How to Back up Photos While Traveling

One of the biggest worries a photographer has during an extended trip is whether or not all of the digital files and photos they create will make it back with them. Everyone knows the best way to protect these precious documents and memories is to perform backups, just like you would if you were at home. However, there is the small problem that you aren’t at home with your RAID arrays and card readers and, in some cases, you may be stretching your devices’ batteries to the absolute limit. Here are some ways to make sure you are protected.

The best, but bulkiest

If you want the best available guarantee that your files are safe, the only way to do that is with a laptop, a proper RAID array, and cloud storage. If you are traveling and have the space (or assistants) to carry all of your important computer gear, an end-of-day backup to two drives or disks, followed by an upload to the cloud will ensure that everything is safe. This gives you the ideal hat trick of backup solutions, which includes two physical copies and one off-site.

Dragging everything along might be too much of a pain, or just impossible, in which case the easiest solution is a compact laptop or tablet that can be set up to hold your images. A laptop with a separate external hard drive will do best, but just keeping the images and files on the device’s internal storage, as well as the original memory card, will give you redundancy.

Specialized tools

While having a full-fledged computer and hard-drive kit is ideal, it is unlikely that you have the space, or desire, to drag a whole setup along. This is where dedicated backup tools can come in handy. A device such as the Sanho HyperDrive ColorSpace UDMA 3 Wireless Storage Device can accept both SD and CF cards and save all the files on internal storage so that you have a backup. Other options are available for various media in different capacities, so you should find one that works well for you. The huge advantage of these devices is that they don’t require a computer to work, meaning you can substantially cut down on the size of your kit.

Dual card setup

If you are lucky, you may have a backup solution built right into your camera in the form of dual card slots. Many cameras with two slots, such as the D810 and 5DS R, can automatically write the images you take to multiple cards simultaneously. This is perhaps the best way to handle backups while traveling since the work can be done essentially without any additional steps. One should be careful however, because both cards are in the same place, meaning if you lose one you lose the other, which kind of defeats the purpose. Just be cautious while you are out traveling and make sure to swap out cards on a regular basis in order to make sure you have information spread out so you don’t lose it all in one accident.

One other option, while we are on the subject of memory cards, is to use extra SD and CF cards in your bag as another backup with your laptop. Memory cards are relatively cheap these days, and having a few on hand for making copies can only benefit you.

Tablets, laptops, phones, and the cloud

As previously mentioned, the easiest choice for backup can be to simply transfer files to your laptop or tablet. Those devices, or even your phone, can then be treated as a separate storage option. Many of them can also be set up with a cellular connection that can be used to upload your files to the cloud, which creates a simple way to back up your photos both physically and digitally off-site. Some users with Wi-Fi built into their cameras may use that feature to quickly select and transmit photos to most smart devices, or you can pick up a Wi-Fi-enabled memory card, such as the ones from Eyefi, to transfer files.