Right now I am in need of some serious order with all my photos. Since baby girl was born 4 months ago, I have managed to max out the storage space on my phone. This is not surprising seeing as every day is like a photo shoot (and come on, its not like its easy to weed them out when you take 20 in a row and 15 are keepers…even if half of them are almost completely identical). Many of my more recent pics and videos are backed up on my computer but what I need is a secured backup system so that all these precious memories are safe and sound so I can reclaim space on my phone. In the past I have just put them on a flash or external hard drive but a little voice in the back of my head is telling me to consolidate all my pics/videos somewhere online because a flash drive can be lost or destroyed. I’ve always been kinda weirded out by putting all of my digital media into a cloud system. Plus, apparently iCloud only backs up whats currently on your device(s), sooooo if you are trying to manage the amount of stuff taking up storage space on your device and want to eliminate images or videos, then said images and videos would disappear from iCloud (or so I’ve been told by Apple). This to me feels kind of pointless – or at least for what I am trying to achieve. Plus there is a limited amount of space available before you have to start paying money for more storage space. A friend of mine utilizes an online photo storage site called SmugMug which boasts a high privacy standard for your digital images and “unlimited” storage (up to 150 MG for photos and 3 GB for videos), but they cost $40 annually. There is also the option of trying to get all my photos and videos uploaded to my google account which can store up to 15 GB, but I wonder if there are any downsides to choosing this route.
So this is my question for all of you: what system do you use to backup your photos? Do you use a cloud or some other online service? Do you use an external hard drive? Or do you just print your photos into albums (since that’s all there was back in the day)?
On another note, picked this fun little crepe blouse up at H&M a few weeks ago and I just love it. It’s perfect for those in between days as we transition towards warmer temperatures. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to locate this print on their website but they might still have it available in stores. The same day I found this top I had also snagged these jeans during one of Loft’s 40% off new stuff sales. I had never been too good about catching sales in the past but I am getting much better at it especially since I now realize how frequently they occur and how completely unnecessary it is to pay full price. Of course I had to finish the look off with my favorite “go-to” booties.
I’m looking forward to all of your recommendations!
xo, Erica
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Oooe I love that top fits really well.
Beauty Candy Loves
Love the print of your top! Perfect for spring.
Eileen
http://5feetofstyle.com
these pics are so pretty and love this springy top.
xo
PinkSole
I find Dropbox and OneDrive life savers when it comes to saving/organizing pics. That blouse is sooo pretty on you!
http://redreticule.com
I need to switch from the cloud to something else too. I was thinking of using Google or Dropbox. Your top is so pretty! Love the print!
Jill
Doused In Pink
I back up all my photos on my computer and then I have an external hard-drive…this seems to work the best and then all our big trips are on shutterfly and facebook so I guess that counts as back up too LOL! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
We back up on the computer too and have the cloud as well, I even put them on discs. LOVE that top with the jeans and boots, so cute!!
I used the cloud to backup everything but now I’m out of space! I need to find a new way to back up as well!!
Christina :: Simple and Delish
I love your go to boots and your blouse!
That is a cute blouse + super versatile!
That is such a nice print on your blouse! 🙂
I have an android phone so all my photos and videos are backed up to Google automatically, which is wonderful because I use up all the storage space on my phone a few times a year with toddler/dog photos! When I do that I move the photos onto my computer, and from there onto external hard drives my hubby has. He’s in IT so it then gets really technical with having multiple backups spread over different locations, haha. It’s common for him to go over to his mate’s place and take an updated backup with him, I think our photos are stored in like 3 different houses now in case anything happens to ours! The benefits of having a hubby in IT!
Thank you for the link up!
Away From The Blue Blog
I need to visit H&M to see their Spring items, that top is darling! I just have my husband download my photos to my MacBook every so often. I think I should do that soon, because there is 11,000 photos on my camera right now! I wish I had time to go in and delete the ones that are bloopers!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
That whole look looks comfy and yet stylish! I love how you put the boots with it … it gives it some pizazz!
Nina
aworldofdresses.com
Crepe blouses hang so well! The print and colors on yours are so pretty! I think I need to get to H&M!
This top fits so well! I love the print of this as well! Great outfit lovely!
Mary Kate
http://www.mynewchicagolife.com
Cool blouse! x
http://violettedaily.com
The outfit is awesome and so is your hair! Why don’t you try Amazon cloud drive, it has unlimited photo storage for around $11.99 a year with 3 months free trial. Enjoy the rest of the week!
Rebecca
http://www.redtagchiclosangeles.com
OMG photo storage makes me want to bury my head in the sand. We have an external hard drive that I really like. I also use Box and Dropbox. It’s all beyond me. I love this blouse on you! Such a good color and fit.
Amy Ann
Straight A Style
Love this blouse!!!!!
Jaymie
Storage can be so tricky. I think an online portal of any kind is convenient because you can access photos from any device, which is a great back up plan for if something gets lost, stolen, or breaks! Love the crepe blouse! It has got a great shape.
– Mary
http://www.marymurnane.com
I love that blouse–the print is so fun and the colors are perfect for both now and headed into spring! I wish I had good advice for photo storage…that’s something I struggle with too. I’m constantly running out of space on my iPhone and iCloud storage. I use an external hard drive to back up, but I’m not as consistent about doing it as I’d like to be.
I mainly use iCloud but do have an external hard drive that I rarely update. Love your blouse!
Thank you for hosting and hope you are having a fab week!
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
Hope to see you Thursday for TBT Fashion link up.
I have an external hard drive for all of our digital photos.
Pretty blouse and I just love how it hangs!The jeans and booties look great with it.
That blouse is so fun, and that little key hole in the back is adorable and unexpected. The only time I pay for anything at the Loft is if I have a wedding or some event I NEED something for. Photo storage is so tricky. I back up my back ups, seriously. I’ve lost everything once before and it sucks! So…I actually use Google storage. Using Blogger, I can access all the photos directly through Blogger, so I can put them into my posts. Each month gets it’s own folder, and then my blog each year gets a new folder, etc. With the Google, it’s so easy to share the photos with people. I’ve heard good things about Smugmug, but I went with the Google route and so far am very happy with it. Plus I also try to make several copies of DVD’s of each year, so I give one to my parents, I keep one at work and one at Hubby’s work and one at home…cause you never know. I figure all of those places won’t burn down at the same time…I hope!
cute blouse!! I love the back!
I am just using dropbox… but, like you, I just kind of dump the photos and then refill my phone up super quick. I have a problem… such is life when you have cute kids.
Simply Shaunacey
I have a flickr pro account – it used to be $24 a year for unlimited storage…I think it’s more now (shows how little I pay attention to those automatic payments) but it automatically uploads all the photos on your phone to your account, which is pretty cool and convenient!
http://www.iamchiconthecheap.com/
So pretty! I love the pattern & those booties!
~~Megan~~
http://www.poshprime.com
Such a cute top! I actually don’t like to have a lot of pictures on my phone, so I usually delete them once I do a blog post. My way of saving pictures is to just upload them to my Walgreens photo account or create albums on FB. I also consider my blog my diary, so that’s another way I save my memories.
The photo storage thing is a major problem for me as well..I’m always getting messages that my cloud is full. I’ve begun to purge videos and pics from my phone that are so old, I won’t even notice their gone. So I’d love to here some ideas as well 🙂 Love the cute blouse from H&M. It’s great for work and play!
http://www.dressed2dnines.com
Such a clute blouse! Love the print, and it’s perfect to dress it up or down!
-Tatiana
We Shop in Heels
I am always having storage space problems!
Love your top!
xx, Elise
http://www.sparkleandslippers.blogspot.com
I’m totally old school – I back up my photos on a zip drive, but I also print copies of them, because I love to scrapbook. This outfit is so cute – love the print of your blouse!
I am old school – and back them up on an external hard drive. For some reason that seems more safe to me – in case the cloud storage place – closes/changes or something happens.
Lisa
Daily Style Finds
That crepe blouse is stunning! Love that print for spring!
Xoxo,
Ashley || Sed Bona
My iCloud gets full so quickly, I don’t know how it happens! It is so annoying to move the photos to laptop then I forget about them. You look so lovely, Erica! I really like your blouse, it is pretty!
Ela BellaWorld
I love your boots! They are so cute!!
Rachel
Simply Rachel Nicole
super cute top. i love lovely printed tops x
http://www.fionnac.com
I used to keep all of my photos stored on my computer, but realized anything could happen and decided to back everything up on an external hard drive for safety measures… definitely recommend! Also love that top and the little slit in the back!
Lauren
http://oliverstwistblog.com
You look good and happy. My hubby who’s a techy keeps upgrading and adding memory to my PC for my neverending photo collection. I also create and print albums every now and then. I don’t recommend icloud storage, whatever on my blog, ig and facebook are the only ones available online.
http://www.busyandfab.com
I love your photos here so much! Your style is so fun and perfect for this time of year. xx http://www.bauchlefashion.com
So cute! Love that top!
xMC
http://mc2squared.blogspot.com
Loving the H&M blouse. In terms of photos, I store them online or through drop box. I’m actually thinking of printing my fav. ones and storing them in an album
http://sincerelymissj.blogspot.ca
Very nice top! its color looks great on you, on point!!
Vanessa❤︎
http://thefashionstatement.net
Such a lovely blouse!
http://www.aimeroseblog.com
Love the outfit !! I have the same problem when it comes to storing photos ! Xx
Such a cute shirt – I love the print! I too am wondering about photo storage – it’s gotten out of hand! I think I’ll have to invest in an external hard drive shortly.
Annessa
http://www.seekingsunshine.com
Great look dear! Beautiful blouse!
Hugs, Pisa ❤
http://www.inlovewithmyclothes.com
4 mos postpartum — you rock! adorable, for sure!
You look so beautiful, Erica! I love your blouse, the print is so pretty! I have the same problem with storage, I’m maxed out and even when I try to delete some pics, it doesn’t really seem to make much of a difference. If you do come across something that works, please do share! I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!
XO,
Jalisa
http://www.thestylecontour.com
Right now I back up my photos to an external hard drive. I still don’t understand the cloud! Loving this top and your booties!
Rachael
http://www.threadsforthomasblog.com
My little girl is 3 months! I chuckled to myself when reading your post as I’m in the same boat! I use google photos to back up my pics.
How do you manage blogging? I’ve done one post in the last three months!
Great look dear! Very nice top! its color looks great on you!
Have a great day
XO Erica
http://www.ericavoyage.com
I have an external hard drive- which reminds me, I need to back up my stuff ASAP! Haven’t in too long.
Love this blouse on you- H&M is my jaaaaam right now!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
Nice outfit! Love the print!
xx
Mademoiselle Coconath
http://mllecoconath.com
Aw you look SO pretty!! External hard drive is the way to go!
http://www.SHVETA.com
Cute top! Love the print, and it’s such a pretty shade on you!
XO
StyleByPear
I love the print of the blouse you’re wearing – and how cheerful you look, it’s infectious! 🙂 With regard to photo storing, I’m buying an external drive soon to backup older photos, however most of mine are disorganised right now so I’m probably not the best person to be answering the question haha.
Gabrielle | A Glass Of Ice x
Cute blouse! Love how they look with those booties.
Happy Friday!
xx,
Alyssa
http://www.kneehighsandpumpkinspice.com/
It’s amazing how a little one will totally dominate all your photos. I don’t even have kids but with the birth of the first baby in my family/generation, it’s pretty much the only thing I have in my phone 🙂
-Ana Luiza
Northwest Blonde
looking great sweetie!!
kisses from dubai ❤️
http://www.mahryska.com
I was trigger happy 17 years ago when Eve was born and, I’ll come clean, I’m still as trigger happy today 🙂 it doesn’t stop, those awww moments. I lost some really important photos several years ago when my Mac crashed and burned so these days, I have a 4-step back-up system. What can I say. I work in the network security sector 🙂
I save my images into (1) laptop hard drive (it’s a new Mac); (2) an external 1 Terabyte hard drive; (c) a private cloud server; and (4) our own family server. As an additional step for blog pictures, I also keep copies on my wordpress server, I paid for extra storage space. I know. I’m paranoid but I’d much rather have multiple copies than lose precious memories.
Love that top! Thanks for linking up with me last week, hope to see you again tomorrow. I’ll be pinning this to the linkup Pinterest board.
http://www.jerseygirltexanheart.com
Thanks girl, that’s one of the things I liked about it too.
Thanks girl – I think so too! The little squares kinda look like flowers from a distance.
Thanks Rachelle! 🙂
I’ll have to check those out 🙂 Thank you so much!
Thank you doll! Yea I mean I trust Google with my email so why not my images, right?
Yea, totally! I actually had thought about shutterfly as one of my backups as well, at least for my photos since I need to upload them anyway to print photos (which I have promised myself I will finally start doing).
Smart! Yea I used to use discs and then my laptop doesn’t have a slot for a disc so then I shifted to flash drives. Thanks love!
lol oh man!
Thank you! 🙂
Thanks Carrie!
That is SO smart!! I had never thought about storing back-ups at friends houses before. 🙂
I know I need to clean up my photos BAD – that is part of my photo management mission.
Thanks Nina!
I know right! I kinda wish I picked up more! They had one in blush pink that I wish I had picked up but don’t think is available anymore (at least it isn’t online).
Thank you so much!
Thank you!
I know I have been transferring them periodically to my computer but refuse to clear them more than the occasional video from my phone until I get a backup system established. Eeek! Thanks girl 🙂
Thank you darling! That is a great idea – I’ll look into that 🙂
I know right. I have an external drive but then something went weird with it (I don’t remember what) so basically I have to decide if I want to buy a new one. I kind of think I do though but I may check out Dropbox. Thanks love! 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Thats what I thought would be a nice perk about getting all of them online. Thank you Mary!
Yea I have one too but it doesn’t work right plus its big and awkward so it just sits in a drawer. Oh technology!
I can totally see how that happens – if its anything like the one I have (that doesn’t really work for some reason) its large, with multiple cords so a major pain in the butt to use. Thank you Alice! xo
It seems like a lot of people lean towards the external hard drive route! Thank you 🙂 xo
Thats what I am so afraid of! That is so smart to make several copies of DVDs and to put them in several places. I just had my husband make a second copy of our wedding video to give to my parents (so there is also an extra copy out there to be safe).
Thank you!
I know right 🙂 Until I get a system in place I’m afraid to delete more than the occasional video just to free up a little more space for more pics until I have a backup of the stuff on my computer.
lol thats awesome and I like how it automatically uploads from your phone. Is it like the cloud where whatever you delete from your phone is also deleted from your account or does it just add pics and save them?
Thank you Megan! xoxo
Yea that is very true! Luckily the blog is kind of a mini storage for many of my favorite pictures but not as much for the family photos and videos. I would like to keep my phone cleaned up better but first step…backup! 🙂
OMG girl Ive been getting constant alerts and I actually just turned off the backup function in hopes it would stop the alerts but it hasn’t. Smart – yea I have been trying to go through and eliminate any pics that I wouldn’t put into an album or frame. No need to hang on to a million pictures. A lot of people seem to be using external hard drives. The one I have is busted so I would need a new one if I went this route. Luckily it looks like the ones available now, especially for Mac, are a lot less bulky so I might consider that route but then again they are expensive so its like ok should I spend $60 or more on an external hard drive or upload them for free to Google or Dropbox? Errrr decisions!
Thank you! I totally agree 🙂
thanks girl!
I think that is the smartest way to back up your photos! I mean in this digital time we take soooo many pictures but they hardly ever get printed off. I still haven’t even made an album from my wedding photos from almost 6 years ago (ahhh!). That is on my list of things to do ASAP as soon as I solve this problem.
I agree with you, I’ve always been kinda weirded out by putting all of my digital stuff out there.
Thank you!
Thank you so much love 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Me too!! 🙂
Yea I’m thinking about going that route. Then I know they are backed up and I don’t have to worry about them being out in the internet sphere. 😛 🙂
Thank you Mercy! That’s how I am – I am such a minimal trace online kind of person.
Thank you so much Heather 🙂
Thank you! xoxo 🙂
Yea me too! I feel like albums used to be the way we kept our pictures and that way you can easily grab them and look at them rather than have to hunt them down on an electronic device.
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Me too! I completely agree. Don’t you ever feel like even though digital technology is supposed to make our lives easier that sometimes it just complicates things further?
Thank you! 🙂 🙂
You’re awesome, thank you Sarah!
Thank you so much Jalisa! lol I have that same problem. The only way I can clear up space is to delete videos and apps from my phone (bah!). I have to get this problem under control ASAP!
Thank you Rachael! 🙂
Oh girl, I barely did much blogging during the first 3 months either. I only really did 3 posts during the first 3 months, 1 being a recipe I had already started before the baby came. There were a couple other posts where I basically just took pictures and Brooke put the posts together because they were collaborative posts. Otherwise I was pretty much a ghost. I definitely don’t know how I would have done it without a blogging buddy! Now its a matter of working stuff in during micro naps and the short little bursts of time when she is playing happily independently. Congrats on your little bundle of joy! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
lol better back up those pics! I am starting to lean towards the external hard drive route. 🙂 H&M is awesome, I have been meaning to head back to scope out some more spring blouses.
Thank you! 🙂
You are so sweet, thank you! I am strongly considering going that route, thats for sure!
Thank you so much 🙂
Thank you Gabrielle, you make me smile 🙂 It’s so hard to keep all these photos organized!
Thank you! 🙂
lol Its so fun taking pics of babies because they are just so darn adorable.
Thank you darling!
Ahhhh that stinks you lost your pictures! That is what I am most afraid of! 🙁 I don’t think you are paranoid at all – you totally have the peace of mind knowing all your moments are safe and sound 🙂
Thank you!