Online Backup Storage.

[fdisilvestro]

This plan might be overkill
 

There is no such a thing as too many backups.

I'm probably still at risk for nuclear armageddon. I need to work on that. 
 

Maybe in the not so distant future, there will be companies offering backups in the Moon or Mars to protect your data from E.L.E.

[JeffSD]

Maybe in the not so distant future, there will be companies offering backups in the Moon or Mars to protect your data from E.L.E.

Excellent!

Sign me up for the first server farm on the dark side of the moon. 

[andyptak]

After I discovered that my Amazon Prime membership covered unlimited photo back up to Amazon Drive I started backing up my 200K plus shots and let a spare machine run day and night doing it.

Then I discovered a fatal flaw on Amazon's end - the number of shots may be unlimited but large files and or unsupported formats won't copy - could be a time out thing, or just a rejection, I'm not sure. After weeks of uploading i found out that that thousands of shots didn't upload to Drive. It doesn't give file numbers for the failed upload files so I'm not sure of their particulars, but I do know for sure that PSB's didn't load.

[Rajan Parrikar]

I settled on IDrive (www.idrive.com). Backblaze is very good if you have one computer and everything on it to back up. IDrive allows you to pick and choose folders from external drives over multiple computers.

[chez]

You can buy a 5 TB disk for $125. Get two for redundancy. Back up to those and keep in a safe deposit box.

How often are you going to do this? Are you also going to verify the disks on a regular basis?

With an automated online backup system, you can be backed up everyday. Some online backup systems even keep deleted files for a month so you can recover from a mistake.

[digitaldog]

Are you also going to verify the disks on a regular basis?

Doable every time one backs up.

[Alan Klein]

Since I'm retired and have no business requirements for backup, my WD Passport 4tb drive works fine to backup my computer.  If my house burns down taking the disk, I'll have more problems than worrying about missing personal data and photos. What did people do before computers?  If I had a business, then definitely I would use cloud storage.  It's always the last month or two that's critical.  If you're a wedding photographer, those are the photos you need to give to your clients.  Older ones have already been sold. 

[Rajan Parrikar]

If my house burns down taking the disk, I'll have more problems than worrying about missing personal data and photos.

What happens after you survive and put your life back together, as is often the case following such events? Wouldn't you want your files back?

[digitaldog]

Since I'm retired and have no business requirements for backup, my WD Passport 4tb drive works fine to backup my computer.  If my house burns down taking the disk, I'll have more problems than worrying about missing personal data and photos.

They had fire proof safes, safe deposit boxes and there have been professional photo storage services for decades: http://www.filmstorage.net. Had you actually searched for answers, you'd have found them...

Older ones have already been sold.

As you've never been a professional photographer, let me point out, many/most actual pro's sell usage/rights to use photo's, rarely buyouts to them and retain their copyrights. 

[chez]

Doable every time one backs up.

I know it's doable, but will one do it? After not finding any issues for a few months, how diligent will one be to continue testing their backup devices?

Speaking from experience, I've had a problem with a drive that backed up my files just fine without any complaints, but on retrieval of the files, some could not be retrieved...disk errors.

[digitaldog]

I know it's doable, but will one do it?

With the applications I use for backup, it all takes place at the same time. The answer for some is; YES!
The reason one keeps multiple clones of the backup and rotates them as they backup and verify, is to greatly reduce the possibility of data loss.
Hardly rocket science.

Speaking from experience, I've had a problem with a drive that backed up my files just fine without any complaints, but on retrieval of the files, some could not be retrieved...disk errors.

And IF this was the only disk/drive with a backup, you failed to produce a very good backup schema. Disks fail, which is why smart backup plans take redundancy into Account.
Hardly rocket science.

[chez]

Since I'm retired and have no business requirements for backup, my WD Passport 4tb drive works fine to backup my computer.  If my house burns down taking the disk, I'll have more problems than worrying about missing personal data and photos. What did people do before computers?  If I had a business, then definitely I would use cloud storage.  It's always the last month or two that's critical.  If you're a wedding photographer, those are the photos you need to give to your clients.  Older ones have already been sold.

The studio that did our formal wedding photos burned down, taking with it all the wedding negatives. The photographer had many irrate customers.

Today we have more options. As a business, this should never happen.

[chez]

With the applications I use for backup, it all takes place at the same time. The answer for some is; YES!
The reason one keeps multiple clones of the backup and rotates them as they backup and verify, is to greatly reduce the possibility of data loss.
Hardly rocket science. And IF this was the only disk/drive with a backup, you failed to produce a very good backup schema. Disks fail, which is why smart backup plans take redundancy into Account.
Hardly rocket science.

What's hardly rocket science is using an online backup service.

[digitaldog]

What's hardly rocket science is using an online backup service.

Which I do, along with multiple ON SITE rotated backups. Online backup alone, not good enough!

[Alan Klein]

What happens after you survive and put your life back together, as is often the case following such events? Wouldn't you want your files back?

You just reminded me that if I dropped dead of a heart attack, my wife would't know how to get into the files in any case.  I just asked her if she would like to sit down with me to go over the procedures. She said, "Not now." 

[Alan Klein]

They had fire proof safes, safe deposit boxes and there have been professional photo storage services for decades: http://www.filmstorage.net. Had you actually searched for answers, you'd have found them... As you've never been a professional photographer, let me point out, many/most actual pro's sell usage/rights to use photo's, rarely buyouts to them and retain their copyrights. 

I agree that if I was a pro, I'd definitely get cloud backup.  And other backup if I was a pro in the old days. 

[digitaldog]

I agree that if I was a pro, I'd definitely get cloud backup.  And other backup if I was a pro in the old days.

What does being a Pro have to do with safely storing stuff you don't wish to lose? Don't answer, it's not worth it for either of us I'm quite certain.  I'm in violent agreement with your wife: She and now I have said, "Not now."

[Joe Towner]

I'm shocked to see this much traffic on the topic without mention of Google killing their free unlimited storage for Google Photos.

Yes, it sucks to have to cover 'in the event I fall over' topics.  In reality it should be at least 2 since she may pass at the same time. 

For your family sake, having a clue where to look for is really helpful.  As the designated photographer, you are most likely in possession of the most important images of other peoples lives.  The images that would be a slide show for a future wedding, birthday or life celebration.  An external drive is great because you can either plug it in & access data, with no skills.  Online accounts become more involved, especially if timing hits & the subscription renewal fails & X amount of time has passed.

Using a password manager with an Emergency Kit can save a lot of work later on.

[Alan Klein]

I'm shocked to see this much traffic on the topic without mention of Google killing their free unlimited storage for Google Photos.

Yes, it sucks to have to cover 'in the event I fall over' topics.  In reality it should be at least 2 since she may pass at the same time. 

For your family sake, having a clue where to look for is really helpful.  As the designated photographer, you are most likely in possession of the most important images of other peoples lives.  The images that would be a slide show for a future wedding, birthday or life celebration.  An external drive is great because you can either plug it in & access data, with no skills.  Online accounts become more involved, especially if timing hits & the subscription renewal fails & X amount of time has passed.

Using a password manager with an Emergency Kit can save a lot of work later on.

You just gave me an interesting question.  So you pay for your cloud service with a monthly charge to your credit card.  You die and the credit card is invalidated (let's say-it's suppose to be).  So the cloud deletes all your files before your spouse figures out what's going on.

How do people deal with death and cloud payments? Do you leave notes for your spouse hanging off the computer?  Do you put Passwords in your will?   

[digitaldog]

You just gave me an interesting question.  So you pay for your cloud service with a monthly charge to your credit card.  You die and the credit card is invalidated (let's say-it's suppose to be).  So the cloud deletes all your files before your spouse figures out what's going on.

How do people deal with death and cloud payments? Do you leave notes for your spouse hanging off the computer?  Do you put Passwords in your will? 

Think.
Of course the concept of subscribers paying by credit card for all kinds of services other than cloud backups is foreign to you?
Think.
"To find the exact answer, one must first ask the exact question."
-S. Tobin Webster