Weekly Discussion Thread: Where do you store your images?

Agnieszka

<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message -->This weeks question is easy & short ...

Where do you guys store your images?

>> Shhhhhhht. Wanna see the other weekly threads? Click HERE.

jeffreaux2

Agnieszka wrote:

<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message -->This weeks question is easy & short ...

Where do you guys store your images?

Smugmug....where else?<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/ne_nau.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >


Oh...and also...original RAW images as well as edited jpegs on an internal hard drive with dupes of the jpegs on DATA DVD with an additional copy on external backup hard drive..

Now....how secure is Smugmug?.....how many dupe servers are my images stored on?

Agnieszka

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Smugmug....where else?

No external server / DVDs / CDs / other computer?

I don't upload high res photos to smugmug, would take me wayyyy to long (esp for a wedding, the way it is right now I'm already uploading the pics for 3 days straight ... )

I have them on an external drive & on DVDs

+ how do you do it when you have to create an album? .... Do you download all the photos again (if they don't get back to you immediately?? Or how about your own portfolio? I have most of my favorites of the year on my computer, just in case I want to update my website ...

jeffreaux2

Agnieszka wrote:

No external server / DVDs / CDs / other computer?

I don't upload high res photos to smugmug, would take me wayyyy to long (esp for a wedding, the way it is right now I'm already uploading the pics for 3 days straight ... )

I have them on an external drive & on DVDs

+ how do you do it when you have to create an album? .... Do you download all the photos again (if they don't get back to you immediately?? Or how about your own portfolio? I have most of my favorites of the year on my computer, just in case I want to update my website ...

You misunderstood me Ang....

In addition to Smug, they are on my pc. Original RAW images as well as edited jpegs on a 1 TB drive I use for photos. In adition, once Im done with the event I back up those jpegs on an external drive...as well as on DVD in Data format. Thats triple on my end not counting the RAW files.....and then of course Smugmug.

I work off my locally stored files for an album. I have never had a reason to download an image FROM my smug site.

I upload full res.....even if I dont make those available for view. Its easier for me that way than it is to add another step in workflow. I set all the filenames and order in Bridge and set up the upload. I usually upload through the nigt....whilst I sleep!

Moogle Pepper

External HDDs and DVD Rs. My MBP can hardly store anything on its 120 gig hdd.

I'd LOOOOOVE to upload the full res even over night. But Comcast would make sure to put a stop to that. It tends to enjoy killing my uploads of my own photos.

Swartzy

HP Home server (4 bays of 1.5 TB each). 4 500 gig external hard drives attached...yes, the machine is confused.:D

Import photos to LR, assign working hard drive (Free Agent 500G external)....copy those to the server. Server is set up for duplication therefore 2 copies are spread out over different drives on the server. Once project is completed (meaning editing and exporting Jpegs), the server is updated from the working drive then burnt to DVD R...then filed...remove from working drive.

In fact, that's what I'm doing right now...cleaning up older folders, copying and burning. I've found using a faster working drive is much more efficient and use the server for storage alone although I can access it if need be.

colourbox

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Now....how secure is Smugmug?.....how many dupe servers are my images stored on?

They take advantage of the Amazon S3 grid
http://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/smugmug/
http://don.blogs.smugmug.com/2006/11/10/amazon-s3-show-me-the-money/

tenoverthenose

All of my hard drives are mirrored. So if and when a drive fails me, I just slide a new one in and my computer automatically rebuilds the entire drive for me. In addition to this, I backup all of my images on bare drives that are stored in my fireproof safe.

Thankfully drives today are super cheap!

zoomer

I do not guarantee to my customers that I will store their photos.
I tell them that when they get home to buy the best DVD's they can find and recopy them onto it and also to their hard drive or whatever storage device they have. They are responsible for their images, it is in the contract.

Having said that:
My partner keeps a DVD of the images as well as a gallery on her external harddrive.
I keep a copy of them on an external harddrive as well.

I download my favorite full resolution images to Smugmug from all all their shoots, usually around 250 pictures, for online viewing and ordering for 3 months.

Betz

I upload everything to my Smuggy. I know they say that it's not good to put all your eggs in one basket but I kinda dig my Smugmug acct.

Shima

Everything is on SmugMug and then I also have a local copy, and I have my JPG's + RAW's also backed up to LiveDrive.

Svennie

I have them stored on my computer. The photos are also on 2 1.5TB network disks, one downstairs and one in the study. These are turned off, unless I need to do backups.
Once every while I copy everything to a external hard drive which is stored at a different location.

A large selection of high res jpgs are on smugmug, but I use SM only for presentation not backup.

jeffreaux2

Agnieszka wrote:

No external server / DVDs / CDs / other computer?

I don't upload high res photos to smugmug, would take me wayyyy to long (esp for a wedding, the way it is right now I'm already uploading the pics for 3 days straight ... )

I have them on an external drive & on DVDs

+ how do you do it when you have to create an album? .... Do you download all the photos again (if they don't get back to you immediately?? Or how about your own portfolio? I have most of my favorites of the year on my computer, just in case I want to update my website ...

How are you...and others connected to the net?

I ask because I am currently connected via cable through Cox Communications...and am paying for their top tier service/speed. My download speed is super fast, but upload speeds are throttled. Still though, I can typically upload 800 or so images in under 6 hours....maybe even closer to 4 hours. Ive never timed it....

But I am considering switching to a new AT&T fibre optic set up to increase speed, but I would need assurance that upload speeds would be at least as fast as I have not and that large batches wouldn't get bumped off.....forcing me to do batches.

FWIW, I dont RELY on smugmug as back-up....I have other methods...but once they are on smug...they are....well...there as well for safe keeping AND viewing.

mmmatt

All original raw including ones I don't deliver, all xmp files, plus edited JPGs and PSDs of anything that had a lot of work done to it. All these are saved on an internal drive, and external drive, and full res jpgs on smugmug. Periodically when my internal drive gets full-ish I move those copies to a second external so I still maintain 2 full copies at home. I just recently got a new machine with a Dual layer DVD drive so I intend on making dvd backups of all original files for the safe but still have yet to do that.

***edit*** I deleted a comment that was inaccurate. Jeff to see how your upload speed to smugmug compares with your available upload bandwidth you can go to dslreports.com and go to tools > speed tests and do a test of your line speed there are different servers so you can test one near where the smugmug servers are. Then start an upload to smugmug and then start system monitor in windows and see how fast you are moving along. I tested this some time ago and noticed that I was using only a small portion of my upload speed but just now checked and I am running at full bore, so all is good for me, ymmv.

sjhonda

Only edited images

Agnieszka wrote: »

<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message -->This weeks question is easy & short ...

Where do you guys store your images?

>> Shhhhhhht. Wanna see the other weekly threads? Click HERE.

I only store my edited images long term. I store them on an external drive.

www.hondaphotoart.com

sjhonda

Has any one used a service to store images? One that you upload directly to the web?

Stephen
www.hondaphotoart.com

Qarik

I upload full rez to smug mug. I keep the RAWs on imac HD only. I keep the flash cards as "back up" until I am don editing the RAWS and uploading the jpgs. To me after the jpgs have been rendered and uploaded, what do I really need the RAWs for except as just archival/recordkeeping purposes? I am sure smugmug has built in redundancy.

Shima

jeffreaux2 wrote: »

How are you...and others connected to the net?

I ask because I am currently connected via cable through Cox Communications...and am paying for their top tier service/speed. My download speed is super fast, but upload speeds are throttled. Still though, I can typically upload 800 or so images in under 6 hours....maybe even closer to 4 hours. Ive never timed it....

But I am considering switching to a new AT&T fibre optic set up to increase speed, but I would need assurance that upload speeds would be at least as fast as I have not and that large batches wouldn't get bumped off.....forcing me to do batches.

So... smugmug has their servers at Equinix facilities and since I recently moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and work at the San Jose SV3 Equinix site... I'm like literally a hop away from SmugMug. I no longer upload anything to smugmug from home, I take all my wedding / e-sessions / personal photos / etc to work on my personal laptop and then just hop on the network and upload away at blazing fast speeds. I clock blazing fast upload speeds from work since it's going from Equinix -> SmugMug and not passing anywhere else, lol.

This is the fastest I've been able to get a screenshot of it uploading at from work. I'll show you guys a traceroute later for further amusement if you want (would do it right now but I'm not at work at the moment)

ExposeTheMoment

Full hi res on smugmug and at home hp media server.

du8die

Originals on External Drive - Backed up to DVD - and BackBlaze running. Finished products to Smuggy.

Not that I wouldn't want a RAID solution or something cool like that...

d8 -

Weisel

I have a 1TB external drive, and I first put all my RAWs on there. Then immediately I copy those to a smaller external HD I have. Sometimes, I will then make DVD copies, but that takes so long for me, and so many disks. I need a 3rd copy though, preferably not in the same house I live in. It would take me 4 days to upload a whole wedding of RAWs to Smug. Can't do. But once I have all my edits done, I place those high rez onto SMUG for viewing and ordering.
I still need a safe place, like a fire proof safe, and another HD for them all. hmmmmm

JanWill

I store the RAWs at two different HDs each on in a different PC. I do keep the files on the CF-cards until I have send a DVD out to the clients and uploaded the finished jpgs to Smugmug. After that all images jpgs and Raws are being deleted from one HD. A few month later the RAWs are moved to an external HD and deleted from the other PC. The jpgs are also copied to the external HD. To summarize after a few month the Raws are stored only on one external HD. The jpgs are on one external HD, on one HD of one of the PCs and on Smugmug.

saneesh

I have registered on Box.com they have provided me 50 Gb of cloud space. So I am storing all of my edited and raw images there. Advantage is no need to carry external hard disks or memory devices.

dawssvt

External hard drive and all my photos go on Smugmug as a backup!

Shima

JPG's on Smugmug. RAW's on LiveDrive. Plus I backup my computer on CrashPlan.