How to Keep Your Vacay Photos Safe

We’ve not all been there, but those of us who have know: it’s devastating to lose your vacation photos.

My phone was at one point badly enough damages that I’d needed it replaced, and with it went all of my photos of my trip to Ireland with Arrow. It would have been far worse had I not downloaded those I had before the trip to make room for new ones. Thankfully Arrow still has hers (and is by far the better photographer) but it would still be nice to have my own. You can tell the ones that are and aren’t mine by the lower lefthand corner, there will be a Lostman’s Star watermark if they’re mine. Now that I’ve made that mistake, I always try to make extra sure that I keep my pictures safe from deletion. How? Read on!

Lesson learned, I now take proactive measures to keep my photos safe in a few different ways.

#1. Keep a backup of your phone.

Most of us use our phones as our cameras now, unless you’re a professional photographer or are a passionate hobbyist. The key here is that most phones have a setting where you can plug it into your laptop and back it up either directly to your laptop or to the cloud. Either way, do it before you leave on your vacation. It’ll also back up your settings, apps, all that good stuff.

#2. Download your photos to as many places as you feel necessary.

I’m not a fan of putting all of my eggs in one basket, so I spread my photos out to three locations. My computer, an external hard-drive, and USB keys. I also keep what originals I love best on my phone.

#3. Consider online storage.

I haven’t gone this route myself, but I am giving it serious thought. I have a lot of photos that I would be devastated if I lost them permanently. OneDrive, the Cloud, all of these are online options that you can look at. I know that it’s a bit scary having all of your photos online, and that a breach on security is totally possible, but I try to think of it this way: the photos I’m putting on there are the ones that I love, and would be unashamed of if they ended up in someone else’s hands. They’re photos of Arrow and I smiling at The Hill of Tara, of me trying (and failing) to take a selfie at Notre Dame, of waves crashing beneath my feet at the Burren.

#4. Make a scrapbook or photo album.

If you have the patience and talent for it, organise your photos the old fashioned way, in an album or a scrapbook! No chance of a hack, no dependence on the internet, and it can bring back cherished memories as you work on putting them together. I recommend getting your loved ones to help you arrange your photos, especially if they were on the trip with you!

Whether or not you choose to keep multiple copies of your photos in separate places or store them all on an online backup, or all boils down to this: don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Keep them separate, and you’ll be able to enjoy your vacation photos for years to come!