Photo Storage Devices

During inspections I take roughly 300 pictures of the property. Alone with the photos in the report I want to give the clients all the pictures that were taken. I would like to keep a copy for my records also. I’ve looked at SD cards and USB flash drives. These options can get pretty pricy. Thought about CD’s but wondered with new technology such as ipads, tablets and etc, would CD’s be outdated or impracticable. I’ve never tried to email that many photos, not sure if that’s practical either.

What is the most widely used medium for those of you how do this for your clients?

Personally I think it is a BIG mistake to give a client all the pictures you take. At some point, guaranteed, they will see something and call and complain or worse yet, they will just call and call with questions. While it might be ok in the beginning, you will learn that time is money, and those phone calls take time.

I stopped saving extra pictures about 4 years ago. In fact I got rid of every saved photo since I started in 2005. No reason to keep them. The photos saved in the report are the only photos I save or need. Any other photo could just be evidence used against you should you find yourself in an issue with the client.

My new laptop doesn’t even have a CD/DVD drive. Waste of money.

Digital storage devices getting cheaper all the time.

Sometimes I take extra pics of driveway pavers, rooms, packed garage, closets. etc.
I upload them to my Google Photo Storage account.
Unlimited for free. :smiley:

The extras are for my eyes only.

I also use google photo. This also gives you access to the photos anytime you need them and you don’t. When I get the question call after closing I can bring them back up on my phone and answer the question.

I saved all the pictures and put on a CD and filed with the paperwork in a folder for my records.
The only pictures the client received are the ones I selected in the HIP report.
And those are available for future use under client Data.

OR…
If you are unfortunate to have some faker say the wheelchair may fall?, or something like that, because some driveway pavers are “wobbly” pics are good.
The wobbly was caused by the damn moving trucks.

After all these years I can’t remember that ever happening.

The extra pictures you take are your field notes, the client gets only the pictures included in the report.

You need to get your website up and running first.

I agree with others who feel that giving your client every photo invites trouble.

This…

All the Pictures that I believe are necessary go in the report. And the Report gets saved.

Copies of the reports in pdf format I store in the cloud (google drive), all the pics I took are stored on one of those USB plug in hard drives, 2 Terrabytes, when it gets to close to full I will store it somewhere and get a new one. The one I have now I have been using for about two years and it still half empty (or is it half full?). Like everyone else said, pics not used in the report are my field notes, and are not normally shared with clients. Some clients have asked me to share all the pics, those I post in the cloud on google drive, share a link with the client and tell them to download what they want within 30 days, after which the folder will be deleted.

Perhaps I read this wrong.
So it’s possible for the client to have your extra pics, you then delete
them after 30 days & you do not have them anymore?

I only provide raw photos if they ask for them.

For my own storage, I use a 12TB desktop raid device. If I want to make them accessible to someone else, I use Dropbox (1TB) or Prime photos (unlimited)

Thanks everyone for your input and perspectives. I really appreciate it and it’s been very helpful.

No, copies are stored on the cloud temporarily, I still have the ones on the hard drive. I could keep them all in the cloud forever if I wanted, the only reason I don’t is because I don’t exactly know what they are doing out there if I have given the links to someone else :slight_smile:

I have a couple of terabyte external hard drive . That is all I need. CD’s go bad to quick.
I have several CD’s and DVD’s I used to use for storage, but some went bad in about 3-5 years.