Options for Digital Photo Storage

Storing family photographs used to be a cumbersome, space-intensive pursuit. With the advent of the digital camera age, photo storage takes a new twist. Gone are the days of shoe boxes filled with a jumble of photos. Digital photo storage is streamlined and simplified with technology.

Memory Cards

The simplest way to store digital photos is to fill your memory card once, then, store the filled card. Replace the memory card with a new card each time you fill an old one or for each separate event you are photographing. Digital camera memory cards are small and easy to store. A lifetime's worth for the average family would easily fit in a shoebox sized Rubbermaid container.

The memory cards that most digital cameras come with are small and will need to be replaced with a memory card with a greater capacity. The amount of pictures each memory card holds depends on how many megapixels your camera has and what quality you shoot most of your photos in. A higher quality resolution requires more space per photo. Memory cards are expensive. They can cost anywhere from $12 to $30 or more.

Burn Digital Photos to a CD

Instead of constantly replacing the memory card in your camera, you can upload the pictures to your computer and then burn the digital files to compact discs. CDs are economical when it comes to storage space and are an inexpensive medium. Individual discs can be labeled with the date and other pertinent information to make the photos easy to identify and find at a later date.

If your computer doesn't already have one, you will need to buy a CD-Recordable or CD-Rewritable drive in order to burn CDs. A CD-R, once full, cannot be erased and rewritten. A CD-RW can, but some older CD-Rom drives cannot read CD-RWs. Whether you choose a CD-R or CD-RW burner, there is an initial cost. CD burners can cost $50 or more. The cost of the discs, while inexpensive, can also add up.

Upload Photos to Photo Processing Site

There is no cost to use a service, like Kodak Gallery, for photo storage. You pay for prints as you order them, but storage is free. Photos are stored for an unlimited amount of time. There is no limit to the number of photos stored. Each upload can be labeled in a separate folder for easy identification. Links to photos can be e-mailed to family and friends, who can also choose to order photos from your folder. Storing photos with a photo service can be risky since you are depending on an outside company to remain solvent and in good working order. If something happened to the service, you would lose your photos.

External Hard Drive

An external hard drive can store most, if not all, family photos for years to come. Many are large enough to store digital video footage and important documents in addition to photos. Photos can be organized by date or category. External hard drives can be stored in a fire proof box or at another location to further protect your photos. However, external hard drives are pricey. Ranging in price from just over $100 to over $1000, the initial cost can be prohibitive.

The digital photography age allows for space-saving storage of photos. With many different options to store your digital photos, it's easy to find the right solution for your needs.