The best way to keep your images safe is to print them. 

Guess how often I receive the following email:

“Stephanie! HELP!! My computer has crashed. I’m absolutely devastated and hoping that you still have the files from my session.”

The answer is….a LOT. And I’m sympathetic! It has happened to all of us. Our memories are captured and then lost on neglected hard drives. We tell ourselves that we will get around to printing those photos or backing up our computers and then life gets in the way like it always does.

Luckily, I have been able to help the people who have reached out to me because I haven’t experienced a hard drive crash in several years. I have systems in place to safe guard my work but it is only a matter of time before technology lets me down - that’s the reality of technology.

But there is more here to think about and it is a subject that has been on my mind for a long time. I watched a documentary called ‘California Typewriter‘ recently . Described as, “A look at the people who remain loyal to the typewriter as a tool and muse, and a portrait of California Typewriter, a typewriter service and sales company in Berkeley that has been in business since 1949.”

It was a kind of homage to the analog world. Something that I can relate to as a photographer. The physicality of making something by hand and the tactile rewards of holding something is undeniable. Handwritten words mean more than those typed in an email. Printed images have more impact than the ones you scroll through online.

I have never plugged in a hard drive to reminisce about a vacation but I can absolutely remember the last time I pulled a photo album off of the shelf to show a friend. We don’t live in a digital world. So not only is it important to print your photos because it is the best way to ensure you have them forever, it is also the best way for you to enjoy them.

The best way to back up your photos is to make them real.