Backing Up Your Photos and Video

Making backups of your photos and video is vital. If your computer crashes, or your CDs or DVDs get stolen, you'll want your files backed-up somewhere safe. Here are the best options:

  • Another hard drive — Best choice for Video
    A second hard drive is a good investment. This can either be placed inside your computer or can be a separate, portable device you can take anywhere. There are many good external hard drives on the market that come with transport-friendly cases.

    You can also store photos on devices like portable mp3 players and even buy dedicated portable photo storage devices, which are similar to an external hard drive. If you plan on getting one of these, make sure it supports incremental backups – so that it will only backup images that are new or have changed since the last backup.

  • CD, DVD or other storage device
    If storing your photos on CDs or DVDs, make a backup once a month or so. DVDs are better for video files, as video files are larger and DVDs can store more data. Other options include a thumb drive (very small hard drive) or USB memory stick. Once you've made the backup, clearly label the disc or device and keep it somewhere safe.

  • Online
    Website like MediaMax, Shutterfly, Flickr and Picasa can also store your multimedia for free (up to a point). At MediaMax, for example, your files are stored securely on the web, accessible from any web browser.

    If you have your own web site, web server or web hosting, chances are you have some available room for file backup. Plus, you can access your files from any web browser.

  • Print-outs
    Using print-outs as a last resort for backing-up pictures. For a start, it’s expensive to print every image you own! Print-outs also don’t capture the quality of a stored image, so if you ever want to reproduce the image, the quality will decline. Print-outs themselves can fade with sunlight and age.


    TIPS:

  • Two copies before you erase!
    Our rule at Brisk Interactive — If it doesn't exist in two places, it doesn't exist! Before you erase images or video from your camera card, ensure you‘ve made two copies somewhere else – and if you ever lose one, make another copy. Ideally, keep this copy in a secondary place, whether it be online or on a CD stored at your parents’ place. That way, come robbery, fire or accidental loss you should always be safe!

  • Backup software
    You will most likely want to invest in some good backup software, which does all the hard work for you. This option is generally expensive and unnecessary for home users, but if you are looking for a good software package, try browsing through some software reviews or researching different packages on the web first.