![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/workflow\/computer\/New-York-rain-900.jpg\")
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The photograph above was shot with my iPhone while I was waiting for a corporate photo shoot to commence. The sky over lower Manhattan was grim and rainy. You can see the reflection of the fluorescent lights inside the room. This gave the city scene a Blade-Runner-esque feel. And with that, this image is perhaps suitably Apocalyptic for this topic – what are your plans for catastrophic failure of your main computer?<\/p>\n
The idea for this article comes from a discussion with another photographer – she cringed every time I mentioned, “so what happens to your business if your house burns down and your computer is gone?” My other remark that her computer’s hard drive most likely will fail at some point, didn’t seem to lift her spirits either.<\/p>\n
So with that, let’s look at those two points:
\n1. Safe-guarding yourself against catastrophic loss of your computer.
\n2. Preparing yourself for when your hard drive crashes.<\/p>\n
The solutions are fortunately quite simple and elegant …<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
– I can find my way around a computer to do my work as a photographer in the digital age. However, I’m not very computer savvy, and I’m not a computer geek with incredible detailed knowledge about the latest in computer hardware and software. So there might well be more sophisticated ways of doing what I’m doing. And there definitely are other ways of doing what I am doing. But I also feel that any digital photographer that strays from these basic ideas, will inevitably face very costly, if not insurmountable problems.
\n– \u00a0We’re just going to discuss your actual main computer – not your external hard drives or RAID arrays that hold your photographs. That’s another discussion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I distinguish between two parts of my workflow:<\/strong><\/p>\n With that, I do slightly different things to each of those parts, to protect myself against catastrophic failure.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This year we saw the unbelievable way that Japan was hit with earthquakes and tsunamis. Devastating! And across the world, the global climate changes seem to affect the frequency and severity of the weather, such as tornados. The Mid-West of the USA saw tornado after tornado this year. And with no warning houses are shredded.\u00a0Therefore it isn’t just scare-mongering to consider the likelihood of your computer being completely destroyed.\u00a0Then there is always the lurking problem of theft of your computer.<\/p>\n Solution: create an on-line \/ off-site version of your computer files.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The idea here is that your computer files – your Word documents, spreadsheets, PDFs .. everything .. is stored as an immediate copy on a website. This is done automatically. You don’t have to think about it. Just pay your monthly or annual fee. Simple as that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For online \/ cloud back-up there are a number of services. I had a look at Backblaze after\u00a0reading some glowing recommendations<\/p>\n Backblaze<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0has three immediate advantages for me: It takes quite a while for the initial back-up to Backblaze if you are dealing with huge volumes of data \u2013 multiple Terrabytes \u2013 but once the initial back-up is done, the incremental backups are quite fast. And then you\u2019re all set.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because it just makes good sense, and because it runs quietly in the background. I have Time Machine<\/strong>\u00a0on my two main Mac computers, to\u00a0keep copies of all my files on a separate\u00a0hard drive. Redundancy is a good thing!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I rely heavily on Dropbox<\/a><\/strong> to sync files between all my devices. \u00a0I have four computers, spread between the studio and home, and one\u00a0that I use just for travel.\u00a0There is also\u00a0my iPhone (which I regard as my office in my hand), and my iPad.\u00a0With Dropbox<\/a> I always have the current version of any document, accessible from any device.<\/p>\n There are other options out there as well on the internet. Lots of them. I keep everything of importance that resides on my main hard-drive, in the dropbox folder – contracts, receipts, reference files, presets .. everything. Not the images from weddings and photo sessions. That would take up too much space. But I keepall my work files and documents. Instead of using the Dropbox folder on my computer as a single folder to stuff a bunch of documents in, I created a sensible folder structure within the Dropbox. Here is a screen-grab of part of it to give you an idea. Folders within folders.<\/p>\n Now, should my house burn down and I lose my computer and data … I can go to the Apple Store and buy a new MacBook Pro\u00a0again. After setting it up, I would sign into my Dropbox account, and let the on-line version of my computer files sync to my new computer. Barely a day’s hiccup compared to what would’ve been a catastrophe if I had lost all my documents and files.<\/p>\n I should also mention that any back-ups of my programs, such as Mac Mail, Calendar, Contacts, I save in a Dropbox folder. So I can always resuscitate my essential stuff from Dropbox should I lose my main computer. Of course, my Calendar and Contacts are also backed up on iCloud.<\/p>\n Another example of the beauty of using a solution like DropBox: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While I am recommending must-do stuff, here are two programs that I’d highly recommend\u00a0– 1Password and Evernote.\u00a0They will make your life easier.<\/p>\n Here’s the best part about Dropbox and 1Password and Evernote – it syncs across devices. So I have the same info on my laptop and main computer and iPad and iPhone. Anything from bus schedules to airplane flight details to client contracts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You keep all your passwords in one place with a single super-strong password\u00a0with\u00a01Password<\/a><\/strong>. Before you shrug this off, let me explain that you also keep note of your registered username, and registered email address and any pertinent data. Even better, you can store your software keys here. (And again, also your registered username and registered email address and any pertinent data associated with a specific piece of software.\u00a0Best part – it can sync via Dropbox.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With Evernote<\/strong><\/a>, you keep documents and photos and any clippings, all in one place. You can create folders, and you can tag various items. I keep note of everything via Evernote. It may not sound so impressive when described like that, but I am sure that anyone who uses Evernote would agree with me that it quickly becomes an indispensable part of how you work on a computer on the internet, keeping track of stuff you like and want to refer to again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I mentioned at the start of this article – there are other ways of doing this, and other software options. These are what I am using right now to safeguard me from that heart-stopping moment when I realize my computer is gone, or my hard drive is just clicking away, not responding. Right now, these are minor annoyances compared to what could be – devastating loss. I can cope and recover without much drama.<\/p>\n It don’t think it is often that I am prescriptive in my advice … well, except when it comes to shooting in RAW<\/a>, and shooting in manual exposure mode<\/a>. Aside from that, I know there are many ways of working. Tastes vary. Intended results vary. Artistic intent varies. However …<\/p>\n … I \u00a0strongly feel that if you haven’t set up something similar to what is described in this article, you are courting disaster. You *have to* do something about this where there is no possible gap where computer failure or loss of a computer is devastating to you as a digital photographer. And you have to do it now. The options are so easy to use, and so seamless, that there is no excuse. You have to.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photography workflow – Back-up plans for the main computer The photograph above was shot with my iPhone while I was waiting for a corporate photo shoot to commence. The sky over lower Manhattan was grim and rainy. You can see the reflection of the fluorescent lights inside the room. 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\nSafe-guarding yourself against catastrophic loss of your computer<\/h2>\n
\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Backblaze<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2013 it\u2019s very affordable. \u00a0Surprisingly affordable.
\n\u2013 \u00a0unlimited capacity.
\n\u2013 should you need your data, they can send it to you on a hard drive for a fee.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u2022 \u00a0Time Machine<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Dropbox.<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nHere is what\u00a0I like about Dropbox,<\/a>\u00a0explained in how<\/strong>\u00a0I use Dropbox.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/workflow\/computer\/dropbox-folders.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I might be in London on a trip, and a client emails me and needs a file. I can email or text my assistant at the office to place the file in a Dropbox folder for me on the main computer in the office. A minute later (or less) it is synced on my laptop in my hotel room in London. I can then retouch the photo \/ make changes to a document \/ whatever it is that needs to be done. Once I am done and have saved the file, it will automatically sync that file with the same file on my main office computer’s dropbox folder. (Same folder structure!) And then my assistant can print it and mail it or take care of it.\u00a0Elegant!<\/p>\nThe Packrat feature of Dropbox:
\n<\/strong>With\u00a0Dropbox\u2019s \u201cPackrat\u201d feature, they now keep an unlimited number of any files that I may delete or change. Wonderful peace of mind.<\/div>\n
\n\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>1Password\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Evernote<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nSummary<\/h2>\n
Related articles<\/h2>\n
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