Holy crap I don't know what to do...

sapearl wrote in post #14969766
How did things work out Natalie? I hope Time Machine provided a solution.

It would've worked flawlessly, if I'd had it on...it hasn't ever been on since I bought it (1 month ago) so it didn't have anything recorded.

macroimage wrote in post #14969792
The memory card digital image recovery that I have used successfully is "Zero Assumption Recovery";
http://www.z-a-recovery.com/

The image recovery function is completely free. It does only run on Windows, however you may know someone with a Windows computer that could help you.

My brother has a PC, so if worse comes to worse, I will try that. Thanks for the feedback!

Water over the dam now Natalie, but I would suggest a "safer" work flow in the future. Here's what I do for every important job:

1. Upon returning home with equipment, immediately download card to "working" hard disk.
2. Immediately back that up to my on-site backup HD.
3. Also back up the files to a portable HD I keep off site.

You can also backup to DVD's but I was accumulating too many of these and the process was slow. In the meantime I hope it works out with Zero Assumption or your brother's PC.

Naturally Aspirated wrote in post #14969809
This. I had a Transcend card that pretty much fried itself. I was pissed at myself for not buying Sandisk like I normally do. So when I purchased a Sandisk card to replace it, I used the included recovery program to recover nearly all photos I lost off of the Transcend.

I have a PNY Optima, currently running another online download recoverer. If none of the online downloads work, I suppose I may have to buy myself a SanDisk...

sapearl wrote in post #14969876
Water over the dam now Natalie, but I would suggest a "safer" work flow in the future. Here's what I do for every important job:

1. Upon returning home with equipment, immediately download card to "working" hard disk.
2. Immediately back that up to my on-site backup HD.
3. Also back up the files to a portable HD I keep off site.

You can also backup to DVD's but I was accumulating too many of these and the process was slow. In the meantime I hope it works out with Zero Assumption or your brother's PC.

Totally agree. Always have 1 or 2 backups (plus computer copy, which makes 3) before deleting off the SD. Doesn't matter what brand.

My company photographs some 16,000 plus seniors each year, and sadly mishaps happen. NEVER tell the client about it if you can.. and if you must always blame equipment. Never own up to making the mistake. That being said, 20 shots for $80 is a very reasonable deal, but it would depend on how many shots you offered them for the $80 session fee. Agreed that a better workflow for you is in order, but even the best plan is going to have mishaps now and again. Worse case for you would be to offer a free resit, we do it all the time in the name of customer service even when nothing went wrong just to keep to keep "mom" happy.

Kev

dingie256 wrote in post #14970296
Totally agree. Always have 1 or 2 backups (plus computer copy, which makes 3) before deleting off the SD. Doesn't matter what brand.

I definitely agree with the both of you...I must go purchase some reliable equipment soon. Thank you for your help!

Dkevdog wrote in post #14970317
My company photographs some 16,000 plus seniors each year, and sadly mishaps happen. NEVER tell the client about it if you can.. and if you must always blame equipment. Never own up to making the mistake. That being said, 20 shots for $80 is a very reasonable deal, but it would depend on how many shots you offered them for the $80 session fee. Agreed that a better workflow for you is in order, but even the best plan is going to have mishaps now and again. Worse case for you would be to offer a free resit, we do it all the time in the name of customer service even when nothing went wrong just to keep to keep "mom" happy.

Kev

I actually didn't offer an amount of photos or time limit, but it took about 2 hours. I was thinking it over, and really, most seniors only include 3 to 4 photos at the most in the portfolios they give away.
Unfortunately I can't reshoot, she flew to Hawaii from Chicago to visit colleges and asked me to do photos since she would be here anyway. The 20 I have are the best ones though.
Thanks for you feedback

natalieerachel wrote in post #14970461
..............colleges and asked me to do photos since she would be here anyway. The 20 I have are the best ones though.
Thanks for you feedback

You should be in good shape then. If she inquires about the others, just say that these flattered her the most and put her in the best light and you weren't as happy with the others. That's not a lie, and also does not reveal any dificulty.

Dkevdog wrote in post #14970317
... Never own up to making the mistake. ...

Wow :\ That'd the mindset that so many businesses have, and why it's so difficult to get some things done. In my mind, that's a horrible way to do business and to live life.

--
Richard Maynard

Can we assume that the 20 files that you didn't delete were the keepers and the rest were flawed in some manner? The question then becomes: why do you want to recover the others? In my opinion, even 20 good photos is bordering on too many for an $80 photo shoot. I would give them the ten best non-redundant shots and call it a good shoot. If you make them pour through scores or hundreds of redundant shots that also include some with technical flaws, the typical client's patience wears thing. They start to get surly, zoning in on the ones that you would normally toss, getting annoyed at you for making them wade through them, and thinking that maybe you're not the great photographer that they thought you were. They don't want to see everything that came out of the camera. They only want to see the ones that make them look fabulous.

sapearl wrote in post #14970807
You should be in good shape then. If she inquires about the others, just say that these flattered her the most and put her in the best light and you weren't as happy with the others. That's not a lie, and also does not reveal any dificulty.

I think so too, I usually keep the best photos on my camera in case friends go through them. So, really, they are the best 20. Thanks for you help

joedlh wrote in post #14973104
Can we assume that the 20 files that you didn't delete were the keepers and the rest were flawed in some manner? The question then becomes: why do you want to recover the others? In my opinion, even 20 good photos is bordering on too many for an $80 photo shoot. I would give them the ten best non-redundant shots and call it a good shoot. If you make them pour through scores or hundreds of redundant shots that also include some with technical flaws, the typical client's patience wears thing. They start to get surly, zoning in on the ones that you would normally toss, getting annoyed at you for making them wade through them, and thinking that maybe you're not the great photographer that they thought you were. They don't want to see everything that came out of the camera. They only want to see the ones that make them look fabulous.

Yes, the 20 photos were the best ones. The only thing is, I'm not a professional with crazy equipment or anything. So I think that number should be about right.
And that definitely makes sense..as the saying goes, less is more.
Thanks for your feedback!

Here's the best of the bunch!

It's on Flickr with better quality though, I had to resize it to meet the requirements for the forums. (Is there anyway to get around that?)

http://www.flickr.com …7969888730/in/p​hotostream

well it happens, quick story.. When I was about 19 (9 years ago) my band at the time was working on our second studio album. Independantly funded. The four of us had spent the better part of 70 hours each in studio and our producer and sound engineer double that.. When he was doing the final mix the computer crashed and we lost everything. Unfortunately these things happen. If you have no success recovering I would offer a reshoot. Most people should understand and if they dont, give them their money back and bid them farewell, you wouldnt want them as clients anyways