5 Ways to Back Up Your Client Files
Topic: Contracts
Time Investment: 5 Minutes
Suggested Product: All-in-One Contract Bundles
Even after you have delivered client digital files, it is imperative to keep digital files for personal portfolio, potential future orders (use these files to incentivize more sales through your client!), and probable evolution in editing style that may inspire you to return to re-edit files. There are so many resources in today’s technology age, here are 5 quick ways to back up your files.
It is also critical to have a routine schedule for backup. Online cloud storage can be set to run “all the time” – you can also set a schedule to run an entire back up to external (such as through Time Machine with Apple computers) on a certain day of the week.
For example, I have my Backblaze Cloud back up continually running, so every time I am connected to an internet connection my files are backed up. I also am uploading my files to ShootProof for gallery delivery and storage, and on every Sunday I plug in my external hard drive to run a Time Machine backup. I am tripled covered at all times.
1. External Hard Drive
Having external hard drives dedicated to backing up your computer are critical! Purchase a drive that has good reviews for reliable technology and set up a schedule to routinely back up your computer. If you are working from a desktop and your harddrive is always plugged in, your computer may provide settings to adjust to set how often you want the computer to be backed up to the external. One of my favorite harddrive brands is Western Digital.
2. Cloud Back Up
Cloud back ups are essentially that; your files are sent off into an internet cloud and backed up. These files are then accessible to you should you ever need them in the future. When deciding on a cloud back up make sure to get one that allows an entire computer back up as well as being able to just retrieve individual files.
Automatic Cloud Back Ups include BackBlaze and Crash Plan. Other cloud backups – Dropbox.
3. Online Gallery Storage
One of the best functions to look for when acquiring an online gallery account is to see if they provide automatic backup of your galleries for storage. Some of these include ShootProof (free to sign up!), Zenfolio, and a few others out there with various functions and pricing!
4. Save to Flash Drives
This can be pretty expensive but is good if you are wanting to separate out each season of clients. Flash drives come in various styles and types and can be branded to suit your company’s style. Flash drive companies include PhotoFlashDrive, Flash Bay, and some labs are now offering them!
The reason I suggest flash drives over burning to CDs or DVDs is that many computers now are not coming with disc drives and discs have a tendency to degrade quicker or get damaged easier than flash drives.
5. Share between Computers
This is not the safest way but you can share your files between personal computers, such as, with Macs there is the Airdrop function. This requires dragging and dropping of files. You can also use Dropbox to share between computers -Dropbox does come with a 30 day retrieval function in case any files are deleted out of the box.
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