When asked what they would save if their house was damaged by fire or water, many people say they it would be items of sentimental value such as photographs. If destroyed or stolen, photographs can’t be replaced, unless you have the original negative or digital file.

While negatives can be safely stored in a fire and waterproof container, we tend to put less thought into the safety of precious photographic memories saved on mobile phones, cameras and laptops. At the end of the day, however, the burden of looking after precious memories is in the hands of those that value them the most.

Without a computer
If you don’t own a computer, it’s quite easy to print off digital photos at a kiosk in a supermarket, pharmacy or in your local photo-printing outlet. As handy as this is, you’re denying yourself an easy way to reprint photos if you delete the original file.

A good option is to ask for the photos to be transferred to a CD or DVD. While this will cost extra, you will have the peace of mind that you have a back up. Just remember to label the disc (using a sticker or a special marker/pen that writes on CDs) and store it somewhere safe. If the photos are saved on to DVD, you can also view them using your DVD player.

With a computer
If you have a computer or laptop, it’s a good idea to regularly transfer photos from your mobile phone or camera for safe storage. It also clears space on your memory card to take more memories.

Luckily, backing up and storing photographic files is easy enough for anybody who knows the basics of saving information on to computers. However, if you’re one of those people who doesn’t know the basics, ask someone who does to do the following for you.

Connecting a camera to a computer
To save images from your device on to your computer, you should read the instructions that came with the camera or mobile phone.

Usually the camera or phone can be connected directly to your computer using a USB wire. However, phones can also be connected by Bluetooth. Some laptops have slots that fit the memory cards used in most digital cameras.

Either way, just connecting two devices doesn’t mean a transfer will occur; you will have to follow some prompts to ensure your photos are backed up in the desired folder on your computer.

Backing up the back up
As computers and laptops are prone to theft, failure, damage or the dreaded human error of hitting the delete button and erasing years of memories, it’s good to also back up this back up with a CD, DVD, external hard drive or online.

CD or DVD
After transferring files from your phone or camera, get into the habit of copying them straight to a blank CD or DVD, sticking a label on it and putting it away for future posterity. CDs and DVDs can be bought in bulk at a low cost.

External hard drive
External hard drives come in all shapes, sizes and memory capacities. They are essentially memory storage devices that you should plug into your computer on a regular basis, copy information on to it and store it away separately to be on the safe side.

Some of these devices are configured to synchronise with your computer on each connection. The downside of this is that any deletion off your computer is likely to be mirrored on the external drive. For your valuable memories, make sure you have them backed up elsewhere if you’re not sure what you’re doing or think you may have to delete photos to create space on your computer.

Online storage
Online storage is a viable option for anybody with broadband; you can upload your photos from your computer. There are loads of different storage options available, some of which are linked in with a free email account while others you have to pay for. Some, such as Photobox.ie, are run by photo-printing companies, which means you can store and print off images and have them delivered to your door. Again, the key thing is to have discipline and actually back up your photos online before it’s too late.

The downside can be downloading hundreds of photos from their online storage area to a PC. Clear benefits are being able to share photos easily with family and friends by giving them a link to a public or private photo-viewing area.

For real photo buffs, Flickr.com can be great fun as you can share your photography skills with people around the globe. However, you can also keep personal photos private if you wish.