How to Download, Back Up, and Care for Your Digital Photos
BECAUSE LOSING THEM WOULD BE A TRAGEDY
Let’s talk about how to care for your digital wedding photos (or any photos you’ve had professionally taken, for that matter)—aka the visual love story that deserves to be treasured forever. You’ve received your online gallery, you’ve laughed, you’ve swooned, and maybe even shed a tear (or a happy ugly cry—no judgment here). But now what? Let’s make sure your photos are downloaded, backed up, and ready to live their best lives outside the digital void.
Step 1: Download Every Memory
Your online gallery is a great thing to have around for easy reference, but it won’t be around forever. Every photographer varies in how long they keep online galleries active, but they are limited on space eventually will need to make room for other galleries. I personally keep my galleries open for a year before archiving them. That’s why downloading your photos is the first and most important step. Here’s how to do it the right way:
✔ Download the Whole Gallery – Don’t cherry-pick! Grab everything in one go to avoid missing a single golden moment. Even the ones that don’t seem particularly impactful right now will mean so much to you decades from now.
✔ Use a Computer, Not Your Phone – Phones are great for quick saves, and you should totally save your favorites to your phone. But trust me, you want these bad boys saved on a desktop or laptop for safekeeping.
✔ High-resolution vs. Web-sized Photos – High-resolution photos are the best-quality versions of your photos, perfect for preserving details like the lace o your dress or the sparkle on your ring. High-resolution photos are for downloading and printing. Web-sized photos are for sharing on social media. Be sure to grab both so you can easily share and print as needed!
NEED HELP DOWNLOADING YOUR PHOTOS?
If you’re a current client of mine and you need some help downloading your photos to either your computer, iphone, or android, here are some helpful tutorials.
How to download photos onto your computer:
How to download photos onto your phone:
Step 2: Back It Up
Okay, you’ve downloaded your photos—now let’s make sure they don’t disappear into the digital abyss. Enter: the 3-2-1 Backup Rule.
With the 3-2-1 backup rule, you should have:
3 copies of your photos – You should have three different copies of your photos. I recommend saving one on your computer, one on an external hard drive, and one in cloud storage.
2 different storage types – Think physical hard drives (a USB, and external hard-drive, or a separate laptop) and online or cloud storage solutions. Posting to facebook doesn’t count, and I’ll explain why soon.
1 off-site backup – This means at least one copy should be stored away from your home, in case of fire, theft, or your cat’s undeniable thirst for destruction.
EXTERNAL HARDDRIVES
There are different types of external hard drives that are good for different purposes. If you’re not used to shopping for hard drives, it can be confusing, so here’s a quick and dirty rundown.
💾 Solid State Drives (SSDs) – Best for moving and for long-term storage.
- SSDs load much faster and are less likely to overheat, so they are great if you’re storing a bunch of photos or other data or if you are using it often. For example, if you are trying to put every photo you’ve had taken including every photo from your phones. Or maybe you’re uploading thousands of photos for a comprehensive family album or geneaology project.
- SSDs are much more durable, so they are the better option if you move or travel often and want to take it with you.
- SSDs have a longer life-span, especially when used regularly, and are less likely to corrupt so they really are more likely keep your memories safe for decades to come.
- SSDs really are the cream-of-the-hard-drive-crop, and because of this they tend to be more expensive.
- If you think an SSD is right for you, I highly recommend the Samsung T9. I use the 4TB version, but for personal storage I recommend the 1TB.
💾 Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) –Best for casual and short-term photo storage
- HHDs are good for short-term photo storage and backups as they tend to have the shortest life span (3-5 years).
- They load faster than USBs but slower than SSDs.
- They are more prone to damage from bumps and falls, which can shorten their lifespan or lead to disk corruption, so they are best for storing and keeping files in one place, not for moving or traveling.
- HDDs give you the best bang-for-your-buck, as long as you don’t mind replacing them every couple of years.
- If you think an HDD is right for you, I recommend looking into the WD My Passport or the LaCie Mini HDD.
💾 USB Flash Drives (USBs) –Best for gifting or moving data from one computer to another
- USBs are similar to SSDs in the way they work internally, but smaller.
- They are typically have the slowest load speed.
- They are fairly durable as they are designed to be transported.
- However, because they are often cheaper to build and sell, be weary of the cheap cutesy ones as I’ve personally found these often corrupt easily. I once bought a bunch of rose-gold USBs in bulk and after a year, half of them wouldn’t read data.
- I suggest only using USBs as gifts, or for physically transporting photos from one computer to another.
- If you think a USB is right for you, I recommend the Kingston DataTraveller.
(Check out Storebits and this LinkedIn article if you want to nerd out even more)
CLOUD STORAGE
Does anyone actually know how the cloud works? I’ll be honest, I didn’t for a long time.
Cloud storage is a way to store digital data on remote servers that are owned and maintained by a third-party, rather than on your own computer or hard drive. When you upload your photos to the remote server, it enters ☁️ The Cloud ☁️ . This way you can store and access files from anywhere and from any device as long as you have access to the internet.
There are a few popular cloud providers out there, including Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, and Amazon Photos. As far as I can tell, none of them are necessarily better than the others, so choosing the right one for you should be based on personal preference and what devices and software you already use.
- If you use Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs regularly, Google Drive might be the best for you.
- If you’re an avid Apple user, you might want to use iCloud.
- If you prefer Windows and Microsoft 365 often, OneDrive could be a good option.
- Dropbox is also a popular choice if you want to easily send photos and files to others.
Step 3: Share Your Photos
SHARING YOUR GALLERY
I encourage you to invite your friends and family to your gallery! You can simply ask a parent or someone you trust to download the full gallery to their computer. This way you will have an off-site backup that your loved ones can enjoy. My favorite way to keep a backup of your photos with loved ones is to copy all of the photos onto a USB or small external hard drive and then gift it to them along with a few gift prints in a box. It’s a win-win!
POSTING TO SOCIAL MEDIA
📱 Sharing to social media is great, and I love seeing your photos out in the wild! Just be sure to use the web-sized photos for this so they load properly and maintain quality.
🚨 But don’t rely on social media as a backup method. 🚨
Why? There are a few reasons.
- Because social media platforms go in and out of style, accounts get deleted or hacked, and memories get lost. You don’t want your only copies to be buried in a forgotten Facebook album that you can’t access because you forgot the password (have you tried getting into your MySpace account lately? I rest my case). Keep your high-res copies safe and sound!
- Social media platforms compress photos to save space and speed up loading times. This compression can reduce the image’s sharpness and quality. To get technical, they use a method of lossy compression, which means it discards some picture data to reduce the file size, causing pixelation, blurring, color bleeding, banding and jagged edges.
Zoom in on the photos below using a computer to see the difference in quality (your phone might automatically compress both)
Step 4: Print Them
Listen, keeping your photos trapped in a folder on your computer is like making a five-star meal and never eating it. Before the computer age, all wedding photos were printed, passed around, and physically cared for. You should love and enjoy those memories with all of your heart! Here’s a little breakdown of what type of print options are available and what type of photos they’re meant for.
🖼 Wall Art – The Showstoppers
- Best for: Cinematic, emotional, and epic landscape shots.
- Want to relive that jaw-dropping sunset kiss? Or that moody, windswept mountain backdrop? Wall art is your go-to. Think framed prints, canvases, or modern metal prints for a sleek, high-end look.
- Wall art is usually best for photos where the subject is smaller in the frame and a single photo tells a story of its own.
📖 Albums – The Storytellers
- Best for: Capturing the full vibe of your wedding day.
- Albums let you experience the whole story of the day—from getting ready to your helicopter ride to your dance-floor antics and all the little details in between. Flip through it anytime, or make it your first family heirloom. (Pro tip: It’s a great coffee table conversation starter.)
🖼 Gift Prints – The Heartwarmers
- Best for: Sharing with family and friends.
- Parents, grandparents, and besties will love having a tangible piece of your big day. Plus, they make for the easiest, most meaningful gifts ever and they’re incredibly versatile.
How to care for your digital photos: action items
Your photos are more than just pixels—they’re memories, emotions, and moments frozen in time that you can’t get back. Taking a little extra care now means you’ll have them to cherish for a lifetime (without any tech-related heartbreaks). That is why it’s so important to know how to care for your digital photos.
So, let’s recap:
✔ Download your full gallery ASAP.
✔ Back it up in multiple places (using the 3-2-1 rule).
✔ Invite friends and family to download their favorites.
✔ Print your favorite moments and display them proudly!
✔ Share to social media (but don’t let that be your only backup!).
Need help with prints? I got you! You can order professional-quality prints directly through your gallery for the best color accuracy and longevity. Need help with an album? Email me directly. Have questions? Just reach out—I’m always happy to help!
Now go forth and preserve those beautiful memories!
