How to securely store your wedding photos
HOORAY! After what feels like an eternity because you’ve been SO stinkin’ excited—you’ve finally received your full wedding gallery and are completely in love. Now what?
If you’re wondering, “What do I do with all these photos now?” you’re not alone. Your parents and grandparents likely received their wedding photos printed in an album and have it tucked away on a bookshelf somewhere—but in this new digital age, how can you be sure you’ll be able to save your photos forever when there’s always a risk that your computer may crash, you could accidently hit the delete button on your device unknowingly, etc. How can you rest knowing your photos will be secure for years to come?
Copies, copies, and more copies!
I live by the saying “If it’s not saved in at least 4-5 places, then its not saved at all.”
Buy flashdrives—you’ll probably need 64GB or more per flashdrive depending on the number of photos you receive.
If you’ve got an external hardrive at home, save them there.
Save them on your computer desktop.
Those select few you can’t live without? Save those on your phone or an iPad.
That extra computer laying around? There too.
Got Google Drive or Dropbox? You know what to do.
Share them like crazy
When your photographer sends out your gallery, be sure to share the link with your loved ones so they can download them on their personal devices as well for safe-keeping. You can also fill a few flashdrives and give them to friends or family who you know will keep them safe (this also helps for surprise gifts down the road, ie. if your best friend wants to print one of your wedding portraits on a canvas for you for your birthday, she’s got nothing holding her back!). Share your photos on Facebook so that, even though Facebook decreases image quality, at least your images are preserved for digital view on your profile.
Print them
Sounds old-fashioned, but it’s totally not! While storing digital files in multiple spots is a great fail-safe for preservation, you still want to show them off. And who’s going to see them other than you if they’re stored on your personal password-protected computer? Other than on Facebook, of course. I highly recommend ordering a printed wedding album after you receive your photos back! Place it on your coffee table at home as a conversation piece when you have guests over. Pull it out on your anniversary every year. Show it to your kids.
All of this saving sounds like a lot of work, I know. But your photos are important. You paid big money for them, and they have the ability to bring you back to the most special moments of your day in a matter of seconds. You’ll feel all the emotions rushing back every time you look at them. For that reason, the extra work is worth it.
If you’re still looking for the right wedding photographer for your day, check out Sinai Weddings and Portraits. Madison is a trusted central Illinois wedding photographer who wants to help you capture and save every important shot! Check her availability here.