Located in Northwest Harris County, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography shares the easiest ways to keep your high resolution digital files safe through free cloud storage systems.
Sarah's Top Three Picks for Safely Archiving Your Session
Greetings, friends and welcome! As 2017 comes to a close, it's time to start thinking about keeping your digital images safely archived. As a professional newborn photographer in Houston, my collections are fully inclusive and digitally based: this means I offer lovely galleries of digital files you may download, share, print as many times as you wish, and treasure for years to come.
I keep final copies for generally 6 months and then clear out my hard drives to make room for new sessions.
However, once your session is photographed and on your computer, there are risks to losing your precious images. External hard drives may fail; laptops are dropped, computers die, and sometimes a USB stick is simply lost. Moreover, technology is constantly changing so even things like a disc drive is becoming obsolete. To elaborate: I have a custom built PC my darling & dashing husband built for me. There is not a disc drive because I have no need for one. Furthermore, Mac users typically don't have a disc drive either.
Everything You Need to Know about the cloud
You may be reading this and think, "What is the cloud?" Don't worry! When I first heard the term "cloud storage" I had to Google it, too, ha! The cloud is synonymous with the internet. It sounds foreign, kind of like something we should all know and be privy to, but perhaps are a little unsure of. In the most simple terms, cloud storage means you store your data and files (such as your precious newborn images!) over the internet instead of a computer hard drive.
Perks of using a cloud storage service for photo or data back up
Great for sharing images seamlessly with your loved ones such as family or friends
Reliable due to fast internet connections
You can access files from any device like a PC, Mac, tablet, or phone
Essential in case your hard drive is damaged or stolen
Often secure with many affordable and free entry level options
How I selected the top three cloud storage options
Before I begin, it should be noted there are a plethora of wonderful choices for consumers to consider. After all, you can reduce your purchases of hard ware and worrying if there will ever be a technological failure. For instance, since I work full time as portrait photographer, I often hear horror stories from other professionals about a hard drive failing, one of which holds an irreplaceable session such as a wedding or baby's first photos, such as newborn photos. In this business, you cannot afford to lose a session! If you're a professional photographer, you may be interested in a subscription that houses enormous amounts of space (such as 3 T) but if you're a parent looking to keep your files safe, these options are the easiest to use.
1 ) Google Drive
Since Google is extremely popular, you probably already have a Gmail account which means you have access to the fantastic Google Drive. This is a safe place for all your files and includes 15 GB of free online storage which can keep all sorts of things, such as your photos. Your files can be reached anywhere, too, so there is a nuance to having access to special memories at any moment, all from the click of a mouse or the scroll of a screen. You may also effortlessly invite others to view, share, or download your files without an e-mail attachment; this is extremely convenient if you'd like to share your newborn session, for instance, with grandparents who perhaps do not reside in Houston TX. No matter where your loved ones are, the photos follow.
2) Microsoft One Drive
With 5 GM of free storage, this is an awesome choice if you're an outlook user. While you only receive 5 GB of space, which is three times less than Google Drive, the appeal of Microsoft One Drive is that if you have a subscription to Office 365 you're automatically upgraded to 1T (wow). This is a great perk for someone who is very comfortable and committed to using Microsoft office. You can also share files with individuals who are not one drive users as well as a handy dandy mobile app to make things easier to access when you're out and about.
3) Drop Box
Beginning with 2 GB of online storage, free of charge, drop box is extremely user friendly, which is why this has made the top three. When choosing online storage systems, part of my selection was choosing based on how known a product is, how easy it is to use, and if you're required to actually purchase storage in order to access the free storage.
2 GB is not impressive, but what may appeal to the younger crowd of folks is that if you link your Dropbox account to social media & refer your friends + family you can have 16 GB, which is awesome! We all have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumbler, ha! This is the digital age after all.
With drop box, there are several great options such as 2 GB of free storage, has a great desk top app for Windows or Mac, which covers a large majority of the market. Another awesome perk is if you delete a folder or set of images, you can still restore these images up to 30 days later, which is truly fantastic since we all know things sometimes are deleted. Like Google and One Drive, you can share files with anyone, too, and no file size upload limit when using the desktop software.
Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.