Cloud storage for images?

[maflynn]

Given that my Mac only has 1TB of storage I'm debating how best to manage my images. My older computer had sufficient storage, but my M1 14" MBP does not.

I currently do not have a subscription to creative cloud, and I'm not sure I want too, but spending 10 dollars a month for 1TB and using LR could be an option. I was also thinking of using my iCloud storage, I have sufficient free space there as well and its more likely that I'll not cancel that as I had cancelled the creative cloud sub a few years back.

I'll still plan on keeping a backup copy of the images on an external drive, but that then begs the question why bother with the cloud option - just keep using external drives. A NAS is not something I'm looking to use, simply because this is just a hobby that I dabble in.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

If you're already using an external drive to keep your files, then the cloud option is to make your images available on numerous connected devices. If you're looking to use the storage as a way of working on them, that's a different story.

For pure storage only, you can use any of the various cloud vendors that fit your budget. I use Smugmug as a way of cataloging my pictures post-processing and to share with family when appropriate.

 

[maflynn]

@Raz0rEdge

Thanks for the quick reply, I was thinking of having the cloud as my main, and the external drive as my backup, but having the cloud being used as an option is to for multiple devices to access the data is a good idea.

I tend to over think things, so I appreciate the opinions provided.

​

 

[MacInWin]

One painless way to keep images in the cloud is to use Photos. If you import the image files into Photos and then set it up to sync to iCloud, then it will take care of the process automatically for you and any device with Photos can have access to the images. Photos has some editing capability, and some organizational capabilities as well, but it can also connect to the Affinity edit app for editing. I don't have Lightroom, but I presume it could connect to that for editing as well. All you have to do is find the image in Photos, right-click and then click on Edit with and pick the option you want from the resulting list.

 

[mac57]

One thing to keep in mind when thinking about using the cloud as a primary storage site for your photos is that it is simply much slower than your own device, and even that slower speed is variable, based on the quality of your internet connection at any given moment in time.

I have found that keeping my photos on my computer as the primary site, and the site that I work on them from, and using the cloud purely as an offsite backup for them, is the best approach. To overcome your shortage of on-device space, I would recommend adding an external hard drive. Much, much faster than the cloud!

Now getting the cloud to act purely as a backup can be a real pain. Most cloud offers want to hoover your photos up into their online storage and then delete the originals from your devices to "free up space". This is incredibly frustrating if this is not the model you want. There is also the issue of auto-syncing connecting devices such as phones and tablets as you make changes.

Depending on the type of phone you use (iPhone or Android), the solution to all of the above will be different. I am a "dyed in the wool" Mac user, but I use a Samsung (Android) phone (no flames, please!). I have worked out a great solution for this mixed environment, such that my photos are sync'd across all of (1) my phone, (2) my Mac and (3) the cloud. If I make a change to a photo, or add/delete a photo in any of those three places, it is mirrored to the other two in near real time... and the photos are physically present in all three places: on the cloud, on my Mac and on the phone, so that I can work on them with no cloud delays on both my Mac and my phone.

If this is of interest, please reply to this post and I will post the details of how this can be done, at least for Mac-Samsung-OneDrive.