6 Computer Considerations for Storing Lots of Photos
Photographers, graphic designers, and photo editors rely on local storage within their computers to save a lot of media files. Oftentimes, their computer drives fill up, causing them to offload data or buy external hard drives. While these are acceptable methods, segregating data can make it difficult for you to locate and access files.
Aside from that, you need to be careful when saving digital photos on your computer. One mistake can overwrite your files, making it difficult to recover your images. To help you manage your growing data on a computer, you need to understand what factors to consider before storing lots of photos.
6 Computer Considerations for Storing Lots of Photos
As a professional photographer, you take pictures using a DSLR camera or a phone. There are others who use film and have to scan the printed copies for archiving.
With several photos coming from different devices, it can sometimes be chaotic to keep track of everything. To make sure you can organize and keep photos on your computer, here are some other storage considerations to think about.
Computer Memory Space
Using computer space as storage is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to save your photos. The good news is that most advanced computers can store 500 GB up to 1 TB worth of data. Although note that the higher the capacity, the more expensive the computer becomes.
File Size
The formats of your photos impact the overall file size, and consequently, the computer’s memory space. High-end DSLR cameras tend to produce larger file sizes than their digital cameras.
Whenever you shoot in RAW, the file contains all of an image’s data caught by the sensor of the camera. On the other hand, JPEG photos tend to compress data. Hence, a RAW file will always be larger than JPEG data.
Furthermore, file sizes vary depending on a number of factors such as bit depth, ISO setting, and pixel brightness. For instance, the higher the ISO value, the larger the file size.
Computer Operating System
There are several computer operating systems available on the market. The most common ones are Microsoft Windows, Apple’s macOS, Chrome OS, Linux, and Blackberry Tablet OS.
Most systems have built-in photo management tools to help organize your photos. For example, Windows 10 provides a Photos app that allows you to sort photos into albums or folders.
Photo Editing and Management Software
Storing files on a computer also means saving your images on photo editing and management software. This is especially true if you are a frequent user of Adobe Lightroom, which offers photo management features to help you save, sync, and transfer files.
Although the software itself won’t take too much of a computer’s storage capacity, you have to consider the file size of your Catalogs and Collections.
Cloud-Based Back-Up
Cloud storage can be limited, but it allows you to consolidate all your images onto one device. If you’re always having trouble transferring files, you can access the cloud from your computer and download the pictures taken on your phone.
Among the most-trusted cloud storage programs are Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, and Nextcloud. However, you can only access these as long as you have a secured internet connection.
Security Measures
You need to protect your files against data breaches, especially if you are using cloud storage. Some servers are even vulnerable to digital theft and viruses.
One of the best ways to secure file folders in a computer is by using encryption, which is a process that translates data into another code or form so that only authorized users can access it.
If you encrypt a folder, you can set a password that you need to enter every time you open it. In this way, you can avoid the unlikely event of someone deleting or removing photos from your folders.
Final Thoughts
Whenever you take photos, you are always facing the risk of accidentally deleting photos or losing files because you forgot to back them up.
To improve your archiving process, make sure to consider aspects such as your computer’s storage capacity, file size, and software. Fortify your storage by having external back-ups and security measures.
