471: Andrew Darlow – How to manage your photography backups the right way

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Andrew Darlow of www.backup.fm is a photographer, writer, product developer and inventor.

We recently struck up a conversation on LinkedIn about backing up and workflow – where he focuses a lot of attention when helping other photographers.

Based in New Jersey, USA, he helps people who love photography choose the right equipment and set up automated backup workflows.

In addition to working directly with other photographers, he consults with larger companies on colour management.

He was also the Editorial Director of a glossy photo magazine, Digital Imaging Techniques, where he wrote articles on digital and fine-art photography, inkjet printing, and Photoshop techniques.

And if that's not enough, he is the author of four award-winning books, including his newest book: Focus and Filter, Professional Techniques for Mastering Digital Photography and Capturing the Perfect Shot.

In this interview, Andrew shares exactly how photographers should be managing their backups the right way.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• How Andrew got into backup strategies
• The importance of backing up systems before making changes to your workflow
• Why you need to have a UPS
• Steps to backup your computer
• The main advantages of having a RAID array
• The difference between spinning hard drives and SSD drives
• Best brand to use for external hard drives
• Why do you need to setup a clone drive for your computer
• When is the best time to clone your system
• What is the ideal size to get for your external hard drive
• How to set up Time Machine
• What are bus drives and how to utilize them
• Why it is important to set up a Time Machine drive
• Online backup systems
• How to use online backups
• What are clone drives
• How to set up external booting from a Mac
• Exporting your content data on social media applications
• How to back up content on your mobile phone
• Best practices when backing up work photos and videos
• Andrew's system for backing up files
• Why Andrew prefers the simple approach of backing up hard drives over using RAID arrays
• What defines having fast drives
• How to properly connect your laptop and drives to a UPS
• How Andrew invented the GalleryPouch™ Art Bubble Bag

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If you have a system crash or if you're out and about and your laptop has a major issue or if your laptop is stolen, your Time Machine drive can really save the day. – Andrew Darlow

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What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Andrew shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, and what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Andrew or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

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If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

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