How long before i delete

[angelobryant]

Good day. I just wanna ask how long i should keep client files in my computer. I have 280gb of space and its almost full. I shoot mostly events and portraits. I shoot raw and use up at least 4gb per event. TIA :)

[cdifoto]

Get more space. IMHO you should never delete client photos, in case they come back to buy more. If you do delete them, specify it in your contract so they know there's a time limit.

[freefallu]

Get a DVD burner and a package called Winzip ( its free ). You can compress images by about 20% using this software and then backup to DVD. Its a little more troublesome than constantly adding hard disk space but after a while it will become part of your workflow. DVD disks are more reliable than your Hard disk if stored correctly ( in a box awayu from strong heat )

[Jim G]

I agree... storage is relatively quite cheap these days so there's no real need to delete anything pretty much ever unless you're really, really strapped for cash. DVD burners are cheap as chips and even HDDs are quite efficient $-wise.

Imho, if you're going to be backing up onto dvds make two copies.. I've had enough DVDs get cyclic redundancy errors and various other things that I like a second copy just in case. More effort, though.

[ssim]

I agree with what has been said so far. Disk space is not a luxury like it once was. I have two hard drives in my computer plus two external 300GB drives. I backup the original CR2 files immediatly after shooting and they are stored at a friends place.

From the reading your post you have indicated that you are doing this as a part time business and as such your pricing should reflect levels where you are able to sustain business practises that allow you to back up your data and have an archive of the customers work. Working on a single hard drive is not the best business practise. What if it crahes on you. At the very least get the DVD burner. They used to be pricey but are very reasonable now.

As far as deleting or destroying a customer's images. My answer would be to never destroy them, archive them. Not often but I have had customers come back a year or two later looking for use of something that we had done for them.

[Jon, The Elder]

I shoot horse events. Horses die, some in tragic ways.
Last year I had to find photos of three horses for some very distraught parents. $300.00 worth of prints later, I had them comforted to some degree. I never throw files away. External, first defense, then DVD's, then copies.

[cdifoto]

I shoot horse events. Horses die, some in tragic ways.
Last year I had to find photos of three horses for some very distraught parents. $300.00 worth of prints later, I had them comforted to some degree. I never throw files away. External, first defense, then DVD's, then copies.

The same could be said for people too. So portraits, weddings, birthdays, events...archive it all! ;)

[Aquaman]

Murphys-type law: after it's deleted, you'll find a need for it. I back-up everything on DVDs.

[chtgrubbs]

I would never delete a client file unless you give them the complete files to keep.

[Ray Marrero]

I do delete. I go through and delete the ones that don't look so good, slightly out of focus of very similar shots. Then I save on DVD's. So I just save the real good shots, not everything.

[OrionD]

I usually only delete the pictures in which the exposure is off or the color is beyond repair... I have 2 200GB external drives and a DVD burner,and i use a program called 7ZIP which lets me compress to about 35%.

[codex0]

Ditto to what most of these people are saying. I currently burn two copies of DVD backups, then delete from my hard drive once it starts getting full. I generally leave the last three months on my drives because of the higher liklihood that I'll use the files.

[angelobryant]

Thanks for the replies guys. Forgot to mention i have a cd writer but burning 4gb means using at least 7 CD's and thats too much work. Ill follow all of your advice ang get me a DVD writer. Out here, it cost approximately US$50.00 Thanks again.

[radloser]

one more thing. i have had computers DIE on me. unless you have someone who knows what they are doing, trying to access a hard drive on a computer that won't boot is a problem. on DVDs you can always access them on your NEW computer

[redbutt]

DVDs can hold 4.3GB and when you buy them in bulk they are VERY cost effective.