The Photo Info

By Jill Caren

So, we had a call from a customer who was frantic about her pictures. She was getting ready to place an order for a Photo Purse and when she went to attach the image to her order she said her computer completely shut down and when she restarted it the screen was blank!

After talking to her for about 15 minutes, I came to the conclusion that it sounded like her computer just crashed and this was its way of saying "I have had enough, I cannot hold anymore data!".

I could hear her tears when I asked, "So what were you storing on your computer, Linda?" (names have been changed to protect the guilty!)

Well, I want to say I was shocked with her response, but I wasn't, she had every image she ever took of her 2 kids, who are 5 and 3 years old, saved on that computer. Every Image! Even with an everyday point and shoot camera that is some massive file sizes, too much for most home computers to handle. Sadly, this is not the first time I have heard this happen.

So, now she has no images of her kids - nothing!

I recommended she send it out to someone to see if they can retrieve the images from her hard drive, but it is a pricey endeavor to do this so that is why I decided to write this article. Obviously, Linda will have to do what she can to retrieve those images since it is all she has, but it is a painful and expensive lesson to learn, so here are a few tips to keep this from happening to you.

We are passionate about photography and do not want to see something like this to happen to others so here are some simple tips you can take to avoid having your images lost forever:

-Download the images from your camera card into your computer. We recommend after each time you use the card, but at the minimum each week!

-Delete any you do not want (this is the hard part I know, every picture has some meaning, but do you really need the out of focus face shot with the food in his/her mouth and the dog sniffing his/her armpit?).

-Upload them to an online printing company, then get a 4ื6 print of every image, sounds crazy I know, but this is the most important thing you can do.

-Burn the images to a CD or order one from the company you ordered the prints from, many offer this feature now.

-Once you receive your prints and CD, then go ahead and delete the images from your computer!

-Be sure to store your actual prints in an archival box or album! If the box or album is archival it will say it on it so be sure to check the packaging.

Now you will always have your images and it only took about 10 minutes of your time! I am an old fashioned girl and believe pictures were meant to be printed! In 100 years no one will be able to open a CD or a DVD, they can scratch, melt or just become obsolete. Think about it, what ever happened to the 8 track tape? Yes, unfortunately, I am that old.

But pictures if stored properly will remain in your family history forever. Think about what this means to your family you have not had the thrill of meeting yet. Your grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on will have a great document of their own history, that is a priceless gift you can give.

Jill Caren
ilovephotogifts.com
http://www.ilovephotogifts.com