How to backup your photographs
When it comes to our photos these images are a livelihood. They keep the lights on and food in our bellies. People would say that gear is the most important aspect of photography. But I would say you can replace a camera or a lens. An image only happens once in a lifetime. That moment is everything, and protection should be a priority for us photographers. This is how I back up my images and recommend you should too or at least try and do at least two of my suggestions. But again, your life, your moments and do with them as you please.
External hard drive
Backup your image onto an external hard drive. This is a no-brainer, we should all have an external backup of our images. Not only on your desktop or your computer or phone. The amount of people that don't back up their phone images is scary to me. Everything I shot I put on external hard drives. Brand, and type change and get cheaper and better all the time. I recommend you get the best quality you can afford.
Backup twice
You should have at the very least two copies of all your images. I'm excessive and aim for at least three copies of all my image archives. The reasoning for this is that if a hard drive fails, gets damaged or corrupted you have another copy. I aim for three copies, but two is fine. And if at the very least one copy is backup to the cloud, you should be OK.
Update your drives
Technology is moving so fast. Things are getting smaller, faster, cheaper and more secure. Updating what you achieve is on is a must, I would say every 5 to 7 years put everything on new fresh hard drives. This minimises corruption and technology becoming outdated. Like, imagine if your hard drive still needed a firewire 800 or a zip disc. I'm showing my age here. But you get the point, you need to keep up with the times
Off site backup
This is one of the most important ones, after having at least two copies. I recommend you have an external drive stored off site from all your other back-ups. That way if there is a fire, water damage or a burglary, you will still have all your work safe off site. If you can afford it, get a safety deposit box. Most banks will provide this service. And this is the most secure storage you can get. I have one and had to get a bigger size to store my hard drive in. But over the years, those hard-drive have got smaller in size. But I have never regretted purchasing a safety deposit box. If that is too much, then at a friend or family's house would suffice.
If you had to take away anything from this article. I would suggest having two external copies of your images. Keep one drive stored off site. Keep your work and memories safe. Keep photographing, and recording the world and the lives around you.