If your laptop gets drenched in water, do you have a plan? That’s exactly what happened to mine last week, and let me tell you, I am so glad I had a system already in place. In this episode, I’m diving into all of the different apps, programs, and back-up devices I use to ensure that my business is 100% replaceable when technology fails. Let’s be proactive together and make sure you are prepared for this situation, babe! 

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Today’s episode is brought to you by The Green House, my resource garden for photographers! Let me help you AMPLIFY your heart online and in real life to turn bridesmaids into future brides through templates, workshops, and freebies!

Review the Show Notes:

External Hard Drives and Memory Cards (7:22)

Pixieset and SmugMug (9:45)

Back Blaze (14:16)

Dropbox (15:56)

Google Docs (18:52)

iCloud (20:43)

Email (21:17)

HoneyBook (21:37)

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Green House

Episode 033: Preparing For Tech Fails To Amplify Your Weddings with Dawn Richardson – Tech Savvy Creative

LaCie Hard Drive

Pixieset 

SmugMug 

Back Blaze 

Dropbox 

Google Docs

iCloud

HoneyBook

Review the Transcript:

Alright, so I have to set the scene for you. It was a nice fall morning here in Arizona. And when I mean fall, I mean that it’s just starting to crack where the morning. Sunrise is a little bit cooler. And you kind of feel that breeze. It just is so nice, especially after coming off this super, super hot summer and faith and I had just gone on a walk mom and I had just pulled our affirmation cards. And you know, we’re just kind of having a really slow morning and getting into the week, I couldn’t even tell you what day it was. Because this is all you can remember from this day. And mom was refilling her like the Keurig coffee pot to add more water so we can just make some more water. And the jug like the little like container for water slipped out of her hand. And water just gushed all over the counter, which is where my laptop was sitting.

Now I was right there. Like I was right there next with AIDS. Mom just kind of let the obviously the water thing like fell into the sink. And she just swooped up my laptop, and is just looking at me. And she’s just like, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. And then I’m looking at her I grabbed the laptop from Mom’s hands and I’m holding it like if you can imagine Simba like just hold it, you know, holding being held up by Mufasa just holding it right here. And it is dripping with water. I kind of like tilt it to a little like just to kind of see, you know, it starts making this funny noise. And I honestly I’m really proud of myself, I shouldn’t be giving myself an Academy Award for how I reacted because I, I was just so calm, I literally looked at mom and I was just like, I’m gonna cry. I’m gonna cry. And I just got really emotional, this wave of emotion just kind of came over me. And I, I was so calm, but I was also freaking out like it was just such a weird combination. And so I didn’t know what to do, but unplug it, I quickly ejected my external hard drive that was attached to it. I set the laptop down on the kitchen table, and then we just profusely started cleaning up the water. And I’m not even kidding when I went to tilt the laptop even after I told her that first time, and water was just pouring out. And I literally was just so stunned.

And I have to tell you, I take care of my stuff. Okay, this laptop is a 2013 laptop, we’re talking almost nine years old, almost 10 years old. So it’s a nine year old laptop, I had purchased this, right out of college when I was really really kick starting my business, it was to me, it was my ticket to freedom, it was my ticket to opportunity and just just a way for my business to grow. And so I took really, really good care of that. In fact, I almost kind of think of my laptop as like a therapy piece where like, it just goes with me everywhere. It’s been with me all around the world. And to be perfectly honest, as as much as I was freaking out about my laptop being dead, like literally dead. And oh, you know what, actually not? Okay, the story is coming back to me because you know, sometimes you just kind of erase things in your mind.

Things are bad. Um, so it was a morning before church, and I went to church with my best friend and her husband. And when I left, my laptop was still alive, like the screen was was still good. It seemed to be working. I did notice like the bottom of the screen started getting a little cloudy, like a little the pieces were starting to go dark. And that’s what I knew. It may be like not coming back, like but I closed it, I unplugged it and went to church. And when I came back, it was black. It was black. And it was completely dead. It wasn’t holding a charge. And I just literally said a prayer over my laptop. It was gone.

Now the reason why I have to be perfectly honest, why this did not like create this detrimental piece to my business. Like why I you know, it’s easier to share a scar than a wound, right? Like I didn’t post anything about this on social media. It’s because I had a system and I was prepared to make sure that even if my my laptop died and completely crapped on me, like I had everything backed up and archived, which is why I’m really excited to dive into the different apps and programs and all the memory stuff to keep my laptop safe.

And I kind of call this living off the grid for your business. And I almost want to pause and share why it’s so incredibly important to like to realize that my I just picked a number, like the prices right satis like why my 699 Purple subject like three subject notebook from Target is actually way more valuable than my actual physical laptop. Now I know that sounds like ridiculous because I know Apple laptops today are going from anywhere from 1500 to $2,500. If not more, if you’re going with like all the crazy upgrades and things, you’re looking at a 2500 or $3,000 investment right now, don’t get me wrong, that’s a lot of money. And I’m not saying that that can easily be replaced. And I think, ultimately, that was my biggest fear. And that was my biggest like setback thinking. Like, I didn’t have this extra money in the budget like this is just, it’s just really scary. But this is why I value my notebook, which has all of my thoughts, all of my action lists, they all add up to being priceless. All of those notes, all of those thoughts, all of those Action Lists and daily things like if mom would have spilled water over that, or if that would have been stolen or lost. That would have literally made me cry and scream like a little third grader because that is completely irreplaceable. So I want to chat about today, the different ways that you can make your business 100% replaceable, in case your technology fails. Now, I did do an incredible episode with my bestie Don. So check out episode 33. Preparing for tech fails with Don Richardson with tech savvy, creative listening for all the tax. So she goes into archiving and saving and honestly, she’s a best friend that you want to have now, so you can feel prepared and you don’t feel like you have to go run to her when your things crash and burn or things get lost. So let’s be really proactive together. But I want to take this kind of like just like updated episode and share a bundle of more apps and programs and memory for safekeeping. So let’s dive right into that.

Welcome to Quianna Marie weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins, big or small by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams. You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode at quiannamarie.com/podcast. Join me as I share with you motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart. Come join me for a dance party. Ready? Let’s go. Alright, so

number one is the external hard drive. So I want to I mean, there’s, there’s, I would I don’t want to say there’s like an important list or, you know, like I’m adding these in a certain order. But I definitely want to start with the photography portion. Because I have to make this perfectly clear. When that water landed on my laptop. I was so concerned with replacing it because of how much it would cost. I never once thought, Oh, my God, I’m going to have to email or phone call a bride and let her know that her images are gone. I like I just didn’t make that crystal clear that wasn’t even on my radar. Like that wasn’t even a part of my concern. And you know, and here’s how I was able to do that, right? So like, we never have to make that conversation even if it gets stolen out of your car, or you step away to go pee when you’re working at a coffee shop and you come back and it’s gone. I mean, those thoughts don’t even have to enter your brain.

Okay, so if you’re just starting out in photography, or just starting out on weddings, like this is the episode that you must listen to. Okay, so let’s get back to it. So external hard drives. Okay, so I have my Lacee external hard drives, I have a DW desktop hard drive, which I will absolutely link in the show notes. But this is where all of my stuff is stored. Okay, so just to give you a background on this, really nothing important is really stored on my laptop. Yes, I have a gazillion downloads that I’m like creating candle graphics and, you know, dragging and dropping photos for fun or even just fun videos. So I do have a lot of active things on my laptop, let’s be clear, but everything is backed up on an external hard drive. So the so in the best way to explain that is I almost have multiple brains outside of my laptop. Okay, so you have like your brain inside your laptop, which is your hard drive. And then you have external hard drives which are just storage outside of your computer. And then I absolutely I have a really, really good system with my memory cards. Nothing. Absolutely nothing is deleted, and formatted which is just a fancy word for saying delete your entire entire card until the wedding or the photoshoot is delivered. And I even have that as like an and both pixie set and SmugMug have the images uploaded as well.

So pixie set and SmugMug are the like the programs and the websites I guess is the best way to describe it that I have for storing my images and these I’m only storing the JPEGs now I do both So I have pixie set for my I call it my client facing website. So when I deliver a wedding when I deliver my photos, photoshoots mini sessions, family stuff, boudoir stuff, anything that I want it to look really professional, is what I use for pixie set. And I’m only dropping this because Jasmine star suggested this literally like almost 10 years ago. And I’ve been using it ever since. And I love it. Prior to that I was using SmugMug. And I love SmugMug because back then that was the only website that I could find at the time that would allow me to use my images, put them up as galleries and then family and friends. And clients could actually purchase or download images. So it was like a pre pixie set thing. SmugMug is still incredible. So if you’re using it, check it out. But I love that they have it’s like a $49 a year. thing. I don’t even know how I found it on the website, or I don’t know if I’ve just been grandfathered into it. Because I’ve been using SmugMug for literally over like over 15 years. But for a very small fee, I have unlimited storage. And that, to me is priceless. I know I pay about $400 a year for pixie set for unlimited uploads. And SmugMug I think is like I think it’s like 50 bucks a year, it’s something insane.

Now I don’t have access to their storefront, I don’t have access to like actually have clients use it as like a shop, which is fine, because I just use it as one more backup system. Okay, and I just have to tell you, like, sometimes we can be so reliant on these really big platforms something as you know, Pixie set or SmugMug. And I just have this fear that they’re either going to go under, or there’s going to be some crazy bomb that goes off, I don’t know, like we just, I don’t know, it’s just really scary because it is kind of like the cloud, right. And so having multiple sources for these, like, just different ways for you to save your images is so crucial. Because I mean, at the end of the day, like we can sue them or things can go on. And I’m not, I’m not at all so happy person, but I’m just saying like, after something is lost, like it’s gone, like you can fight about it and you can cry. But like, if you don’t have an extra backup system, like there’s just, it’s just gone. So anyway, I can go on about that. But before my memory cards are ever lost, I do that. And I actually have one more little key tip when it comes to memory cards, I highly, highly encourage you to invest in them. And especially before mini sessions season starts rolling through like just order like four to six more memory cards, okay.

And, and what I say is like why I say this is so important is the key tip to this really, is that you want to make sure that you’re only photographing one family, one event, or like one thing on that memory card. And so I want to paint a picture for you. Okay, let’s say you have a family session on a Thursday afternoon. And then Saturday morning, you pop over to your best friend’s bridal shower, and you happen to have your your camera and you are very excited to take some photos for her. You know, this isn’t a weird situation, you’re so proud and excited to snap some photos at the bridal shower. And then Sunday afternoon, you have two family sessions. Okay. So what I want to paint this picture for you is maybe you go to upload the images, or something hasn’t quite been delivered yet. You can go back on your camera quickly. And you can see that family session from Thursday. And then you can that you know has already been delivered. And edited, delivered sealed, you know, the mom is so happy. She’s already made it her profile picture, it gets great.

And then on Sunday, you have those other two mini sessions. So if you just quickly go back, as if you’re trying to you know, format cards and stuff, you may totally forget about that bridal shower. And I’m not saying you’re gonna forget your friend’s bridal shower. But what I’m saying is sometimes we sandwich photoshoots in between photoshoots and that’s how things get lost, right and that’s how they easily get formatted without us even thinking about it. So that’s just a little key tip for you to also keep your memory and your photos safe. Another program that I use or a website I guess is called Backblaze now this is a program actually learn this from Natalie Frank. She uses this for all of her stuff as well at least that’s my last I’ve heard and it’s so awesome because it syncs up on my computer and it mirrors what I’m doing. So which is just so incredible because like even for my laptop that totally crapped on me and just died. I can literally go to my profile or to my account on Backblaze and everything that’s currently like I say on I’m doing air quotes on my laptop, even though it dead can still be accessible.

That right there is this like technology gold. Hey, photographers, as our business grows, we find our selves on a timeline. We start with photographing families lifestyle portraits, try hosting puppy mini sessions, we capture birthday parties cake smashes, and some of us dream of photographing luxury celebrity status weddings. But what if that timeline isn’t in a straight line and it feels more like a roller coaster? Did you know that as a photographer, you can offer seasonal photoshoots? Yes, everything in life including our business flourishes during different seasons. This is why I created the greenhouse or resource garden planted just for you.

The greenhouse offers tons of education, digital workshops, guides and templates to help you confidently connect with your dream clients and shine online. Grab the link in the show notes for exclusive access of the greenhouse today. Each season, new products, freebies and education will be sprouting to help your business bloom, click the link in the show notes to gain access to the greenhouse today. Dropbox is another program that is a must. This is what connects me to my editor. So when I export a new collection through Lightroom, it gets like the smart previews get delivered to Elisa my editor. And then they you know, she does her little edits and does her magic and then she sends them back to me. Now I want to share that I had two weddings that were out for edits during this whole like death of my laptop situation. And because I had everything saved on externals, including my Adobe Suite, which isn’t really saved on an external but you know, it’s just like another online Suite program that holds Lightroom classic and you know, Photoshop and all my programs that I use, everything was transferred and downloaded smoothly, even with the updates. So, you know, that was one little glitch. I’m not even kidding, because I’m not so technical savvy. That’s totally that’d be a dumb question.

But, you know, if I had to, I could easily reach out to Elisa if I was really, really in a pickle. And, you know, something didn’t quite align with the transfer. And I’m sure I could have brought my external hard drive to her her computer and, and downloaded it, right. And so like, there’s always way it’s like, I’m so scrappy, and I’m trying to be really proactive about thing, but like, that’s really what I thought would be my last resort if that were to happen, which obviously wasn’t the case, my laptop, just my new laptop just uploaded, you know, so smoothly, and I was able to get those transfers. And I also want to share a little key tip before I move on. I did not post anything about this online. During the chaos. During the stress I not once posted, oh my gosh, my laptop died. Oh my gosh, my mom’s spilled water all over it. Like in here’s why, even though I know that my images were safe, and that my images were archived, and that my couple was, you know, they’re looking forward to their wedding gallery. I never for one split second want my clients to ever feel like their images are in danger. Same thing for future dream clients, or even past old high school friends. Like I don’t want anybody to even think that, like my photographs are ever not safe. And so this is why I waited obviously hence the episode coming out now, instead of during the chaos last week, because I I just wanted to ensure that those galleries were safely delivered. And then I can tell my brides anything like I’m so honest and transparent. I even reached out to Kristen one of my recent brides and said, Hey, sorry, you know, your gallery is just a couple days late. I’m a week behind because of my laptop dying. And you know, and she was so sweet. She’s like, Oh my God, no problem.

We love them, we can’t wait to look through them. So I saved my brides, you know, and my couples so much stress and worry by not even mentioning this until it was sealed, delivered and sent with love. Another program that I use that I cannot live without our my Google Docs. Okay, so I’m not gonna lie, I kind of had a panic attack for some of my podcast stuff. But I you know, I was worried I might have lost some things that were actually on the computer. But I didn’t even have to worry because Haley, my Podcast Producer, set us up with a safe, reliable and efficient system through our Google Drive. Now, my podcast isn’t skipping a beat. In fact, I’m honestly hoping that maybe the sound is more clear for you. Like we have some upgrades with Zoom, and with my speakers and my microphone, so I’m hoping that it’s actually a good thing. But that was a huge sigh of relief to have everything on Google Docs and think about it.

Once again, going back to the thought of having your that kind of living off grid for your business is you know, if you have to hop in and send something you can you can grab any laptop, you can grab any phone, your friends, your neighbors, you can even go down to the public library, which believe it or not, they actually do have computers for you to use for free. You just have to sign up for a free library card you’ll have access to your business and that like I just need to take a deep breath and just, like, just remind you like, this is why you should absolutely consider, you know, investing a little bit more storage for that Google Drive, and oh, we get a lot of free stuff. Once you start really kicking in building your business, you are gonna have to invest in that, but it is literally worth it. And it’s not even that expensive, you know, in my opinion, to, to purchase more storage and to make sure that that access is reliable, and 24/7. Okay, because once again, like I love my notebook, and that’s where all my deepest secrets are, and my action list and my wildest dreams. But having my actual work on Google Drive, and in my Google Docs is a lifesaver. Another program that I use, or like, I guess app is the iCloud.

This is where I store all of my notes, like, you know, your actual little notebook thing in like on my phone. So that’s where I write all that down, I have my contacts in there and my calendar. So I’m just, I’m just so thankful for all the Alpha products and how they sync up. And once again, I just need that kind of like Apple ID or whatever email and then as soon as I enter that, of course, they come out here like Fort Knox, and trying to make sure that it was you that you know, safely logged in. But this is what’s really important by keeping everything in sync and together. And another tool that I use is email. So this kind of goes into the little like bumper piggyback onto the Google Docs. But I love adding this one as a reminder that sometimes I have quick notes or ideas. And I just love it, I can send myself a quick email with a detailed subject line. And most importantly, it’s searchable. And then another program that I cannot close out this conversation without sharing is honey book, honey book is honestly a lifesaver. Because everything is included like on the website like it’s completely off my my laptop, so I don’t have any Excel spreadsheets with budget stuff on my laptop, all that is done through QuickBooks, which is also another one that I wanted to mention. But I love it because all of my contracts, all of my invoices, and just client communication is done through honey book.

So once again, I don’t need my laptop to access it, I just need to have my login and my password. And I can literally tap into honey book anywhere around the world. So yes, I am totally a pen and paper and notebook kind of gal. But please Oh, please consider investing and looking into these apps and programs to ensure that your current laptop and your computer is 100% replaceable. I mean, why don’t on fire, save yourself from drowning accidents and just getting splashed with water or getting stolen or just having it die on you. I mean, I can’t even imagine being in a position where you’re kicking, you’re rolling through a project or about to to deliver a wedding and then it just dies. Like no baby, get those images off of your computer. Now work off of those external hard drives. Be really proactive about archiving your images. And like I said before, like you have to check out episode 33 with Don Richardson talking all about the tech like she’s just a tech wizard and she has tons and tons of resources and education and just really really great advice for making sure that your tech is backed up and safe. If you’re enjoying this conversation and look forward to new episodes every week, I would be forever grateful if you could take just a couple minutes to leave a review on Apple podcasts or screenshot your favorite episode and share. As I’m coming up with new ideas.

I would love to hear from you. Coming Soon I’ll be interviewing more photographers and business owners and we’d love to hear your stories about life, business and growing pains. We all have very similar passions with different goals. Head over to quianna marie.com/podcast to check out more episodes that I think you’ll love and apply to join the conversations today. I have really really big dreams for this passion project and love hearing from you and cheering for you all the way here from Arizona and just around the world. keep trucking baby like keep showing up for yourself. Keep shining online. I am always cheering for you and excited to see your business grow. Hope you have a great day. Love you. That’s a wrap on another episode of Quianna Marie weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at quiannamarie.com/podcast. I’d be honored if you show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, keep on dancing.