2016
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Example Photo Back-up Plan Written by: Cora Foley
You just digitized your analog photographs, VHS tapes, slides, negatives, and roll film. This probably has you thinking great! All of my memories are safe forever. Well, not exactly. What makes a digital file so much better than an analog copy is not only the quality but the ability to easily duplicate and share a file creating multiple copies in seconds. That being said, it is up to you to make sure those files are backed up and shared. Otherwise, it is just a single file that can disappear. In order to save your digitized files for generation upon generation, you must have a photo backup plan.
Issues You May Run Into Without a Photo Back-up Plan
DVDs/CDs – While these are both great mediums for storing files they can get scratched, broken or simply lost. Also, as with all technology, these are the next mediums to become obsolete, just as VHS tapes have in the past. In a couple of generations, it may be hard for your family to find a way to play and view your DVDs and CDs.
Computers – Computers are amazing and will be around for a long, long time. However, if you only have your files stored on a computer the files can accidentally be deleted, or if your computer crashes the files can be lost forever.
Flash-Drives – These tiny file storage devices are compact and easy to transport, but because they are so small they can get lost easily. Also, over time and with large amounts of usage the device can warp causing it to be unreadable in a computer.
How to Ensure Your Memories Are Safe
Ensuring your memories are safe means saving the various files in more than one location. There are multiple ways to make this happen:
Step 1: Organize your files – Before you start making copies of your files everywhere it is best to organize everything. If all of your photos and videos are going to be duplicated and shared it will make your life simpler to have them categorized and tagged prior to backing them up.
Step 2: Choose at least 3 methods to back up your files. We recommend choosing 2 physical methods (options 1-4) & 1 cloud storage option to ensure your files are as safe as possible.
1. Computer
2. Flash-drive
3. External Hard-drive
4. DVD or CD
5. Cloud Storage – There are many free cloud storage services you can use to save and share your files. Some examples include Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive & LightJar. Cloud storage enables you to access all of your photos and videos on your phone, tablet, and computer as soon as they are uploaded.
You may notice social media such as Facebook and Instagram are not on our list of reliable backup resources. While you can easily share memories via social media the quality of a file is generally degraded. This will prevent you from obtaining a good copy of a memory to share. Furthermore, you will have to individually save each digital file to your phone, computer or tablet which is a very tedious task when many files are involved.
The Takeaway
All of your digitized roll film, tapes, negatives, photos, and slides are precious. Having them digitized was the first and most important step to preserving your family’s legacy. But, by having a photo backup plan you will guarantee that these memories are safe for generations!
Cora Foley has worked at Smooth Photo Scanning for almost 4 years now. Her passion for memory creation and preservation drew her to this family-owned company. After using Smooth Photo Scanning Services for her own memories, she wanted to help the company spread their reach so more people can enjoy, share and preserve their own experiences through digitized photos, negatives, video tapes and more. She loves working at this company due to their passion of preserving important moments!