Here are a few methods to store the files elsewhere to free up space and preserve your photos.
These methods fall into five categories: magnetic, solid state, secure digital, optical, and cloud.
No method of storing files isinfallible, so redundancy is key to preserving your images.
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External Hard Drives
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Tons of storage capacity.
Can be lost in a disaster.
Moving physical parts make these more vulnerable than SSDs.
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Magnetic storage refers to any storage that involves ahard disk.
Magnetic storage is stable and holds a huge amount of data.
Capacities are measured in units as great as terabytes.
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Also, magnetic drives rely on physical moving parts, making them more vulnerable to mechanical failure than SSDs.
Many photographers who use hard drives store second drives at additional secure locations.
Solid-State Drives (SSDs)
Quiet, fast operation.
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Lack of moving parts means greater reliability and longer life.
Small size makes these very portable.
Cost more than magnetic hard drives.
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More physically vulnerable than cloud storage.
SSDs use circuits and, sometimes, flash memory to store data.
Secure Digital (SD) Cards
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Tiny and portable.
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Hold vast amounts of data in small footprint.
Can be swapped among compatible devices, such as cameras and computers.
SD cards are tiny, rectangular disks that fit inside electronic devices and card readers.
Available in various sizes, they can store enormous amounts of data.
Their tiny size makes them portable, but this also makes them easy to lose or misplace.
They have limited lifespans, specified as power-on/off cycles.
Quality matters: Cheap SD cards are more prone to failure than those from well-known and well-regarded brand names.
Optical Storage: DVDs and CDs
Easy to make and store.
Easily lost or damaged.
Number of compatible devices is diminishing.
CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs are optical storage technologies.
Errors are not unheard of when burning CDs or DVDs, especially while using other programs.
When burning a CD or DVD, close all other programs, and use verification.
The major drawback here is that many computers (particularly laptops) no longer ship with CD/DVD drives.
Cloud Storage
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Accessible anywhere.
Can’t be physically lost or destroyed.
No physical control of files.
Requires an internet connection.
Uploading computer files to the cloud is a convenient and increasingly popular way to create backups.
you’re free to set these services to upload your photos to the internet automatically.
you’ve got the option to buy additional storage for a monthly or yearly fee.
Paid online backup services such as Carbonite continually back up your machine files to online storage.
These services charge a monthly or annual fee, but they’re convenient in the long term.
Keep your cloud subscriptions current, and keep track of the company that stores your files.
USB Flash Drives
Easy to share.
Flash drivesare extremely convenient, and they hold more files than ever before.
Their small size makes them attractive for storing and sharing many images at once.
The number of photos you could store depends on their resolution and format.
JPGs are compressed and consume less space, whereas photos shot in RAW format are uncompressed and larger.
For example, assume you’re shooting at a 16-megapixel resolution.
One TB of storage space holds about 183,000 JPG photos or about 18,300 RAW photos.
If you don’t need that much space, consider solutions with capacities in the GB ranges.
