Tether & backups

[renarddesbois]

Operating System

1. macOS 14 Sonoma

Hi there,
My current workflow is to shoot tether I to Lightroom with my raw files to be stored on an external hard drive. I only use LRC as a library and do all my edits in photoshop. My final edits are stored in the same folder as their respective raw files. I manually create backups of all the files after every session on a second hard drive.
I am looking to add a cloud based backup as well for safety, that would sync in real time automatically.
I am looking at google drive as a solution but I don’t really know where to start and how to make it work. Do you have any advices?
Thanks.

 

[clee01l]

Google drive is not backup. It is a file sharing app used across many platforms. The same holds true for DropBox and other similar apps. If you want a cloud backup app, BackBlaze is popular. Others are CrashPlan and Carbonite.

You can automate your local backup with a true backup system that you already have TimeMachine. Manually creating copies as you are doing now is not a backup. If you make a user mistake and later discover it, you have only copied that mistake to the EHD. A True backup system like TimeMachine, Backblaze, Crashplan etc., runs automatically in the background incrementally creating backup of changes to files. It also retain versions of these files so that you can restore from the state a file was in 6 months ago if need be.

 

[karl.nyhus]

I am looking to add a cloud based backup as well for safety, that would sync in real time automatically.

I like the Arq Premium plan for cloud backup on the Mac.

Arq cloud backup for Mac pricing

BackBlaze is fine, works in the background, but can take a while to complete a backup.

Arq Premium is fast, lets me schedule a backup to run automatically overnight or whenever I want, such as immediately after a photo shoot.

As with all cloud backups, the first backup session can take a while to complete.

 

[Paul McFarlane]

I've always found Backblaze excellent, I have no issues with the time to complete a backup, and unlike others (Arw), it's priced for unlimited storage.

 

[PhilBurton]

I've always found Backblaze excellent, I have no issues with the time to complete a backup, and unlike others (Arw), it's priced for unlimited storage.

Per system. Network drives are not backed up. For such drives, you need to get a subscription for the systems hosting those drives.

 

[Paul McFarlane]

OP was asking about a system using an external drive. The comments on some of the different options together with the experience of ones using them is hopefully helpful to the OP, especially the difference in not relying on a Cloud Backup like Google Drive compared to some of the true backup systems mentioned.

 

[renarddesbois]

Google drive is not backup. It is a file sharing app used across many platforms. The same holds true for DropBox and other similar apps. If you want a cloud backup app, BackBlaze is popular. Others are CrashPlan and Carbonite.

You can automate your local backup with a true backup system that you already have TimeMachine. Manually creating copies as you are doing now is not a backup. If you make a user mistake and later discover it, you have only copied that mistake to the EHD. A True backup system like TimeMachine, Backblaze, Crashplan etc., runs automatically in the background incrementally creating backup of changes to files. It also retain versions of these files so that you can restore from the state a file was in 6 months ago if need be.

Thank you that is super helpful. Glad I asked, I really didn't think about that at all... and will definitely look into the options you mentioned.

 

[renarddesbois]

Per system. Network drives are not backed up. For such drives, you need to get a subscription for the systems hosting those drives.

For cloud backup, I am looking for a subscription. I saw Adobe has a 50% of 2tb through dropbox but from what I am reading it doesn't play well with LRC...

 

[renarddesbois]

OP was asking about a system using an external drive. The comments on some of the different options together with the experience of ones using them is hopefully helpful to the OP, especially the difference in not relying on a Cloud Backup like Google Drive compared to some of the true backup systems mentioned.

Thanks Paul. When I am shooting tethered on site, I don't want to store the images on my laptop , that's why I am using the external hard drive but I would like the actual pictures to be stored in the cloud at the same time so I can review and retrieve them on my office computer, for PS editing and printing.

I create multiple folders when on site, as long as the folder names are the same

 

[renarddesbois]

Hi @Paul McFarlane , I think I must be missing something. The more I read the more confuse I get... All I am trying to do is shoot tethered on location with my images going into an external hard drive and those images to be instantly backed up & shared to be readily available from my office computer in LRC/ PS. Additionally, have timemachine automatically creating an additional backup of the said pictures on my office computer's other external hard drive.

Are Backblaze or Arq the solution? or is it a combo of those and dropbox/ google drive?

I am looking for an all around "set it and forget it" solution I can rely on but I still feel at a loss.

What set up would you suggest?
Thank you

 

[Paul McFarlane]

Are Backblaze or Arq the solution? or is it a combo of those and dropbox/ google drive?

I think terms have got confused in our answers. To be clear:

Backblaze (and ARQ) and off-site backup systems, from which you can retrieve data (images) if you have a problem with the local ones. They are not a sharing system.

Dropbox (as an example) is a Sharing Cloud service - so something you put onto it from your Laptop (let's say your tethered photos are written to a Dropbox Folder) are available for other computers using the same Dropbox account.

The two are different tools for different tasks. Others may be able to define this a bit better!

 

[renarddesbois]

I think terms have got confused in our answers. To be clear:

Backblaze (and ARQ) and off-site backup systems, from which you can retrieve data (images) if you have a problem with the local ones. They are not a sharing system.

Dropbox (as an example) is a Sharing Cloud service - so something you put onto it from your Laptop (let's say your tethered photos are written to a Dropbox Folder) are available for other computers using the same Dropbox account.

The two are different tools for different tasks. Others may be able to define this a bit better!

Nope, that clarifies things perfectly.

So going back to the scenario above, I would need to run both a Backbaze/ arq and a dropbox/ Icloud simultinuasly in order to get a proper backup and immediate access to the pictures in LRC and PS in the office?

 

[Paul McFarlane]

Agreed. The Dropbox solution gives you access on multiple devices to the images; Backblaze (for example) gives you an off-site backup, useful if one of the images gets inadvertently deleted (it'll disappear in the field and the Office) or corrupted, at least for the time period you subscribe to for Backblaze to keep the data. Obviously it means anything important can be backed up to Backblaze.

 

[renarddesbois]

Agreed. The Dropbox solution gives you access on multiple devices to the images; Backblaze (for example) gives you an off-site backup, useful if one of the images gets inadvertently deleted (it'll disappear in the field and the Office) or corrupted, at least for the time period you subscribe to for Backblaze to keep the data. Obviously it means anything important can be backed up to Backblaze.

Thank you @Paul McFarlane that is incredibly helpful and a great place to start. Much appreciated.