Your photos are precious memories that you can re-live forever…unless they disappear.
Every two minutes, humans take more photos than ever existed in total 150 years ago. A lost or damaged phone, a computer crash, or even a natural disaster could destroy your digital photos or prints. Don’t risk losing those captured memories. Back up and save your photos today! In honor of September being National Save Your Photos Month, we’re here with some tips to keep your favorite images safe.
Tips to Backup Your Digital Photos
- Back up your digital photos on a regular basis to a jump drive. Once the images are off your phone or camera, store them on your home computer or laptop, as well as a dedicated portable external hard drive. You can even use cloud storage to save your photos (more on that in a moment). Ideally, it’s a good strategy to have at least 3 digital copies of your most important photos saved on different devices.
- Display and share your favorites! Don’t cage your memories to a digital file or a shoebox… print them out and put them in a frame! Our mat board frames are an affordable option to show off your favorite prints at work or at home.
- Organize and tag those images. Include dates, names, ages and locations on your prints and pictures. Ask your family members about old photos now before the information is lost, and jot down notes on a notecard to place behind the photo.
- Scan prints and old family photos. Paper and ink are not forever, so be sure to get some nice quality digital scans of your vintage prints and old family photos, and back them up!
Tools to Organize and Store Digital Photos
If you’ve got your photos backed up, but are struggling with how to find and organize them, these tools can help.
Adobe Photoshop Elements
This program is easy and fast to use. Definitely worth the investment to ensure you can find those precious memories in the future.
Google Cloud Storage
Google Drive or Google Photos both offer free, secure cloud storage for your digital photos. If you max out the initial 15 GB of free storage that comes with your Google account, you can upgrade your storage plan for a monthly or annual fee.
For more tips on organizing your digital photos, visit here.
Fun Ways to Make Your Photos Go Further:
- Make 4″ x 6″ photo greeting cards for holidays, birthdays, or thank you cards
- Make an album or scrapbook from your recent trip
- Use photo booth prints as giveaways and party favors at events
- Make a custom calendar with your photos
- Order a photo mug, photo coasters, art print, or personalized photo ornaments for holiday gifts
It’s easy to let our images sit on our phones or our computers without backing them up, or printing our favorites. But we’re taking more pictures than ever—an estimated 657 billion photos per year, according to Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report. Back up your photos today to ensure you can share your favorite photo memories for years to come.