How can you safely store your files in the cloud?
As a photographer or videographer, you will have to regularly back up your footage. In particular to ensure that you keep enough space on your SD cards or on your hard drive, but of course also to ensure that your footage is not lost if you lose a hard drive, for example.
There are several ways to safely store your footage. I work according to a certain process that allows me to securely store and share my data in the cloud.
Procedure
After I have had a shoot I immediately copy the footage from the SD card to my laptop. Often this even happens at the location itself, or while traveling home. That way I already have the footage in two places, the SD card and my laptop.
As soon as I am home (or have a good and stable internet connection) I immediately make a copy of the raw footage in the cloud, in my case Dropbox. I use a VPN at home so that my connection is extra secure and cannot be hacked. That way I know for sure that no one can see or access my files.
Uploading usually takes a while, depending on the amount of footage and the connection.
As soon as the footage has been uploaded to the cloud, I then make a copy of the footage on my external hard drive.
Comforting
It may sound like a lot of work, but it makes me sleep a little better at night! I know for sure that my files are in 4 different places, and if something should happen to one of those file carriers, I always have the files in the cloud.
As soon as I start editing the files, I follow the same principle as that of the raw footage. The SD card is erased over time when I need it again for a shoot. If it is really critical footage, I sometimes also use an extra cloud service such as Google Drive for example.
I can easily share the mounted files via the cloud service without having to send large files back and forth.
Do you want to know more about how to safely store your files online or do you have a specific question? Let me know by contacting me here, I’ll be happy to help!
For the sake of completeness, I have included an overview below of the products that I use to store my images. They are affiliate links, if you decide to purchase one of these products, I will receive a small commission to support my work as a videographer and photographer 🙂
Hopefully this gives you an answer on the question: How can you safely store your files in the cloud?
My computer:
Asus Vivobook Pro
https://www.coolblue.nl/product/854085/asus-vivobook-pro-n580gd-e4729t.html
My external hard drive:
Western Digital
https://www.coolblue.nl/product/797960/wd-elements-portable-4tb.html
My SD cards:
https://www.coolblue.nl/product/825171/sandisk-sdxc-extreme-pro-128gb-170mb-s.html
Cloud Service:
www.dropbox.com
www.drive.google.com