Today is the first day of hurricane season. If a hurricane came through your city this month, you would first want to be sure that you, your family members, and your pets were safe. But is there anything else you would want to be sure to take with you to safety?
For me, the answer to that question has always been “OUR PHOTOS.” I cannot imagine losing our cherished photos of ancestors, our parents and siblings, our children, and photos of the milestone moments in our lives. That’s why I’ve carefully planned how to safeguard our photos to minimize the likelihood of losing them.
But “hurricanes aren’t very likely,” you say. Perhaps not; but there are quite a few other natural disasters and accidents that could wipe out all of your precious photo memories in an instant. Fires, floods, computer crashes, and memory device failures most often happen without warning.
Steps you can take now:
1. Gather your tangible photos in one place, organize them in an archival storage box, and scan them so you’ll have a digital copy. Don’t forget to include the photos in fames on the wall or on your furniture, as well as your photo albums.
2. Coordinate your multiple digital devices so your photos from each of them are being combined and organized appropriately (cellphone, tablet/iPad, laptop, computer).
3. Back up your digital photo files to a minimum of three locations: storage in the Cloud (“Backblaze”, or “Carbonite” for example), an external hard drive, archival DVD or thumb drive, etc. Keep back-up drives in a safe deposit box or another safe location.
4. Consider getting a subscription to a cloud-based photo storage and sharing site where your photos will be protected and from which you and family members will be able to access them at anytime from anywhere. Two of my favorites are Forever.com and Mylio.com.
Take steps now to safeguard your precious photo memories. If you have questions or need help, we’re here for you.
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In-Focus Photo Solutions and Photography
Signe Pagel & Danielle Studer
239-839-8876
signe@infocusphotosolutions.com
infocusphotosolutions.com