How to back up photos

Where is the best place to store a photo backup, on a hard drive, an external storage device, an optical disc, or in the cloud? We summarize the available options and explain when a cloud solution is the most suitable choice.

Why is backing up photos important?

For private users, losing a digital photo col­lec­tion is frus­trat­ing. For pro­fes­sion­al pho­tog­ra­phers, it can be a worst-case scenario. Whether the cause is technical failure, human error, malware, or theft, lost images can mean lost memories and ir­re­place­able moments. In the worst case, pro­fes­sion­al client work may also be affected.

Data loss can happen for many reasons, including:

• hardware defects in smart­phones or hard drives
• ac­ci­den­tal file deletion
• malware or ran­somware
• theft or loss of a device
• software errors or system crashes

That’s why regular backups of your photos are essential.

The pros and cons of Cloud vs. offline

Backing up data, including photos, has changed sig­nif­i­cant­ly as storage media have evolved. This shift is partly due to the in­creas­ing file sizes of digital photos.

In pro­fes­sion­al pho­tog­ra­phy, cameras with large sensors and high res­o­lu­tion are common. Shooting in RAW format produces es­pe­cial­ly large files, often ranging from 20 to over 100 megabytes per image, depending on res­o­lu­tion and com­pres­sion.

Smart­phone photos have also grown larger, typically requiring 5 to 15 MB per image. In many cases, built-in storage fills quickly, making al­ter­na­tive storage solutions necessary to back up your pictures.

Today, the most common storage media include:

• cloud storage
• external hard drives (HDD or SSD)
• internal hard drives in PCs or laptops
• USB flash drives
• memory cards (e.g., SD cards)
• NAS systems

What are the pros and cons of different storage media?

Which storage medium is best suited to your own needs for storing images depends on factors such as storage capacity, speed, mobility, and security.

Experts today recommend a com­bi­na­tion of several storage methods. Cloud storage and local backups com­ple­ment each other par­tic­u­lar­ly well.

The 3-2-1 rule as a photo backup strategy

To keep your photos safe, it’s best to follow a proven backup strategy. In IT security, the so-called 3-2-1 backup rule is con­sid­ered best practice. With the right com­bi­na­tion of copies, storage media, and locations, you can protect your photo col­lec­tion even if a device is damaged or lost.

The rule is based on the following principle:

• 3 copies of your photos, including the original and two backups
• 2 different storage media, such as a computer and an external hard drive
• 1 copy stored in a separate location, such as cloud storage

A typical setup could look like this:

1. Original photos on your computer or smart­phone
2. Photo backup on an external hard drive
3. Ad­di­tion­al photo backup in the cloud

How to back up photos in the cloud using HiDrive as an example

Cloud storage is now one of the most widely used options for photo backups. Your images are stored on external servers and can be accessed from different devices. One example is HiDrive, which stores files centrally while also combining automatic syn­chro­niza­tion across different storage locations with a range of security features.

HiDrive Cloud Storage

Store and share your data on the go

• Store, share, and edit data easily
• Backed up and highly secure
• Sync with all devices

See plans

The most important features include:

• Access files via browser, desktop software, or mobile apps
• Automatic syn­chro­niza­tion between devices
• Sharing files via links
• Automatic backups from devices or network storage
• In­te­gra­tion via protocols such as WebDAV, SFTP, or SMB
• Security features such as two-factor au­then­ti­ca­tion or encrypted data trans­mis­sion

How to back up your photos using NAS

A flexible option for photo backups is NAS (Network Attached Storage). A NAS is a storage device connected to your home or office network. It stores photos, videos, and other files in one central location and makes them available across multiple devices. Unlike an external hard drive, a NAS can be accessed via LAN or Wi-Fi, so it works like a private cloud in your own home.

This allows smart­phones, tablets, and computers to access stored photos at the same time. You can save new images, retrieve archived photos, and manage your photo col­lec­tion without manually trans­fer­ring files between in­di­vid­ual devices.

Typical ad­van­tages of a NAS system for photo backups include:

• Central storage location: all photos are stored in one place on the network and can be accessed from different devices.
• Automated backups: many NAS models include features for au­to­mat­i­cal­ly backing up and syn­chro­niz­ing data from PCs and smart­phones.
• Ex­pand­able capacity: users can add more hard drives as their storage needs grow.
• No ongoing sub­scrip­tion costs: after pur­chas­ing the device, there are no monthly storage fees, unlike with many cloud services.

How to store photos offline

If you prefer an offline storage option for your photo backups, you have several choices. As mentioned above, even a small number of image files can take up a lot of storage space because of today’s high res­o­lu­tions. Internal and external hard drives are therefore a practical solution if you want to back up a large photo col­lec­tion or create a local copy of your files.

External hard drives are es­pe­cial­ly common. The two main types are HDDs and SSDs:

• HDDs: HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) usually offer more storage capacity at a lower price per GB than SSDs. However, they contain me­chan­i­cal parts, which makes them more vul­ner­a­ble to physical damage and noisier during operation. They are also slower, so loading and transfer times can be longer.
• SSDs: SSDs (Solid State Drives) are faster, quieter, and more robust because they have no moving parts. They offer quicker access times and higher transfer speeds, which can improve overall per­for­mance. However, they are usually more expensive per GB than HDDs.

How to use AI features to back up and manage photos

Modern photo apps and cloud storage services in­creas­ing­ly use ar­ti­fi­cial in­tel­li­gence to organize large image col­lec­tions more ef­fec­tive­ly. These features can simplify photo backups and make it easier to find specific images later.

The most common AI features include:

• automatic facial recog­ni­tion
• in­tel­li­gent subject recog­ni­tion, such as places or objects
• automatic duplicate detection
• AI-powered image search
• automatic image en­hance­ment
• backup process op­ti­miza­tion