Re: Google Photos Backup
Ashlie Hagenson
Heres my problem: I have the automatic camera Uploads on and it did a good job of backing up all my files on my iphone. However, I have been doing some housekeeping and got rid off a lot of my files in the photo app on my Iphone (for example blurry pictures and duplicata shots etc). Now I am looking for a way to upload my photo gallery in the current state into my dropbox replacing the old unsorted version. Is there any way to do this?
I have tried deleting a test picture in my camera uploads folder in dropbox after turning the automatic uploads off but after turning them back on the picture which is still on my phones library was not uploaded again even though my settings for the upload include all pictures and not just the ones taken after the automatic uploads were turned on. I even tried to put the pictures that were on my phone but not synced to the dropbox (because I moved them or deleted them from the camera uploads folder) into a folder which I then selected for the camera Uploads to upload from but the feature didnt recognize them as photos it has to upload.
Thus my plan to turn off camera uploads and then just delete all the files in my dropbox camera uploads folder (which include all the bad pictures I have deleted on my phone) to then turn the camera uploads back on so that only the wanted pictures will be uploaded again doesnt seem to work.
The Camera Uploads feature will not upload a photo that it has already uploaded, even if you turn it off and on again. The only way for that to happen is if you contact Support and ask them to reset your Camera Uploads. This will result in ALL photos and videos on your device to be uploaded again when you activate Camera Uploads. The only other option is to manually upload your photos.
You can also use the fact that you have a backup and storage system as a selling point for clients. If you are on a call with a potential wedding client, you can reinforce your professionalism by mentioning that you have a top-notch back-up system to ensure their images are as safe as possible.
I hope all this information on how to backup your images as a photographer helps! I never want you to have a conversation with a client about why their images are gone. If you use a different photo backup system, let me know below!
Can I assume then that the same holds true for using the Social and Cloud Import App with BOX.com that this is a one-way push? In the initial sync to MHC, there were a few folders on my BOX account that did not come over? Can you think of a reason why? Lastly, How would MHC know to get changes from my BOX account or how can I initialize a SYNC from the BOX account?
It seems like you have already answered this but can you please confirm that the My Cloud Home will automatically download pictures and videos from google photos (i.e. backup). You have stated that it will for google drive but this is a different app. Also what other google drives will do this type of backup?
The functionality I am looking for is to simply backup my android to my pc and when I delete a file from my phone it should not be deleted from the pc and if I delete any file from the pc it should not delete on the phone as well.
You can automatically save your photos and videos to your Google Account when you turn on backup. You can enable backup while setting up your Photos app or if you go to the Settings page and turn backup on. You can also manually backup your photos. Learn more about the benefits of backup.
To edit photos on your mobile device, download and install the Google Photos app. Some editing features including Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Magic Editor are only available in the Google Photos app. Learn more about how to edit your photos and videos.
I share your concern about one single large library - although one solution for that is to keep your 1TB library on an external disk (properly formatted as APFS or MacOS extended (journaled) ), and sync that library to iCloud. You would probably also want additional.
I run two libraries. I pay for 200GB of iCloud, and have a "main" library holding all my recent photos, that is synced with iCloud and resides on my system drive. All these photos are available on all my devices. Currently I have 1 1/2 years of photographs there, taking up less than half of my iCloud space. (This dual library strategy is equally valid if you don't use iCloud but just want a smaller local library stored on your mac)
I also have an archive library which holds everything older. It is on a separate drive (correctly formatted and prepared - see link below). I use powerphotos to periodically copy photos from my main library to my archive library.
I am very very rigorous about backups. Both libraries are backed up to time machine. In addition both libraries are regularly copied to a second external drive. Finally I periodically export all original images (so that I have the actual image files separately from the photos library) and copy those to a network drive backup. I have a copy of these stored away from home also (mitigate risk of fire/theft).
My approach is a mixture of what Russ and Tony suggested. I am using iCloud only for syncing and an additional offsite storage, but not for saving local storage. tHe syncing is the most important feature for me. I can use the same Photos Library on my Macs with macOS 10.14 Mojave as on my Macs with macOS 11 Big Sur. And on my iPhones and the iPad.
I am trying to keep this working library small enough, to fit on all computers without "Optimise Storage" and also on my iPhone and iPad. I do not let the library grow beyond much more beyond than 50000 items. The size is currently 184GB, and it fits even onto the iPhone without "Optimise iPhone Storage".
If I were using "Optimise Storage", the Time Machine backups of my most important photos would be incomplete, and could not work with my photos , if the network were slow or not available at all. Without "optimise Storage" I am getting separate Time Machine backups of the iCloud Photos Library on all my Macs. And I can create occasionally an archive copy of it by dragging the library to an external volume. It will be complete. One of my Macs is a a device with just 256GB of storage and here I am forced to use "Optimise", because most of the storage is needed for the system and by the applications. There is not much storage available for user files at all. Working with the Photos.app is no joy, as each and every photo to video needs downloading from iCloud, before it can be used. I am using this Mac only in an emergency, when one of my other Macs is not available.
Just for clarity's sake: this is inaccurate. Even after you stop paying your subscription to Adobe you have an entire year to download your images from their servers - plus you can also keep a local copy anyway. So the only way you're "locked out" of your photos is if you do nothing for a year after you stop subscribing. This, I think, compares quite well with iCloud as I can find plenty of articles saying that data will be deleted if you stop subscribing, but no mention of how long you have to download material. Further this is a pity as LR pretty much does what you want.
If you current Mac cannot store your entire library (or multiple libraries) then I recommend you invest in a number of USB drives - they are relatively inexpensive compared to the value you no doubt place on your photos.
NAS - Tony's is right that it Photos is not supported on a NAS drive. However, I keep a copy of the exported photos that Tony refers to above on my Synology NAS drive. Synology has a fairly decent free iOS app that allows you to access your photos (and movies) remotely - its not as slick as Photos on your iPhone, but more than adequate. I also keep a copy of the exported photos on a USB drive that is attached to my Mac. Both the Mac and the USB drive are backed up remotely using Crashplan. Exporting all of the photos by folders didn't really take that long. I have a modest sized library - 15,000 photos and spent a little bit of time each evening doing it. Once they are done, that's it and you only have to export the new photos on a regularly basis.
Lightroom - I also use this heavily. I had avoided using the cloud service due to the cost. However, I had misunderstood how the service works. Although they sell LR Classic with a number of storage options such as 20Gb and 1TB, if you use it as a syncing service rather than as a backup the storage option sizes are actually irrelevant. If you store all of your originals on your Mac you can sync an unlimited number of photos with other devices. This is not a backup service, it merely syncs a high resolution smart preview of the photo with other devices. I use a Canon 7D and the quality of the photo when synced to an iPad is as good as the original viewed on a laptop. It is very useful when undertaking edits away from home. Yes, it does cost 120 per year (or around 80 when Amazon has a sale) but it is a very powerful editor and you get Photoshop as well. I use Photos for all my edits of family photos and volume photos and Lightroom for the more difficult or selective edits. I then backup the photos using a combination of NAS drive/Time Machine and online sync to Crashplan.
My view is I'm not prepared to pay per month just to be able to show every picture I've ever taken (the majority of which are not worth showing) at all possible times - even though most of the time I won't. I'm prepared to put the effort in to curate those photos I'm likely to want to show, and just make those available online.
I have an Android phone which I take photos. If the phone has infinite space, it is possible to simply run restic to backup from phone to backend (say, a HDD). However, the phone storage is not large, so I hope to delete old photos in the phone, while making HDD store all the photos. Therefore, I wonder whether this is possible or best to be solved with restic?
d3342ee215