what is your back up strategy?

[brittany_r._dunks]

<p>I ask these questions for myself, as well as to help others!<br>

So, what is your backup and permanent storage process?<br>

Here is mine:<br>

1)Upload RAW files to hard drive 1<br>

2)Upload or copy RAW files to hard drive 2 <br>

3)Once edited and converted to JPEG, uploaded to Pro Smugmug account, where jpegs can be re-DLed at full resolution.<br>

4)After client has received files, either through Smugmug or on DVD, one of the two folders on the hard drive(s) is deleted, leaving one folder with edited jpegs and original RAW files and Smugmug gallery of final jpegs as my back up.<br>

The reason for asking is I am paranoid lately because I've had some weird issues with CF cards OR a failing harddrive OR both, so I'm currently backing everything up.</p>

<p>What do you do? </p>

 

[geoffs1]

<p>Pretty similar, except I'm now using three disks (after having a couple of backup disks fail recently, leaving only one copy). I have copies of "final" files on a number of additional places, but in general I try to copy everything important to my backup drives.<br>

Practically, I'm using bare SATA drives in a "dock" so I can easily swap them as needed.</p>

[brittany_r._dunks]

<p>I forgot to add that in the short-term (before client gets any files) I plan on also uploading original RAW files to SmugVault. So my working files would be backed up on an internal drive, an external drive and online.<br>

Since SmugVault costs money based on how much storage you use, I will most likely delete the raw files after the final jpegs have been delivered.</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>In your other post you mentioned using Bridge and toggling back and forth between Bridge and Lightroom. I think you might want to pick up a book on Lightroom Using Lightroom means NOT using Bridge, Let Lightroom manage you image library. In a nutshell....</p>

 

<ol>

<li><em>import </em> the images. I keep a separate hard drive for client files and the original imported images go into this file. Copy 1.</li>

<li>Bring the Raw files into (I use Aperture) Lightroom. 2nd hard drive, 2nd copy.</li>

<li>ALL, and I mean all my editing and file management is done with (Aperture) Lightroom. Lightroom will even have a way of backing up your library to yet another hard drive. This back up library is on yet another hard drive (hard drives are cheap). 3rd copy.</li>

<li>(Aperture)Lightroom manages all my edits. No need for me to keep track of various folders and what not, just let Lightroom take care of that.</li>

<li>Export out of Lightroom as needed. </li>

</ol>

<p>And yes, I use multiple hard drives. The key to <em>any </em>back up or archiving strategy is simply knowing that your media IS going to fail at some point. It isn't a matter of if, but when. The only way to protect against this is by having redundant (multiple) copies. </p>

<p>And now a word of caution: you do NOT need a RAID drive of any kind. A popular RAID tower now-a-days is the DROBO. Let's make one thing perfectly clear: a RAID system (redundant RAID) protects you from one thing and ONE THING only: hard drive failure. It does NOT protect you from data corruption, or user error (accidentally deleting a file), from power surges, or brown outs, or viruses and any number of other issues that are FAR more likely than a hard drive failing. Because of this, you still need a <em>back up </em>to protect you against all these other issues. Well now that you have a back up, why do you need to spend money on a RAID? If you hard drive fails, you already have a back up. And that is all a RAID will protect you from.</p>

[dave_w11]

<p>Just thought i would add mine here. I use 2 external hard drives and online but thats just for customers. For my private photos i use the 2 hard drives and burn a dvd some times i make prints and store them with the dvd in a safe mostly those are family photos and things.</p>

[mariosforsos]

<p>Personally, since for most commercial shoots I shoot more than 2,000 frames, uploading the original RAW files into ANYTHING would be impossible, I follow a much more "material" approach:</p>

<p>1. Download ALL CF cards onto my main hard drive.</p>

<p>2. Import the RAW files (while converting to DNG) into LR which operates on an external FW800 drive (which contains ONLY images and LR catalogue).</p>

<p>3. Mirror that drive with my two alternates (identical drives all connected to each other).</p>

<p>4. Swap one of the aforementioned drives with a fourth drive which is then removed off-site</p>

<p>5. Make all my post processing through LR (even jumping occassionally to PS). This includes keywording, ranking, organising into collections etc, etc</p>

<p>6. Repeat the mirroring on the other drives.</p>

<p>7. Prepare low-res preview files onto Smugmug for customer viewing and ordering</p>

<p>8. Export all final files as TIFFs and JPEGs and back them up to DVDs (which are held, for the customer, at a specific charge for each year after the first year whcih is for free)</p>

<p>9. Move onto the next project.</p>