Why a quality photography backup workflow is so important

09/12/23 • 9 min

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In this episode of Workflows, host Scott Wyden Kivowitz shares his personal experiences of losing his precious photos not once, but three times. These stories serve as lessons on the importance of having a quality photography backup workflow in place. From his camera's memory cards being corrupted to an external drive crash, Scott learned the hard way about the significance of safeguarding his images. Join him as he reveals the steps he took to improve his backup workflow and how he ensures the safety of his photos today.

Key Lessons:

1. Travel Backups: If traveling, backup your memory card to multiple places before returning home. Scott's experience with incompatible memory cards highlights the importance of selecting devices and types less vulnerable to corruption, ensuring the safety of your photos.

2. Invest in multiple backups: Losing all his band photographs due to a single external drive failure taught Scott the lesson of investing in backups. Having multiple physical and cloud backups is crucial to protect your images from permanent loss.

3. Develop a cloning system: Scott's backup workflow involves cloning his local drive to an identical RAID drive, which is then cloned to an offsite location. This system ensures redundancy and safeguards against hardware failures or disasters.

4. Utilize backup software: Using reliable backup software, like Carbon Copy Cloner, can simplify the cloning process and ensure that all your files and external drives are backed up consistently.

5. Combine high-resolution and low-resolution backups: Incorporating software like Imagen allows you to have high-resolution backups of your RAW files while also saving storage space by having low-resolution JPEG backups. This provides flexibility for editing, culling, and preserving your images.

Join the Imagen Community and share your own disaster stories and current backup workflows. Learn from each other's experiences and enhance your photography backup workflows.

(00:00) - 025
(01:10) - A mistake I couldn't avoid
(02:54) - This mistake was totally my fault
(04:15) - I hope you never make this mistake
(05:20) - My photography backup workflow

Join the Imagen Community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes.

Key Lessons:

4. Utilize backup software: Using reliable backup software, like Carbon Copy Cloner, can simplify the cloning process and ensure that all your files and external drives are backed up consistently.

Join the Imagen Community and share your own disaster stories and current backup workflows. Learn from each other's experiences and enhance your photography backup workflows.

(00:00) - 025
(01:10) - A mistake I couldn't avoid
(02:54) - This mistake was totally my fault
(04:15) - I hope you never make this mistake
(05:20) - My photography backup workflow

Previous Episode

The Art Of Zero Stress Wedding Photography with Taylor Jackson

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In this episode, Scott speaks with wedding photographer, YouTuber, and educator, Taylor Jackson about his photographic and photography business workflows.

Taylor started his creative journey with music photography, capturing images of bands he admired. However, his knack for photography didn't stay hidden for long. Friends started requesting him to cover their wedding days, igniting his passion for candid wedding photography, a niche he now excels in with over 90% of his wedding projects being entirely candid.

He's a trailblazer in the industry, being the first photographer in the world to offer both photography and highlight film coverage singlehandedly. It's no wonder then, that 80% of couples hire him for both services. Over the past 15 years, he has photographed over 600 weddings, primarily in the Waterloo area, and has also been featured in over 40 different wedding and photography magazines globally.

In his personal life, Taylor is married to the lovely Lindsay Coulter and is a father to named Richard.

(00:00) - 024
(04:16) - What is one thing that you do for the photographic process that has saved you time?
(06:24) - What is one thing that you do for the business that saves you time or money?
(11:53) - What is one thing that you do for editing that has saved you time?
(13:37) - Imagen's new Lite Personal AI Profiles
(18:28) - What is one thing that you do after a session that has increased business?
(20:38) - Backup to Imagen Cloud
(24:40) - Can you share an outlined breakdown of your workflow from lead to delivery?
(35:06) - What does the future of AI in photography look like to you?
(44:09) - What does the future of photography workflows look like to you?
(49:54) - How did Imagen impact your life?

Discussed in this episode

Decrease in stress after weddings and the importance of completing tasks
- Turning around galleries quickly as a game and its benefits
- Improved consistency and better customer service
- Clearing out workflow problems and reducing backlogs
- Sending preview images to couples soon after the wedding
- Relationship between online booking and all-in-one venues
- Desire for a camera that can automate culling, selecting, and editing
- Predictions for future camera technology and integration with smartphone platforms
- Services that generate headshot-style images from a few photos
- Use of AI-generated images by photographers and ethical considerations
- Changes in lead generation process by making pricing public
- Benefits of fewer but more serious inquiries
- Decrease in email communication with clients
- Use of video content to showcase authenticity
- Workflow improvements with Lightroom preset and AI Profiles
- Decreased popularity of engagement sessions
- Workflow for shooting and data backup

Next Episode

Streamlining Headshot Workflows and Payment Models for Immediate Growth with Seshu Badrinath

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In this episode, Scott speaks with headshot photographer, Seshu Badrinath, about his photographic and photography business workflows.

Seshu is a headshot photographer from Connecticut, known for his knack in capturing the friendly essence of professionals through his lens. With a warm approach, he ensures his subjects are at ease, even amidst the studio lights, making every photo session a comfortable experience. The journey began in 2009 with Connecticut Headshots, initiated through a humble Twitter campaign. Now, Seshu is the go-to photographer for small business owners, executives, actors, and healthcare professionals keen on distinguishing themselves in their fields. Residing in Avon, Connecticut with his family, he continues to make people look their relaxed best, one headshot at a time.

(00:00) - 026
(03:12) - What is one thing that you do for the photographic process that has saved you time?
(07:51) - What is one thing that you do for the business that saves you time or money?
(12:11) - What is one thing that you do for editing that has saved you time?
(17:33) - What is one thing that you do after a session that has increased business?
(23:27) - Can you share an outlined breakdown of your workflow from lead to delivery?
(31:13) - Can you talk about your headshot photography pricing structure?
(36:57) - What does the future of AI in photography look like to you?

Discussed in this episode

Importance of guidance and expertise in photography decisions
- Purpose of the photographs and building trust with potential clients
- Payment structure and business growth
- Communication for an effective workflow
- Importance of lighting and attention to detail in photography
- Client outfits and session environment
- Pricing and delivering photographs to clients
- Personal connection and gratitude for collaboration
- The importance of headshots and impact on business opportunities