The start of a new year is the perfect time to prepare your files, backups, and workflow for the months ahead. This organizational groundwork not only ensures your files are safe but also frees you to focus on creative work instead of dealing with last year's clutter.
Coming to you from John Branch IV Photography, this practical video outlines a step-by-step process to prepare for the year ahead. One of the first tasks is creating a new Lightroom catalog. Branch prefers a single catalog for each year to keep things streamlined and reduce headaches. A single catalog makes it easier to manage your images, export files, and use tools without constantly switching between multiple catalogs. For heavy workloads, splitting the year into two catalogs might be necessary, but otherwise, one catalog is the simplest approach.
Another essential step is reducing file sizes to free up storage space. Branch uses JPEGmini, a tool that compresses image file sizes without reducing dimensions or quality. By running all delivered photos through JPEGmini, you can save significant space on your hard drives, making it easier to archive your work. While JPEGmini is great for making photos smaller, it’s also helpful for creating web-ready images by adjusting export settings. Branch demonstrates how a few minutes of optimization can save gigabytes of space, which is particularly useful if you manage large libraries of wedding or session photos.
Long-term archiving is also crucial. After compressing files, Branch moves his raw files and JPEGs to a network-attached storage (NAS) device. For raw files, which take up substantial space, he keeps them for about a year or two before deleting them, while JPEGs are stored indefinitely. A NAS device with RAID configurations provides extra security in case of drive failures. If a NAS isn’t an option, cloud storage or multiple external hard drives can serve as alternatives for long-term storage.
Backing up to the cloud is another layer of protection. Branch uses Backblaze, a continuous backup solution that automatically saves all computer and external drive files to the cloud. While it requires stable connectivity with your hard drives, Backblaze’s constant updates ensure your data remains safe, even if a physical drive fails. The upload process might take time with slower internet speeds, but the peace of mind is worth the investment.
Lastly, creating local backups with tools like ChronoSync adds a final safety net. ChronoSync allows you to create a carbon copy of your drives, ensuring you have an offline backup in case of emergencies. While not automated like cloud backups, this manual process ensures redundancy. Branch recommends syncing drives every few months to keep your copies up to date, especially for critical files like client galleries or video projects. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Branch.
Great advice for the pros! I am a Hobbyist and all of it is a little much. First Lrc gets updates all the time with just note saying new catalog or something. Yes a new catalog every year is important, BUT I never ever keep images in Lrc or any other post processing program, once an edit and a post to a site I delete the image, BUT I do have a daily to monthly to yearly hard drive of Lrc and other editing programs to go back to. First all images RAW/Jpegs (if I do jpegs) are on basically on first a weekly HD (real not a soft drive) that is also on a mirror setup but then to a monthly HD which then grows to the final yearly. All images are in month day year files each time and also the output files from the many programs I use to edit with. All HD's are labeled and finally put into storage. My storage is first a freezer not plugged in, it is the one thing that will survive a fire and with a hasp will keep water out but I finally went to a big floor safe in cement floor.
My deal is I like to go back to the many years ago even to my film days but mainly do reedits because Software get better as time goes by. Exp back in '15 I learned about Milky Way's and a lens the Rokinon 14mm F2.8 was popular so i used it but not even Lr had a Lens correction for a few years, well I was using C1 ($30 with Sony cameras) and it is always the last to get LC's. another thing is SW back in 2010 when I got the Canon T2i you had to use Canons SW. Info Adobe PS and LR each were about $800 and each full number update, my camera and two kit lenses cost that, only the big company photographer got their hand on them! Oh! Remember the point and shoot days between 2000 and 2010 well that was like the film days you took your SD card to a camera or drug store, no editing and most had their own TIFF files you had to use their SW to edit but basally what you see is what you get just like film.
I have been at it a while and things change just like cameras and lenses BUT the images get made into prints just like film days and are put some where safe for those old guy days in a home, you are capturing time that can not be redone and memories only you have to look at. Cameras and lenses and lots of software later who knows the next thing. Digital has gone from the computer or camera SD card to slide show frames vs prints. Think also of say wildfires and floods those cloud places are large using a lot of juice to stay up and running, Was there one in LA no longer working now?
Have seen the file cabinets full of prints that old photographer have left behind that is the old cloud, think no electricity and no PC but then how valuable the prints something to hold not just on a monitor, some of us have been there and just advice. Even the riches man has said the next drought will be electricity not water!!! Plan and plan again as your time goes by and keep a film camera handy!!!!