Last updated on January 23rd, 2024 at 02:18 am
In this digital age, it’s easy to amass a huge collection of photos and videos. Almost everyone has a smartphone that can shoot photos and videos at the drop of a hat.
After a while, your collection of photos and videos grows and you got to save them somewhere for future use.
Here are some ways you can back up your photos and videos affordably. You may choose more than one option to store your precious digital assets and memories.
Computer Hard Drive
This is the easiest route to take. If you have a newer computer, chances are it has a sizeable storage space, at least a terabyte.
You can easily transfer your photos and videos from your device to your hard disk.
DSLRs and camcorders store photos and videos on memory cards.
Most computers, especially laptops, come with memory card readers.
All you have to do is insert the memory card into your computer’s memory card slot.
It will be recognized as a drive and you can copy them to folders on your hard disk.
What if your computer doesn’t have a memory card reader?
You can buy an external USB memory card reader for cheap and get the job done.
As convenient as computer hard disk drives are for backing up your photos and videos, they aren’t reliable.
You could lose your collection of videos if your hard disk malfunctions.
So, even if you have ample space for backing up your photos and videos, it shouldn’t be your only option.
You should also back up your photos and videos on an external hard disk.
External Hard Drive
The main advantage of external hard drives for backing up your photos and videos is you can carry them around.
You can take them to your project site or when working on different computers.
External hard drives offer terabytes of storage space these days.
So, you’ll have ample space to back up your photos and videos.
A useful tip is not to store all your photos on a single external hard drive.
If you need 2 TB of storage space for your photos and videos, buy 2 external hard drives of 1TB each.
In this way, you still have some of your photos intact in case one unit malfunctions.
Check out some of the best options for external hard drives.
Also, read more on external hard drives.
Memory Cards
You may also back up your photos and videos on memory cards.
Shoot photos and videos until your memory card is full. Then keep the card and use another card to shoot and store more photos and videos.
The advantage of backing up your photos and videos on memory cards is the size. You can carry them around easily.
But then you would need a computer with a card reader to access your photos and videos, should you need to edit them.
Also, memory cards are difficult to organize. Owing to their size, it’s difficult to label them.
Memory cards can get corrupted. When this happens, you can’t access your photos and videos.
You may have to pay to fix a corrupted memory card.
Also, memory cards are generally more expensive than external hard drives in terms of storage space.
Still, you may want to go with the memory card option, if you plan to transfer your recordings to a hard drive soon after shooting.
Read more about using memory cards.
DVD
If your computer has a DVD writer, you may want to back up your photos and videos to DVD.
Blank DVDs are available in 50 and 100-pack spindles.
Most DVD players can read JPEG files. However, the same can’t be said for MP4 files. DVD players can’t directly play back MP4 files. They have to be converted to DVD video to be playable.
So, the DVD option is good if you plan to access your photos and videos through a computer.
The disadvantage, of course, is most laptops don’t come with DVD drives these days.
But then you can always buy an external USB DVD reader/writer unit.
Also, a standard blank DVD can store only about 4.7GB of data. Not much in these days of 4K video.
Read more about external DVD writers.
Flash Drive
Flash drives have many advantages when it comes to backing up your photos and videos.
Firstly, they’re handy. You can easily carry them in your pocket.
Secondly, they are compatible with many devices.
You can access photos through your computer, HDTV, and even a DVD player.
They’re also affordable these days.
If you have only a small collection of photos and videos you may want to check out some great flash drive options.
You’ll have many storage size options to choose from – 16GB to 512 GB.
There’s even a 1TB flash drive option if you’re interested.
You may also want to consider the PhotoStick Omni which comes with 256GB of storage space.
It promises fast transfer of your photos and videos. What’s more, you can back up your photos and videos directly from your smartphone.
An adapter for that purpose is included.
Watch the video below to see the PhotoStick Omni in action.
Check out the PhotoStick Omni.
Cloud Storage
Physical storage devices can malfunction and you may end up losing your photos and videos.
If your photos and videos are personal, take additional steps to back them up to the cloud.
The main advantage of backing up your photos and videos to the cloud is you can access them anywhere.
That said, there’s a drawback. Since you’re storing your photo on someone else’s platform there’s always the risk of a security breach if you don’t secure your account properly.
Hackers may steal your photos and videos if you don’t take additional measures to protect your account.
Also, you may need to pay a monthly or annual fee if you back up your videos and photos to the cloud.
On the whole, they’re safe and convenient.
Here are some cloud storage solutions to consider.
Google Drive
This is the most popular cloud storage solution to back up your videos and photos.
You probably have access to it already. If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google Drive account.
Google gives you free 15GB storage on a Google Drive account.
Google Photos
The place you want to store your photos and videos is Google Photos. Once logged in to your Drive account, you can easily access it. Storage space is shared with other Google Drive files.
You can upload your photos and videos to Google Drive as backups and download them anywhere there’s an Internet connection.
If you don’t already have an account, easily create a Google Drive account and get 15GB of storage space for free.
Use that space in Google Photos to back up your photos and videos.
There are paid options to increase storage space beyond the free limit.
OneDrive
OneDrive is Microsoft’s version of Google Drive. For the free plan, they offer 5GB of storage space.
What’s more, with a free account, you may use the basic online version of popular Microsoft apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Head over to OneDrive to sign up for a free account. Get 5GB of free storage space to back up your photos and videos.
Amazon Photos
Amazon Photos may not be as popular as Google Drive or OneDrive. However, it’s a reliable cloud storage platform to back up your photos and videos.
Like OneDrive it offers 5GB of free storage space. You would have to pay if you need space beyond that limit.
Head over to Amazon Photos and sign up for a 5GB free account.
If you already have an Amazon account you can log in directly to Amazon Photos and start backing up your photos and videos.
You have seen options to back up your photos and videos.
If your photos and videos are really important to you, choose a combination of physical storage and cloud storage to be on the safe side.
