A Step-by-Step Guide to Online Photo Storage

Photographs are an important part of life. They keep us connected to our roots, cement events in our memories, and help us feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves. In fact, as professor and psychologist Geoff Beattie said, “We cannot underestimate the power of photographs to keep us feeling linked to others and belonging.”

The good news is that in this day and age, photos are easier to keep up with than ever. We have cameras on all our devices and plenty of choices for storage for digital images. But the problem for some people is that this can get overwhelming. It’s somewhat of a process that needs to be learned.

Step one: determine your photo usage

The first step in finding what works best for you is to determine what needs you have with your photos. Will you be printing your photos, sharing them publicly, selling them, designing gifts with them, or publishing them to a website? These are all questions you should ask yourself before moving on to the next step.

And it usually depends on what types of photos you take. For example, are you simply taking family snapshots you don’t want to lose? Or are you a nature photographer who might sell these images at some point?

Step two: determine your storage needs

Once you’ve figured out what you’ll use your photos for, you should decide what needs you have in an online photo storage system. You can do this by asking yourself some questions.

One question is how tech-savvy you are. Some systems can be complicated to use, while others are designed to be simple and straightforward. So, if you think you need one that’s easy to use, check online reviews and ask questions to find one you’re comfortable with.

Another question to ask is how many photos you take. Make sure you look for a service with plenty of storage space for what you need. And if you ever intend to sell the rights to any of your photos, you’ll need to find out about the site’s commercial use policies.

Other important features to check out include upload speed, remote access, maximum resolution allowed, sharing, and website features.

Step three: choose your online photo storage method

There are lots of online photo storage methods to choose from. Some are free, or have a certain amount of free storage, while others come with a fee. Many of them share a lot of the same features, but once you’ve figured out what you need, it shouldn’t be too hard to pick one.

Some features to look for might include security, automatic backup, search functions, social media linking, account sharing, editing, and printing functions.

Step three: choose your online photo storage method

Managing a digital photo library can be overwhelming, but it’s important to stay on top of it all the time. Otherwise, you could spend hours looking for that one picture of your daughter at her ballet recital instead of pulling it up instantly anytime you need it.

First of all, make sure all your photos are in one place. If you’ve chosen your online storage system, migrate them all here. Of course, this is a good time to purge any photos you don’t want. Next, back your photos up in at least one other place.

If you’ve chosen an online storage system with on-site backup, this process will be easier. Now, categorize your photos appropriately. Most people do this by year and month, but you can organize yours however you want. For example, you might choose to have categories based on events, such as your son’s graduation or your trip to Tahiti.

However you choose to categorize your images, just make sure you maintain the method every time you upload more files.