Since May is National Photo Month, I thought it might be useful to highlight a few of my favorite photo organization tools on the blog this month. First up is Forever.

As a certified photo organizer, it’s part of my job to recommend cloud storage solutions for my clients’ digital images. Forever is the place that I’ve chosen to archive my family photo collection, and it’s the solution I recommend most to my clients.

Why Forever?

So many reasons! Today I’ll focus on permanence and privacy.

Permanence

Forever makes a pretty amazing promise to it’s members – a guarantee that their photos will be safeguarded for the members’ lifetime plus 100 years.

They are able to make this guarantee because of their unique business model, which includes a conservatively managed trust that continues to pay for your storage, beyond your lifetime as well as the lifespan of the company. You own your storage space in the cloud, unlike other storage services that allow you to rent storage on a monthly/annual basis. You are able to pass down your digital archive to other family members after you pass away so that your memories continue to live on for the next generation.

Your photos are permanently stored at the resolution level at which they were uploaded. They can be downloaded in high resolution without having to pay a fee (which can’t be said for all photo storage sites).

In 2015, the prevailing image format is a .jpeg file. Given the speed at which technology changes, it’s highly likely that our images may take on a different file format in 50 years. If so, Forever has you covered. Forever will ensure that all of your digital content remains accessible over time by automatically migrating your files to current digital file formats.

Privacy

Unlike many of it’s competitors, Forever puts a premium on your privacy. You maintain legal ownership of your content and are in full control of who can view your images via their comprehensive privacy settings.

In addition, Forever does not mine your data or sell it to advertisers. Read the terms and conditions of the current photo sharing site that you’re using to see if they can make that promise. Not likely (particularly if you are utilizing a free storage solution).

Organization & Editing Tools

Once you’ve uploaded your images onto the Forever platform, the real fun begins! You can easily apply tags to your images, which enables you to quickly corral your photos into albums based on theme, people, events, time frame, or any other category you want. This feature comes in quite handy for creating digital photo books.

Want to crop, resize, or adjust the contrast of a particular image? How about creating a black and white version? No problem. A wide array of basic editing tools is built into the Forever platform. You can choose to edit your original image, or keep the original untouched and create an edited image copy.

Mobile Access to Your Entire Photo Collection

As a photo organizer, I’m all about bringing my clients’ photos back into their everyday life. When I demonstrate how the Forever app enables you to access your entire photo library on any device to my photo organizing clients, they are ecstatic!

People typically use their camera roll to store digital photos taken with their mobile devices. These high resolution photos take up a ton of storage space, which limits the number of photos you can store on your device (raise your hand if you’ve ever had to delete photos in order to take new ones). With the Forever app, you can use the auto-backup feature to upload images taken via your mobile device to your Forever account. Once they are uploaded, you can delete photos from your camera roll and free up a ton of storage space on your device. Simply use the Forever app to view your photo library on the go!

Secure & Private Sharing

In addition to sharing your photos by letting others view them on your mobile device, Forever enables you to share individual photos or albums using their secure and private social features. You are able to share photos via email or social networks using a link that you control. Sharing recipients do not have to have a Forever account in order to view your photos.

You share what you want with whom you want.

Forever is featured in the Products I Love menu of the Refined Rooms website. You can click through and sign up for a free membership in order to test drive this great product to see how it can make managing your photo collection a breeze!

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms? Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

DISCLOSURE: This post was sponsored by Forever. The opinions expressed are solely my own, based on both my personal experience as well as the experience I have working with photo organizing clients.

September is National Disaster Preparedness Month, and it’s that time of year when photo organizers everywhere are posing questions such as…

Did you know that September 27th is Save Your Photos Day? As a member of the Save Your Photos Alliance, I feel that I have a mission to educate folks about the importance of having a system in place to protect your digital photos/videos in the event of a catastrophic data loss. A catastrophic data loss can take on many forms, including the accidental loss/theft of your computer, the destruction of your computer as the consequence of a natural disaster, hard drive crashes, or even an epic computer hack.

Creating a backup system for your digital photo and video collection does not have to be complicated or time-consuming. When creating your system, you should keep in mind the two key features of an effective backup: redundancy and automation.

Your collection needs to be backed up in multiple places

There’s a saying in the industry that your data should not be considered backed up until it exists in at least three places. Redundancy is your insurance against Murphy’s Law and just plain bad luck. Hard drives go bad, devices fail, and cloud services go out of business. If one, or even two of these things happen to you simultaneously, you’ll still have a copy of your precious memories in back up #3.

Keep in mind that your backup copies also need to exist in at least two physical locations so that the offsite copy can serve as insurance in the event that your house burns to the ground or is leveled by a tornado.

The back up process needs to be automated

The more you can create a backup system that doesn’t require any manual processing on your part, the less opportunity there is for human error to enter into the equation. We are busy, overwhelmed, and (let’s face it) lazy at times. So using backup methods that work in the background without any effort on our part sets us up for success!

My 4-pronged approach for safeguarding your photo/digital collection

1. EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WITH BACKUP SOFTWARE

Purchase an external hard drive that includes pre-bundled automatic backup software. Your hard drive should remain continuously connected to your computer so that it maintains a consistent, real-time backup of your files (your digital photos/videos, as well as all of the other files that live on your computer’s hard drive). A typical 1 terabyte hard drive will cost approximately $100.

2. ONLINE “ALL PURPOSE” CLOUD SERVICE

There are many online data backup services to choose from, including Carbonite, Backblaze, and Mozy. I’ve used Carbonite for years and have been very satisfied with it. I’ve experienced two catastrophic hard drive crashes in the past few years, and was able to retrieve my data seamlessly from the Carbonite cloud service both times. Take some time to research the options; just be certain that the one you choose backs up your files automatically.

3. ONLINE DEDICATED PHOTO STORAGE SERVICE

I know what you’re thinking…a second cloud service? The all-purpose cloud services are great for a nuts and bolts backup, but if you have any desire to edit, organize, and share your photos, then I highly recommend uploading your photos and videos to a dedicated photo storage and sharing site as well. The only disadvantage is that for most of these sites, you’ll have to manually upload your files (but you’ve got an automatic backup in 2 additional locations, so it’s all good!). When choosing a service, here are a few important questions you may want to ask:

What is the cost involved for the size of my digital collection?
Are there any file size limitations?
Can I download my images in full resolution?
Can I control the privacy settings for my collection?
Do I retain ownership of my images?
What organizing and editing features are available?
Can I create photo gifts, products, and prints directly from the service?

Some of my favorite photo storage services include Forever and SmugMug.

4. PRINT COPIES

Creating printed copies of digital photos counts as a back up method…believe it or not! Remember that a print photo can be scanned to create a digital photo in the future.

Some might consider my backup method “overkill”, but when it comes to my family’s memories and our legacy, I feel like there is no such thing as being too cautious. If this 4-pronged approach feels like too much to take on, or if you are not the type who spends a lot of energy fussing over your photos, just complete #1 and #2 and consider your back up system complete.

If you’d like hands-on assistance with implementing your photo backup system, schedule a free phone consultation to learn how I can be of assistance to you.

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms? Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Your Home… Refined

Tips and Resources to Help Homeowners Create a Home that's Organized, Stylish, and Sellable

Tag Archives: Forever