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Backing Up Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic & Your Photography

    Divider LineAdobe Photoshop Lightroom is a wonderful image management tool but it is not a backup system. Nothing electronic lasts forever. The real question to ask yourself is not “when will my hard drive fail” but rather “what steps can I take right now so that I am properly prepared for my hard drive’s inevitable demise?”

Lightroom Backup Myths

Many novice Lightroom users are lulled into thinking that their precious images are being safely protected by three very misleading features in this program. First, many people mistake Lightroom’s daily / weekly / monthly Catalog Backup feature for a real backup of everything. This Catalog optimization feature only creates a duplicate copy of your Lightroom Catalog file.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom’s internal Catalog backup utility is not a backup plan. This feature will not protect your images at all if disaster strikes!

Lightroom Catalog Backup

Some Lightroom users are also fooled by the Make A Second Copy To: feature in Lightroom’s Import Dialog. If enabled, this feature will make you a second copy of your images as they are added to your Lightroom Catalog and store that copy in a separate place. This sounds like a backup but there is a huge problem here.

The problem is that Lightroom never updates these files. Lightroom will not update your “second copies” with any of the work that you do after the files have been imported. If you had to resort to using these files after a hard drive failure then you might find yourself adding every keyword, removing every dust spot, and doing a ton of work all over again.

Finally some users confuse the “Adobe Creative Cloud,” “Smart Previews,” and “Lightroom Mobile” with some sort of automatic online backup system. Sadly, none of these options or features actually protect your Catalog or your original images. Don’t be fooled. It is up to you to design and maintain your own redundant image and Lightroom Catalog backup system. Adobe has left this one up to you.

Creating your Backup System

If all of this sounds overwhelming then please don’t panic. Here’s the good news. All that it takes to make a really good backup system is a pair of inexpensive external hard drives and some simple software. To make a robust backup, all that we need to do is configure a backup utility program to copy everything from your primary photo storage drive over to one of your inexpensive external hard drives on a regular basis.

We can configure software like Apple’s TimeMachine (Mac), Carbon Copy Cloner (Mac), or GoodSync Personal v.10 (PC) to automatically copy everything from your primary disk to one of your backup drives while you are sleeping. As long as you rotate between the two backup disks on a regular basis then you have a robust, redundant backup system!

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Part I: On-site Backup

Most people do not need to invest in fancy RAID drives, dedicated Apple TimeCapsules, or sophisticated data duplication machines to build a really good backup system. There is no reason to spend extra money on fast drive connections or anything fancy when shopping for external hard drives that are going to be used solely as a backup system for your images. A pair of ordinary “plain Jane” USB external drives are perfectly sufficient for most people’s backup needs.

I find that it really helps to give all of my external hard drives meaningful names. I like to assign clear names to each drive before I begin configuring my backup software. Simple drive names like “Backup Disk 1,” “Backup Disk 2,” and “Main Photo Drive” are all that’s required here. I also find that labeling the outside of my hard drives with a permanent marker, or a sticky label, also helps to prevent confusion as the drives get rotated in and out of my office on a regular basis.

Giving all of my drives clear, meaningful names right away also helps me remember the “master plan” which goes like this:

  • When I add new photos into my image library, I copy them from my digital camera’s memory card directly to my primary (main) hard drive using Lightroom’s Import Dialog. I do not copy any of my photographs from the memory card to either of the backup disks. Copying new images from my Main Photo Drive over to one of my backup drives is my backup software’s responsibility.
  • If I decide to enhance one of my photographs using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, or any other program, then I only work on the image that is stored on my primary (main) photo drive. I never work on any of the files on my backup drives. It is my backup software’s responsibility to make sure that all the changes that I make to the images on the primary are passed along to the backup disks.
  • If I decide to delete a bunch of lousy photos from my image library then I delete the files from my Main Photo Drive. I never delete files from my backup disks. Removing images that have been deleted from the backup disks is my backup software’s responsibility.

The point is that I do not touch any of the files that live on Backup Disk 1, or on Backup Disk 2. Only my backup software is allowed to make any changes to the files that live on my backup disks. I do my work with the images on the primary (Main Photo Drive) only, and I trust in the backup software to take care of everything else!

I can do this because good backup software, once configured properly, can handle the whole process of copying from A to B or A to C without my involvement. Once I get everything all set-up, it is the backup software’s responsibility to copy all of my additions, alterations, and deletions from the primary drive over to Backup Disk 1 and Backup Disk 2 automatically.

In the video tutorials below, I demonstrate three ways to build a redundant backup system on a Mac and one way to do this on a Windows PC.

The first two tutorials are for Mac users. In the first video below, I demonstrate how to configure Apple’s free Time Machine backup utility so that it will backup my entire computer to a pair of cheap external hard drives. Next, I demonstrate how to build a more flexible backup system using the awesome Carbon Copy Cloner backup utility from Bombich Software.

Finally in the video below, I explain in detail how to build an automatic backup system using GoodSync Personal v.10 which is my favorite backup utility for you Windows computer users.

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Part II: The Weekly Backup Drive Shuffle

Once my new external drives are properly formatted, and my backup software is all set-up, then I can let the software do its job. On the first day, I let my backup utility copy everything from my primary Photo Storage Disk over to Backup Drive 1. Since the software has to copy everything, this job might take a long time to finish the first time it’s run. However, as soon as it completes I can breathe a big sigh of relief. I can relax a little because now I have two copies of my precious images– one copy, the “working files,” are on my Main Photo Drive and a backup copy now exists on Backup Disk 1.

As soon as the first backup job completes I can safely disconnect Backup Disk 1 and connect Backup Disk 2. Now I can let the backup utility make another copy of everything that is on the primary Photo Storage drive, only this time I tell my backup software to put the files on Backup Disk 2.

As soon as the second backup is complete I now have three copies of all my precious photographs! Now I have a robust backup, but by keeping all of these hard drives in my home office, I am still putting my files at risk. Keeping both of my backup drives in the same room as my computer is still “putting all of my eggs in one basket” if something catastrophic were to happen to my house. To really gain some peace of mind, I need to store one of these backup drives offsite, far away from my home office.

Now that I have two complete backup disks I can start the “weekly backup drive shuffle.” In my world, Backup Disk 1 gets used for about a week and then I leave it over at a friend’s house. While Backup Disk 1 is stored at my buddy’s house I use Backup Disk 2 for my daily backups. A week or so later, I go over and drop off Backup Disk 2, have a beer with my friend, and come home with Backup Disk 1. Switching the backup drives around each week is easy and it gives me real peace of mind.

The important part is that by storing one of my backup drives outside of my house, I am ensuring that my photos and Lightroom Catalog would survive a truly catastrophic event such as a house fire, a lightning strike, or theft. Keeping a regularly updated backup drive offsite from your Main Photo Drive is a vitally important part of any backup plan.

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Part III: Online Backup Options

Online, “cloud,” backup technology holds tremendous promise but it is no substitute for my pair of rotating cheap external hard drives mentioned above. Again, do not let the words “Adobe Creative Cloud” fool you. Adobe is not a backup service and their poor choice of marketing language does not mean that they are magically protecting your images. Companies like Dropbox, Backblaze, Crashplan, and Amazon offer real cloud-based backup services.

The problem right now is that most of us do not have fast enough Internet connections to continually protect terabytes of data. Unless you have a fiber-grade Internet connection, then it could take months of non-stop uploading to transfer a complete copy of your entire image library to an online backup account. Likewise, it might take weeks of non-stop downloading before you could recover your entire large image library from a cloud account following a major disaster unless you are fortunate enough to have a lightning fast Internet connection.

I do believe that cloud backup is a great idea and a sign of the future. But for now I view it as just one more layer of protection and not a replacement for my rotating external hard drive backup scheme.

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Last Thoughts

Is all of this a little paranoid? Maybe. But if it seems like a lot of effort to go through, then please carefully consider the dismal alternatives. If you have taken no steps to prepare for the inevitable, then what will you lose when your computer crashes? What will you loose when a power surge fries all of your hard drives? What will you loose if a flood washes through your home or a tornado touches down in your neighborhood?

Your photos are irreplaceable. Are you willing to sit back and wait for those images to vanish forever? There are no guarantees in life, but I believe that the time and effort spent in building and maintaining a backup system could truly save you from losing all of your photographs one day.

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  • ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM CLASSIC TUTORIALS
    • Module 1:LIGHTROOM CLASSIC SETUP
      • Lesson 1:What Is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic?
      • Lesson 2:Is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Right For You?
      • Lesson 3:The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Catalog Concept
      • Lesson 4:One Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Catalog Is All You Need
      • Lesson 5:Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Image & Catalog Storage Options
      • Lesson 6:How To Open The Right Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Catalog Every Time
      • Lesson 7:Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Preferences Menu Advice
      • Lesson 8:How To Save Your Work In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 9:Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Presets Storage Options
      • Lesson 10:Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic User Interface Secrets
      • Lesson 11:Backing Up Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic & Your Photography
    • Module 2:IMPORTING
      • Lesson 1:What Does Import Mean In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic?
      • Lesson 2:Lightroom Classic File And Folder Names Best Practices
      • Lesson 3:How To Import New Photos Into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Using An Import Preset
      • Lesson 4:Four Ways To Get Images From Apple Photos Into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 5:The Most Powerful Way To Migrate From Apple Photos To Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 6:How To Convert To Dng In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 7:How To Delete Or Move Photos In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Using Smart Previews For Better Performance
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Faster Culling With Embedded Previews In Adobe Lightroom Classic
    • Module 3:ORGANIZING
      • Lesson 1:How To Find Missing Tools In Adobe Lightroom Classic’s Library Module
      • Lesson 2:Organizing Your Images With Metadata In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 3:How To Select Multiple Photos At Once In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 4:Keyword Basics In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 5:How To Use The Enhanced Zoom Tool In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 6:How To Use The View Modes In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Initial Sorting with the Pick and Reject Flags In Adobe Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Map Module In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use A GPS Tracklog In Adobe Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Metadata Presets In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Speed Things Up With Custom Keyword Sets In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Facial Recognition In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Collections And Smart Collections In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Colored Labels In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Better Quick Collection Trick In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Advanced Smart Collections In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
    • Module 4:DEVELOPING BASICS
      • Lesson 1:Editing Without Fear In Adobe Lightroom
      • Lesson 2:How To Find Missing Tools In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic’s Develop Module
      • Lesson 3:How To Use Camera Profiles In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 4:How To Set The Exposure In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic (Basic)
      • Lesson 5:How To Set The Exposure In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic (Advanced)
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Auto Exposure In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        White Balance Correction In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
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        How To Make Black & White Photos Using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Saturation In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        How To Use The Tone Curve In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Target Adjustment Tool In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Adding A Vignette In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        How To Use Lens Correction In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        How To Use The Guided Upright Tool in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        Noise Reduction With Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        How To Sharpen In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 6:How To Use Color Grading In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Synchronizing Develop Settings In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        Red Eye Removal In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        Spot Removal Basics In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Advanced Spot Removal In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
    • Module 5:DEVELOPING ADVANCED
      • Lesson 1:5 Useful Develop Module Keyboard Shortcuts In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 2:How To Set New Raw Develop Defaults In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 3:How To Use The Graduated Filter In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 4:Changing Colors With The Graduated Filter In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 5:How To Use The Radial Filter In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Range Masks In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Adjustment Brush In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Amount Slider To Improve Your Adjustment Brush Work In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 6:How To Use The Adjustment Brush Flow And Density Controls In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Filter Brush For Mask Refinement In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        How To Use Dehaze In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Texture In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Local Hue Tool In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Auto Correction Develop Presets In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Merge To Panorama In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Fill Edges In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Merge To HDR Command Inside of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Merge To HDR Panorama In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Creating Two Versions Of The Same Photo In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Enhanced Details In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Video Editing In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
    • Module 6:EXPORTING
      • Lesson 1:The Export Dialog In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 2:Preparing Photos For Email With Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 3:The Crop Overlay Tool In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Lesson 4:How To Add A Watermark In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Crop Multiple Photos To Same Aspect Ratio In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Multi-Batch Exports In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Slideshow Module In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Posting Images To Flickr From Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Customize Your Screensaver Using Lightroom
      • Unlock This Lesson
        From Adobe Lightroom To Instagram
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Dropbox Publish Service Plugin
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        The Adobe Stock Publish Service
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        How To Make A Folded Greeting Card In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Print Module Template Tricks In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
    • Module 7:THE ADOBE LIGHTROOM FOR MOBILE APP
      • Lesson 1:What Is The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App?
      • Lesson 2:The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile In-App Camera Basics
      • Lesson 3:The Professional And HDR Camera Modes In The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Lesson 4:How To Import Images From Your Camera Roll Into The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use Direct Import In Adobe Lightroom Mobile For iOS
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        Speed Up Importing In Adobe Lightroom Mobile For iOS With Shortcuts
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Smart Collection Sync Plugin For Lightroom Classic
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        How To Sync Collections With The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Adobe Lightroom For Mobile Image Organizing Tips & Tricks
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Basic Photo Editing With The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Crop Tool In The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Linear & Radial Gradient Tools In Adobe Lightroom For Mobile
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Selective Editing Brush In Adobe Lightroom For Mobile
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Use The Healing Brush In The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Create Presets In The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
      • Unlock This Lesson
        How To Share Your Images Using The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
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        How To Edit Adobe Lightroom For Mobile Photos With Other Apps (iOS)
      • Lesson 5:From The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App To Adobe Photoshop For iPad Pro
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        Adobe Lightroom On The Web
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        Deleting Synchronized Photos From The Adobe Lightroom For Mobile App
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        Adobe Spark Post
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        Adobe Spark Page
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        Building A Website With Adobe Portfolio
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      BONUS TUTORIALS
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Workflow Smart Collections
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        Creating Star Trails With StarStaX
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        FotoMagico Slideshows
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        Multimedia Slideshows With FotoMagico
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        Noise Reduction With Lightroom & DxO OpticsPro
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Custom Raw Profiles In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
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        Custom Camera Default Settings In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
      • Unlock This Lesson
        Using A Second Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Catalog While Traveling
    • Module 8:TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY
      • Lesson 1:How To Make A Time-Lapse Movie Using Adobe Photoshop
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        LRTimelapse Pro Lesson I
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        Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic + LRTimelapse Pro + Adobe Photoshop
      • Unlock This Lesson
        The Holy Grail Of Time-Lapse

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