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Storing digital pictures for a long time

Theresa626Theresa626 member
1000 Comments
in Florida-Central Florida
So, I have my CD of pictures from the photographer and I want to make sure that I have every single picture from the wedding for years to come. And by that I mean that fifty years from now, I'd like to be able to still have all 1100 of these pics in digital format.  Obviously, media formats come and go so a CD probably isn't the best option for storage.  How would you suggest I back up and store these images so that they last for fifty years? 
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Re: Storing digital pictures for a long time

  • frozenxthoughtsfrozenxthoughts member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'd probably just put them on a flash drive. Just make sure you don't lose the flash drive. But that way you can always plug it into a computer and there they are! I don't think back-up flash drives will ever go out of style ;)
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  • vedikavedika member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I was going to suggest that also..Or, invest in an external hard drive. I love ours! When I went to Best Buy last week, there were a few different brands and sizes on sale. And, in fun colors!
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  • jmucheech21jmucheech21 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would back them up on an additional CD, a flash drive, an online album, and a back-up harddrive (at least one if not two).  Haha, who can tell I am marrying a photographer??? 

    Haha, but in all seriousness, my fiance has his pics backed up in 5 different places.  About 6 months ago 2 of his 3 back up hard drives crashed within 48 hours.. that was enough to make me super serious about big time backing up.  I had always told him he was nuts for having 5 back-ups.. guess I was the nuts one!!!!!
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  • Blonde407Blonde407 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Definitely do not put them on a flash drive... I work in IT and have seen way many too many times people store important information on flash drives and one day they just quit working.  Putting them on a cd that will be stored in a safe place will be fine but for peace of mind create a back up somewhere... but I definitely wouldn't use a flash drive.
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  • jj51506jj51506
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    My photograpghers suggested storing them on a hosting companie (there are several online like www.wizzdrive.com/" target="_blank">www.wizzdrive.com ) that will also allow you to store your images as well as have 24 hours access to them when you need them.
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  • stephanapanosstephanapanos member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    As a wedding photographer myself, I give my clients 2 copies of high-resolution jpegs- one on disc, the other on flash drive. I also do my best to store the jpegs and the RAW files myself on external hard drives and back-up discs in the event I'm asked to reproduce them.  Although storing them online is a great idea, you want to make sure they will be stored at the same size and quality of what you have today.  Just because it displays nice and big on your screen, doesn't mean its print quality. 

    And for all you out there receiving digital prints, make sure you demand high-quality jpegs!  That file type degrads slowly everytime the file is re-saved, which leads to pixelation and loss in highlights and shadows.  By starting with the largest file-size, you help lenthen the longevity of the image for years to come.
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  • AileeneGAileeneG member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would recommend keeping them on a good quality DVD+R, and if you are willing to spend the money, online backup.

    You can find free sites to do that, but make sure it's reliable. Free services don't owe you anything if they lose your data, and they may not put as much effort into recovering them if something does go wrong.


    And, of course, multiple backups are always a good idea. So make a few copies of the DVD and keep them in separate locations.

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  • AileeneGAileeneG member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_florida-central-florida_storing-digital-pictures-long-time?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:66Discussion:b1923f5c-ee9e-4609-b9b7-d5eb567a3c8bPost:7f84f972-a74f-4b6a-90bb-7fbac8ab8a24">Re: Storing digital pictures for a long time</a>:
    [QUOTE] That file type degrads slowly everytime the file is re-saved, which leads to pixelation and loss in highlights and shadows. 
    Posted by stephanapanos[/QUOTE]

    There are definitely ways to avoid quality loss with a jpeg, but that's a good point- , there really is no reason to open and resave a photo that many times, so try to avoid doing that!

    Unless you're editing one photo over several days for whatever reason, you can make a copy of the original without compressing the file and you should be ok.
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