Best Way to Back Up Your Photos

Print Your Photos

The best way to back up your digital pictures is no different than it was with film. Print them. After all, you already know the disc will get lost, and the flash memory and even the hard-drive will fail over time.

Discs (DVD or CD)

Burned DVD or CD's provide a great way to back up your images and lots of them BUT be aware that over time, they will deteriorate and become unusable. Depending on the disk this is usually within 5 to 10 years. This is because of the material used for home burning is not the same as what is used for commercial applications.

Flash Memory

Flash memory has dropped in price to where you could keep your photos archived right on the disk you took them with. They are still more expensive than disks, however, and are prone to corruption, accidental overwrite, and because they are tiny, are easy to misplace once outside the camera or case.

External Hard Drive

While not a bad idea to back up your entire computer often, the reality is most people just do not do it. Some software provides automated backup or one touch backup, but this method is still really only for more technical or determined users.

Online Photo Backup

The internet provides a unique resource for backing up your photos. Usually for a monthly or annual fee is involved, but with the fee comes a little peace of mind a copy of your pictures are stored in a remote location. Some internet providers and even PC manufacturers are now offering online storage.

Summary

Be smart. Keep your photos safe by combining two or more methods above. For a reasonable price, you can keep you computer backed up at home, have nice photos printed throughout your home, and even have a off-site internet backup.