Protect your Prints & Digital Photos During Hurricane Season

We’re in the first week of June, which means it’s officially hurricane season here in the Orlando area. While Central Florida families are busy stocking up on water, batteries, and sandbags, there's one irreplaceable asset that often gets left off the emergency checklist: your family photos.

Here are some tips to help you protect your prints as well as your digital files in the event of a major storm.

Giant Ziploc Bags & High Shelves

I am mildly crazy and LOVE using GIGANTIC ziploc bags to help protect my photos. I have so many 4×6 prints and scrapbooks from high school and college. When I know a storm is coming, I store them all in the XL ziploc bags on the highest shelf in an interior closet. It doesn’t guarantee that they won’t be destroyed in the event of something catastrophic, but if a window breaks and rainwater is blowing around, it could keep them from getting soaked. Even if you don’t use the giant ziploc bags or another type of water resistant tote, at least make sure your prints and albums are on a higher shelf in the house in case of flooding.

If you have large prints that wouldn’t even fit in the XL Ziploc bags, consider wrapping them in saran wrap and inside some towels to provide a little extra protection. Again, this won’t save them in the event of a major disaster, but will provide an extra barrier in the event of water or flying debris in the house.

Storing in the Cloud

If you have digital photos you want to protect, you might want to store them in a cloud service, whether that be iCloud, dropbox, box, google drive or something equivalent. I know that digital storage can become a nightmare if you are often taking photos and videos (raise your hand if you upgraded to the iCloud 2TB because you’re also too lazy to clear things out?) but even if you have a temporary account just for the season until you can find another solution, it might give you peace of mind.

Bonus tip: Set yourself up on a regular schedule to upload important photos to the cloud throughout the year so you don’t have to do it all at once next summer!

Storing Off Site

I’d also recommend saving your really important photos (perhaps the sessions you’ve done with me!) on an external drive or USB drive and asking a friend or family member to store them at their house if they live out of state. You don’t ever want to think of the possibility of losing everything, but special memories like wedding and mitzvah photos or even first family photos are just too precious to not make the extra effort.

Those are just a few ways I keep my own memories safe! Do you have a unique trick for protecting your albums? Drop a comment below and let me know!

P.S. If your family archives are safely backed up and you realize it’s time to capture some new memories this summer, click here to book your upcoming Summer Family Session.