Tag Archive for: backup

Always build in a fail-safe even if you think you don’t need it

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Photography catastrophe, when pictures are lost

Over the years we have seen some drama and photography catastrophes. As most of you probably know, Annewiek and I ran an IT company for most of our lives. One of our specialities was building custom machines.  But also being very aware of the risks people experience online and offline. Today, maybe one of the most important pieces of advice I can give to everyone that shoots tethered or just wants his/her images safe.

It’s heartbreaking to see a 70+ year old crying in the store because they lost all their memories. It does give a great feeling when we were able to get it back. But it also happened that there was too much data loss. So having a proper backup system is vital.

The problem is that hardware failure is not something you experience every day. Some people never experienced a hard disk failure (you’re so lucky). So having a proper backup strategy is something that is often neglected till something happens.

Digital has some advantages

One of the great advantages is without doubt that you can make 100% 1:1 copies, as many as you want.
You could also make copies of slides/negatives, but there is only 1 original. Everything else is a copy with some loss.
The weird thing is that with our analogue material we took really good care by placing the negatives in nice holders and sliders so they would stay protected for “ever”. However, somehow with digital we shoot A LOT more, also more memories and…. we don’t treat them with care at all. In most cases, the images are stored on the local drive or on some external drives. But how many of you really have a 100% mirror of your files in a separate location?

But today it’s not about backup strategy,  but something that is just as important. To prevent disaster.

On location or the studio, just as dangerous, or even more

A photography catastrophe does not announce itself. Today I did a photo shoot with a new model, soon more 😀
Of course I’m always shooting tethered in the studio (connected to a large display via an iPad or Laptop/Desktop) but also there a lot of things that can go wrong.

So let’s give some attention today to that workflow.

Photography Catastrophe, when it looks all your photos are lost

Option 1

As you can see, my camera has two slots.
This means you can use 2 cards at the same time. So you could set it up in Video vs Photos. Just as a second card or a mirror solution.
So there we have option 1.

Option 2

When we choose the software to shoot tethered, in my opinion, we must have an option to also store images somewhere else than only the software. For years, we had a problem with certain software solutions that would not store the images on the card but only on the machine you’re connected to. Although this is not ideal, it is pretty safe. But I would always add a small script that makes backups during the shoot to an external drive.

Option 3

Better is software that is designed to be safe with tethering.
I’m mostly using Cascable for tethering.
This is a super handy app that since the last update, runs on both my iPad and MacBook Pro.
The reason I love Cascable so much is “they got it”.
Within Cascable I can shoot into the “sandbox” but also add external folders, for example a folder “tethering” on my iPad which I can use to import the photos into Lightroom or just copy them via my MacBookPro to the NAS.

And, today this actually saved my photoshoot and a photography catastrophe was avoided.
In all the years I’ve been shooting I’ve only had a card fail on me once.
And today was card number 2.
Normally this could mean panic! Since you lost all your images.
But in this case I just grabbed my iPad and copied all the RAW files from there.

And that’s why I want to give some extra attention to RAW.

Why shoot tethered with a cable?

For ever people have been asking me “Why don’t you shoot wireless?”
And over the years I’ve tried many solutions, varying from totally useless to “works like a charm”
The only problem… You cannot shoot RAW. Well ok you can but it’s incredibly slo0000w.
So in the situations where I shot wireless I always shot RAW on the card(s) and sent 2MP JPGS over the air. In all honesty, with a proper system this works great and is super fast. But the biggest problem is….It’s not safe at all! Yes, you can use the double card trick on some cameras but not all cameras support this.

Also, because you’re shooting JPG, using presets for your client or doing quick in-between retouches, are out of the question.
So the cable for me is a vital part (till they solve the speed issue).

Conclusion, avoid a photography catastrophe!

Our digital files are much more in danger of loss than we probably realize.
Always make sure you have a proper backup of your stored files, but also always make sure you build in fail-safes during your photo shoots.
Hope this helps some of you before you find out about this article after losing your images.

For more info about Cascable see www.cascable.se
Want the best tethering solutions? check www.iqwire.nl

Read this blog about adding more storage to your Laptop 

See this blog about my NAS

What if you lose all your data…. better prevent it now

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The main thing that hit me

When Annewiek and I ran the computer company one of the things that always hit me were the moments when people came in our store because they lost all their data.
Sometimes they still had hope because only their C: drive crashed, but in most cases they didn’t realise that their D: drive was actually just a partition on that crashed drive. In some cases we could get some data back, but it was never a 100% perfect recovery, and especially with file names, dates etc. it often meant we got stuff back, but it was a lot of work for us and them, meaning a huge bill.

The weird part is that they were always happy to pay, even if we got half back.
Now those invoices were often higher than a solution to prevent it all.

Today I wanted to share a video with you in which I explain how we have our backups setup.
I hope it will trigger you to start taking backups serious, unless you already do, in that case… well done.

Dataloss is something we all will experience in our life, it also happened to us a few times, luckily never a lot, but even with a good backup strategy its always wise to automate things as much as possible and make sure you are checking your backups.

In the video I talk about automatically downloading your photos, but also the more complicated setups, and also which drives are best for usage in a NAS.

Backups and a new NAS release

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As you all know I’m a big advocate for creating backups, Annewiek and I ran a PC shop for over 20 years and the misery that dataloss can give is something you never want to experience. We had people in the store literally crying because they lost everything. Trust me you never want this to happen. And it’s in essence very easily to prevent.
 
We all probably lost a few photos or videos and we all know how that feels, imagine losing all your work and images of loved ones, yes it happens daily.
 
So besides storing images on your internal drive (the dumbest thing you can do) it’s important to create a proper backup system. By the way, if you use a laptop and you see a C: and D: drive, this is NOT storing your images on a separate drive, it’s the same drive but divided into two (or more) partitions. It sounds ridiculous but we had several customers who used laptops this way and thought they were safe if the main drive crashed. 

The safe way
Remember that NO solution is 100% fool proof, and in the end YOU are responsible for making the backups, or at least automate the process.
My advise is to use a DAS next to the computer, this is a system that uses several drives to make sure that if one drive fails you don’t lose any data, as long as you replace that drive. It’s a super easy way to never think about storage space again, if it’s full you just replace a drive, and when you can’t add space anymore… well well done that’s a lot of data, now buy a second unit or a larger unit and connect them.
But it doesn’t stop there.
 
There should always, always at least be a second backup. Those backups are often placed on a NAS system.

The difference between a DAS is that a DAS is attached directly to your system and a NAS is on your network, the NAS also has it’s own IP address in your network.

The main advantages of a NAS is that you can work on it with several people, and even remotely.

 

Synology
During our years in the computer store we sold several brands, but the brand I always came back to as a problem solver or simply the best in its class was Synology.
So what do we do with our NAS?
We use several in our studio and home.
Mostly of course they are used for storage of our photos/videos and at home for my music.
The thing I personally really love about the Synology products is that even when you don’t know anything about setting up a network or external access Synology got you covered. It’s almost a matter of 1,2,3 to setup external access to your NAS so you can access your data from anywhere in the world. (safely of course)

But there are also a lot of apps that will make life even easier.
One of the apps we use a lot is the amazingly handy Photos app for example. Never worry about your photos on your phone anymore, as soon as we enter our home the phone starts to upload all new photos to the NAS. The only thing you have to do it download an app on your phone and make sure it’s active. (remember nothing is 100% safe unless you monitor it yourself). You can even create different albums that are accessible for certain people. For example a dedicated album just for your family.

Another thing we have setup on our system is that our Synology in the studio is syncing the retouched photos to our Synology at home, so we have the retouched photos also in a separate location and a separate database/library in Lightroom, something you can’t easily do with online backups (we also use SMUGMUG for online backups).
You could run a whole website from your NAS, but that’s something we don’t do (at the moment), what we did setup is special customers areas, using the double NIC on the Synology we’ve created a separate access to the NAS that is not connected to our home network, this speeds up the external access considerably, and makes it possible for clients to download their files straight from our NAS, especially for video projects this is a HUGE time saver, uploading 120GB to an online service and letting your customer download it sounds easy enough but customers often don’t want to install the app needed for that access. By setting up a client access area we create a totally separated part on our NAS which contains all the data for that client, they can access it and download it, and when we give permission also upload materials, especially with my music (hobby) this is awesome for collaborations between musicians.

A Synology NAS is way more than just a few disks that you use for storage, it’s (when setup correctly) a total eco system that is great for yourself and your customers, in all honestly we could not operate our business without a proper NAS.

Synology over the years have been a very reliable partner and the quality of their support and gear is without a doubt in a league of their own. So if you’re in the market for a solid and trusted backup solution, make sure to check them out.

And having said that… Synology just released a brand new NAS, the diskstation DS923+
This is a very nice NAS for anyone that uses the system for photography/video and music creation. It’s very fast and can store huge amounts of data, and you can extend the system with extra bays/NAS units. It’s really a system you can grow in. And I think that’s a vital part of what we should all work towards, not replacing a NAS because it’s too small, but being able to extend the NAS with extra bays or connecting them to other units is vital for business I think.

But let’s not bore you with all the details, take a look at this new NAS here.
https://www.synology.com/en-global/products/DS923+

I’ll be testing one very soon and keep you all updated about it, but in all honesty I expect it to just work, like they all do 😀

One more thing….
I already mentioned this, but lets do it again.
A NAS/DAS or even a harddrive is something you store valuable information on, and like with bitcoin, if you lose the data it’s gone forever with no means to recover it. Luckily you can always use recovery software or for example the recovery service of your manufacturer, but best is to just prevent data loss. Here are some very simple tips.

 

  1. Harddrives
    use NAS drives, these are designed for the use in a NAS and will run much longer than a normal drive.
    also don’t buy all your drives from the same supplier. Make sure if you need 4 drives you order from at least 2 different shops. If there is a fault in a batch it’s often in a series of harddrives. Luckily it doesn’t happen a lot, but it’s hardly any extra work to just order from two stores, or a week apart.
  2. Brand
    I know price is important, but in the total cost we are often talking about very minor differences, and let’s be honest… always ask yourself the question “how much would I pay to get all my data back?” compare that to the extra costs between a very good NAS and a NAS that is sold at the local grocery market as “weekend deal”
  3. UPS
    If you take care of your NAS it will serve you for a long time.
    If you live in an area with peaks in the power, or black/brown outs it’s very wise (almost vital) to invest in a UPS or filter for the power. The UPS will keep the NAS running when the power goes out, preventing harddrive crashes, often it’s coupled with software that will shut down the NAS nicely.
  4. Use the scheduler
    In most NAS system you will find a time scheduler, I know a NAS is designed to run for days and weeks and years, but it doesn’t make any sense to keep it running when you only use it in the weekends or only during certain days. Just use the scheduler and let the NAS also take some rest now and than.
  5. Use the vacuum cleaner
    Maybe the most important one.
    Just for fun, power down your PC/Mac/NAS etc. and take a look at the fans and air in/out takes. I think you will almost immediately understand why some systems just shut down after a few years. I would HIGHLY advise to clean the fans at least once a year, and if you dare also open up the case and clean the inside. Better is to just do it every month. Trust me it’s vital.

I hope you guys enjoyed this article.
Feel free to leave comments on our social media, or email us questions.

To be 100% open and clear.
We have been working with Synology for a long time in our computer business, when I started our studio we also used Synology. Later on I became one of their ambassadors and have been ever since. As with all the advise I give you guys, the products I promote I also use myself.

Backup the easy way

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Everyones nightmare is data loss.

With digital data, this almost always mean your work is gone, or when you can get it back it’s a dreadful task to rename everything and find out what’s what.

So the best way is to prevent it ever happens.
And the biggest problem is that people often always think making the backup tomorrow is also ok, but tomorrow is never today, so often backups are never really created the right way especially when on location/vacation.

So the workflow has to be as easy as possible, and that’s why I made this video about the Transcend drive, via a simple button push it will automatically start making an incremental backup, it’s easy as 1,2 done… Make sure you don’t experience data loss, make your workflow as easy as possible.