ex hard drive are on when I'm useing them, never all the time.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Power strips keep lightning spikes from coming in, at least theoretically (lightning can jump across the spike protector if it's large enough and even across the power switch of your computer's power supply when it's off!), but a battery backup gives you a few minutes to get things shut down while the power is off.

The battery system also works as a much better spike protection because spikes can't jump through a sluggish lead acid battery on the way to your computer. A spike heading into a battery backup is like jumping into a swimming pool full of carmel (seen that commercial?).

By the way, if your hard drive is reading or writing when power goes out, or goes out and comes back, and there's no battery backup, the hard drive head can "skate" across the drive surface as the surface speed is slowing down (no power) - messing things up very badly and losing some files in the process, possibly even destroying some it wasn't working on at the time.

Just thought you should know...