Oh the glamorous hidden world of backup systems… In this digital age and fire-prone state of California, protecting my pictures has been a top priority and a thorn in my side from the very beginning!

Call me “better-safe-than-sorry,” but my system has multiple backups of each image on an external hard drive at home, online, and on an external hard drive at another location. But getting the pictures to each of these three places has been time-consuming and just plain annoying! So while most people will never see this side of my business, this new setup is going to make such a difference for me on the back end, and I’m so excited about that!

Enter part one of my new backup system: offsite storage.

Offsite storage is important because even if my office burned down, I would still  be able to retrieve a copy of my work without having to download everything from the web. Still, the regular external hard drives I was using were clunky, hard to transport, and took up too much storage space. Now with my new system of using raw hard drives, I’m able to solve all those problems!

All you need is a dock that will plug into your computer to read and write to the drives. This also eliminates all the extra cords and plugs from multiple drives and keeps things tidy and simple! Once you’re done backing up to the drive, just eject it from the dock, slip it in a case, and transfer it offsite. Done and done!

It took me months of research and many helpful people to come up with the best system for my business. So if you’re looking for new solutions and have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below!

If you need a last minute gift idea for a special someone on your list, here’s a simple craft I did for my girlfriends this year: cup cozies! They don’t take long to make and you probably have most of the supplies around the house.

You’ll need:
-felt
-buttons
-needle
-thread
-scissors
-marking pen
-paper cup sleeve (mine was left over from Starbucks)
-mug

Start by taking apart the paper cup sleeve and tracing it on to your felt with the marking pen. I made mine just a little bit longer because my mugs were larger. Cut along the traced lines.

Wrap the felt around a mug overlapping the two ends to determine how big it needs to be. Pick a cute button that fits your friend’s style. I dug into my grandmother’s button collection. Use the button to hold the two ends of the felt together by sewing through both layers.

Fill your cup with fun treats! Candy canes, chocolate, a Starbucks gift card or VIA are just a few ideas. I’d love to see pictures of what you come up with!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! I’m so excited to share such an awesome resource with you and only wish I had more copies to give! If you know anyone that has attended the Fast Track Workshop, help them be a “Beth” by hitting them up for a copy! Wondered why I asked you all to share a word describing ME (not the photography, website, etc.)? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

For the winners, don’t set this aside to read later in your “free time.” Make the time now to begin your year and business in the best possible way. Feel free to email me anytime if you have questions!

And now for the winners! *drumroll*

• Pilar
• Stephanie
• Kimberly

Congratulations!  Your ebook will be arriving soon to your inbox!

If there has been one book that has changed the photography industry recently, it has been Dane Sanders‘ Fast Track Photographer. For the amateur and professional alike, Dane makes clear what many people have missed. Pretty pictures do not a good business make. You are not your photography, and YOU are what sets your business a part from every other photography business out there!

With Dane releasing a new and updated version later this year, the original edition of Fast Track Photographer is no longer available from his store. As I attended his workshop back in May and got a sneak preview of some of the new content, I know it will be good and can’t wait to read it! For those of you who cannot wait until then, I have three copies of the original in the ebook format that I am giving away to three blog readers! To enter, simply leave a comment sharing one word you think best describes ME and some way to contact you (ex: lydia[at]lydiaphotography[dot]com or a link to your own blog). The giveaway will end on Tuesday midnight PST and the winners will be randomly drawn from all the qualifying entries. Feel free to spread the word and leave another comment sharing how for an additional entry!

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It’s those vague hints of something cooler to come that sometimes bug me. It causes me to be discontent with the here and now and just eager and impatient to see the future cool. That’s why I’ve tried to hold myself back from sharing the awesome things coming to Lydia Photography. “Tried” being the key word.

You may have notice my blog being down last month. A new site was supposed to have taken its web address, but it never showed up due to user error. I’ve been working on a real website for awhile now. It has gone through many redesigns, and I know will never be totally done. Life changes, and my site will change to reflect that over the years. So instead of waiting for something that will never come, I did it. The official Lydia Photography website 1.0 is now online! So much more is being added to it, but I couldn’t keep the hints back any longer and just had to share it!

 

You can still see my latest weddings and happenings on the blog at its own special link. Be sure to change your RSS feed to keep updated!

If you’re interested in creating a website for yourself, be sure to check out Showit. As of this week, they now giving it away for free! You can:

• publish up to five pages
• use their templates and graphics or completely make something new
• easily upload 10MB of music, pictures, slideshows, and more
• share your site on blogs, facebook, twitter, and iPhones