Everything you need to know about photo storage is well, complicated.
Photos have always been a way to store dear memories of exciting experiences and a trigger for feelings and sensation related to those experiences.
The average amateur photographer takes about 15000 shots per year, which would make about 40 shots each day while professionals can go up 100 shots each day.
In a lifetime, we all gather billions of photos collecting dear memories of friends and families, holiday experiences, or exciting outdoor adventures.
The various photo storage systems and platforms developed as an answer to this growing need of storing a large amount of data.
How to pick the best online Photo Storage method
There are actually quite a few options to choose from for online Photo Storage.
The reason for this is mostly individual needs and wants.
But also it s technology related.
Most of us now use our Smartphones almost entirely as our Camera, unless we are a professional.
Free Photo Storage options
Cloud Storage for Photo’s
The evolution of photo storage systems
Ever since 1839, generally considered the birth year of photography, the development of photo storing came as a natural consequence of the growth of photo shooting.
Paper-based photos were neatly stored in different folders which created themed albums.
People organized the images based on the date and events and create a record for each event: a wedding album, childbirth album, holiday album, etc.
The average number of photos stored was about 200 per year.
Digital photo storage
Starting with the 1950s, when the first digital signal was saved to magnetic tape, and the first digital image was produced through a computer, photography entered in a new era.
Digitalization of photography meant an exponential increase in the average number of photos taken and an increasing need for a storage solution.
Printing the images was not necessary for the best option.
In 1956, IBM released the first model of Hard Disk Drive with a storage capacity of 5MB.
30 years later, the first HDD for home use computers were launched and supported most of the available data types, including photo, video, and audio.
As the years passed and the world focused more on digitalization, other data storage devices appeared with more storage space and smaller sizes.
The era of large storage space HDD, floppy disks and CD-ROMs began.
Cloud photo storage platforms
The growing need for more extensive, versatile, and more flexible storage space received a solution starting with 1969 and the invention of ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet.
It was the very first technology that could be considered cloud computing.
The users could access and transfer data from anywhere without needing an on-site device.
In 1982, IBM took this one step further and launched Ethernet, an advanced technology that supported fast and inexpensive connections.
The 1990s is the dot.com era and emerging online back-up services which offered online storage for user’s data, including photo data, but not at the level of today’s similar services.
The Personal Link service, launched by AT&T in 1994 is the first consumer-friendly version of the cloud. It contributed vastly to the development of the Internet.
The real online cloud storage as we know it today, was launched in 2006 by Amazon.
The technology is still used today by services like Netflix, Pinterest, Dropbox, and Smugmug.
Four years later, Google entered the market with Google Storage service.
A few criteria to look out before choosing an online photo storage service
As the world continues to evolve in the digitalization era, the need for a cheaper and yet efficient, unlimited and fast storage solution is rapidly growing.
There are various companies offering cloud photo storage, but there are some things you need to check before choosing a particular service.
Regardless if you are a professional shooter or you just need a place where you can store your favorite family moments, a photo storage service should offer you enough space to store all your photos in one place.
The reason why these services were invented was to provide users with the possibility to access everything from anywhere.
Decide why do you need a photo storage service. Professional photographers need to choose a service that preserves the photos in their original high-resolution glory.
As an amateur shooter, you may accept light photo compression in exchange for other benefits that may be important to you, such as shareability or social media integration.
Ease of use
You are an expert in photography not necessarily in cloud computing. You need to be able to upload, download, or even edit your photos right on the platform.
A user-friendly platform is a significant competitive advantage.
Ease of access
Photos and precious memories add up throughout your lifetime really quickly.
You need a place where you can organize your pictures and quickly search them by date, people, events, or locations.
Social media integration
Proper photo storage integrates social media and allows the users to share their photos on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or others.
Consider the shareability criteria when choosing online photo storage, especially if you are an amateur photographer.
There are a variety of photo storage platforms. Some of them offer unlimited free of charge storage others are entirely paid.
Some services go by a freemium system, meaning they offer limited storage space free of charge and ask for a monthly or annual subscription to increase the benefits.
Your choice in terms of costs and benefits depend significantly on the purpose of using the storage service.
For professional photographers may need to find a paid service that would meet all their high-level requirements.
Although this may not seem like an essential criterion for the average shooters, for professionals, this criterion is necessary.
They need to offer people the possibility to buy a print or put together a photo album to sell.
Some platforms easily integrate these features.
Your precious family moments or your wild adventure photos deserve a safe and reliable place where you can store them forever.
Regardless you are a professional or an amateur shooter, it is important you have access to your data from anywhere and that you can show the others your work.
Cloud photo storage services made that dream possible.
There are a variety of services available. You just need to find the right one for you.