So your photographer just delivered your photos and you’re super excited!!! But hold up! Before you start picking out your top five favorites and sharing all over social media; here are the four things you should do as soon as you get your photos.

So you’ve gotten the link to your gallery from your photographer and in your excitement, I can bet you’ll do one of two things (because I have done both…repeatedly!)

Either, you scroll through the gallery and instantly a few of them stick out so you’ll download those ones immediately and post them all over Facebook. Four-months later you’ve decided to download the rest of the photos but the gallery has been taken down (forgetting your gallery would expire after 3-months)

-or-

You’ll download your whole gallery straight onto your laptop, or even an external hard drive but then something happens and all of a sudden your files are corrupt and you can’t pull your photos up. Leaving you only with the low-resolution Facebook photos you posted months prior.

I have seen this happen more frequently than not, AND I have done both of these things myself…more than once.

As a photographer, it is always my goal to give my clients a memorable experience. However, once I’ve delivered the gallery – my job is sort of – well – over. This is why I decided to put together a shortlist of things I’ve learned over the years to ensure the life of your photos that you invested in.

1) Download All The Photos Right Away

Once you’ve gotten the gallery, make sure to not just pick and choose a couple of your favorites, but to download all of the images right away. This will ensure that none of them are left behind or forgotten. Also, make sure that your downloading the high-resolution photos, these are the ones that a good for printing and haven’t been resized to fit social media uploading standards.

2) Back-Up, And Back Up Again

Now that you’ve downloaded all the images in high resolution, make sure to back them up and then back them up again. Whenever I’m working on a clients gallery I make sure to back up the photos on two external hard drives and onto a cloud service as well. That way if an act of God happens and one set of files go corrupt or are lost, I’ve got a backup!

This is what I always suggest to my clients. Whether you choose to purchase a few external hard drives and leave one of the hard drives in a safe box or at a family members house or use a hard drive and a cloud service (there are endless ways to back up your images. I just can’t suggest backing up your back up enough.

If you are looking for a good external hard drive, I cant suggest using a LACIE external hard drive enough. They are what I use and they seriously last the test of time. You can find one here.

3) Let Your Photographer Know

Once you get the gallery, there are a few things you need to do.

First, let your photographer know you got the gallery! If I deliver a gallery and a client doesn’t let me know they got the link, I start to worry something went amiss. Let them know what you think! Trust me, your photographer has spent loads of time making sure your gallery is the utmost best. So letting them know you’ve gotten the gallery and what you think will bring a huge sense of peace to your photographer…and good karma to come your way.

Second, let your photographer know right away if you have any issues downloading your images. I give my couples 30-days from the date of delivery to let me know if there are any issues with downloading images or if they have a minor edit request. 30-days may seem like a long time, but it goes quickly. So the sooner you do this, the better.

And finally, third, because your mind is on your photos and session, this is the best time to take 5-minutes and write your photographer a review. This not only gives your photographer all the warm fuzzies deep inside but also helps future couples know what it’s like working with your photographer. If you’ve ever worked with me, and haven’t left a review yet, it seriously would make my day if you’d do so over on Google Reviews Here.

4) Print Your Photos

Do you remember weekend evenings curled up with friends or family on the couch with a box of photographs or a scrapbook full of memories? I have boxes of photographs stored away from my relatives and those boxes mean the world to me. They tell me the story of where I come from and how I got to where I am today.

This is where I have fallen victim countless times. I get photos, throw them onto a hard drive, and in the end forget that they exist. As progressive as technology is (I mean does anyone else remember floppy disks or is that just aging myself?) I highly suggest printing your photos. No matter what happens to GoogleDrive or an external hard drive, you’ll have your tangible memories in your hands (and hopefully all over your home too!)

I cannot suggest using Artifact Uprising enough for all of your printing needs. Their customer service and quality of product are impossible to beat. From photo books to prints, they do it all and with such quality, I won’t give my service anywhere else.

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@heather.woolery