[Poll]Backing up your photos[Poll]

[Steve Randles]

Just how do you manage your photos?

 

If your anything like me, its not done well. My default location when uploading new photographs is in a folder with the shoot date on it, in "Documents and Settings/My pictures". And there they stay untill there is enough to fill another DVD.

 

I still do this even after losing approx 3gb of photographs early last year, I do not seem to have learned and as long as when I switch my pc on and its working then everything is okay with the world.

 

So how do deal with this? Do you backup religeously or wait till just before a reformat then backup everything then. Do you even know what options are available and best for longer term storage, for instance those cheap CD's you bought for a couple of quid will probably not be readable in 5 years time. Have you, like me suffered and lost photos when your box went bananas and refused to work?

 

What file management software do you use for managing your Photos on your hard drive and does it work well for you, could it be better, easier to use are you like me again, just use "My Pictures" and a date reference?

 

Steve

[poledark]

Steve, I use Picasa, recommended by Newt I think,

 

Den

[Gillies]

I backup everytime I take shots.

 

Have folder on my computer called 'Photos', in there I make a new folder each time I use the camera ... usually with a naming convention of monthyear_subject and copy the photos from the card into the newly created folder.... ie February2006_CarloRun2 ...... for photos I took today of my dog 'Carlo' running about .... did ones of Sunday also, hence CarloRun2, they were February2006_CarloRun.

 

I have a Maxtor 250 Gig external hard drive attached, and in the photos folder have folders for each year, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 ......... so I copy the newly created folder into the current year folder '2006'.

 

At the end of the week, I usually copy any new folders I have created onto a blank DVD, and keep going until I fill up the 4.7 GB and then throw in a new blank DVD and so on, and so on.

 

For Post Processed Photographs, I have seperate folders and similar naming and backing up processes.

 

Thats my process - have done it for years ...

 

Gillies

[chesters1]

i have a folder with folders within ,each internal folder has a name i.e camping 2004 ,intrepid ,christmas 04 etc etc ,within those the photo's are again segregated into more folders ,every saturday when i check for updates on my most popular programes i copy this major folder onto my second hard disk overwriting the existing one and if its had a few new photo's added ( if i'v downloaded the camera card to get more room) onto a dvd backup ,i also have unchangeable foto's (ones with years that cannot be changed i.e the camping 2004 etc) on cd which is kept in the safe away from harm.

[rabster]

Chesters & Gillies

 

I'm in the when I remember, or more accurately, the when I get around to it catergory. I keep promising myself i'm gonna start burning my images to DVD more frequently. I shall now strive to follow the example of the two of you.

[Guest Finepix]

I am incredibly un-organised. My husband did a back up of all my images a month or so ago, but I never do. I have to this weekend as I've just bought a new pc, so everything will have to be tidied up and transferred over.

 

After my images have downloaded I do categorise them, ie Ducks, Macro, Spiders, Kids etc. but that's it ..............

[chesters1]

not only pics but letters both sent and recieved ,i have them in paper form but back them up on the p.c ,emails that are kept for my research are printed out for safety also (never keep eggs in one basket)

just my photo folder is 4.6 gig so soon that double layer dvd will be needed

Edited February 15, 2006 by chesters1

[nursejudy]

you can perhaps guess which of the votes cast is me!!!!!!

[Guest Finepix]

you can perhaps guess which of the votes cast is me!!!!!!

 

Are you keeping me company Judy in 'whats backing up?'

[nursejudy]

well not sure about you ..perhaps you are just being kind !!! but one of th e2 is me!!!!