Backup your Photos on the Web
If you have ever lost digital photos then you’ll know how invaluable keeping copies is. This post looks at how online photo backup services can be used to safeguard, and at some of the flaws of these solutions.
For a long time the best backup solution was to create copies of your photos to CD/DVD/external storage device. This method still has its merits (in particular, speed of access) but the burgeoning approach is to store photos online.
There are two main online photo backup solutions to consider. First is using the photo websites (picasa, flikr, facebook, etc) and second is using a dedicated backup service.
The photo websites are easy to use and encourage/facilitate you sharing your photos with others. On the downside there can be some degradation of image quality meaning that the photos you download would not be the same resolution as the ones you uploaded in the first place.
In addition, the photo sites are a minefield of data protection issues. You have to actively secure you photos from being disseminated to other locations and risk them being seen by people you’d rather not share them with.
Dedicated online backup web sites (for example, iDrive) allow you to upload files (photos and other types) to their servers and secure these copies with encryption and password protection. Your photo resolution is retained and several servers are synchronized so your data is not sitting on one server alone.
The downside to online backup services is that they have a recurring storage cost and are not designed for easy sharing with family and friends. The cost may also be pro-rata based on the amount of storage you require (which may be considerable for photos).
Keeping an online photo backup is better than having no backup solution at all. If you can live with its disadvantages then it can be a low-fuss way of protecting your pictures.
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For additional photo taking tips as well as how to make money with your digital camera visit Pictures Today.
