Taking pictures in the evening doesn’t have to end with your sunset shot. Here are three ways to draw the light back into your after-dark images.

THE LONG SHOTS

Whenever I go to the ballpark at night, I never fail to see people photographing the field using their flash. It drives me nuts! A flash on a standard camera, digital or otherwise, illuminates at best, about 10 feet in front of the lens. That means all you’re capturing is the back of the heads of the strangers in front of you.

Forget the flash. Instead trust that the other super bright light sources from the field, stage, or fireworks will light up the image for you.

KEEP IT STEADY

When you don’t have mega-watt lighting in the backdrop, like say around a campfire, you may need to change the shutter speed to keep it open longer, allowing more light exposure.

Every camera series (Canon, Nikon, Lumix, etc) has different sensors (measured by ISO) that adjust to speed or light. Play around with your camera in a dimly lit area and observe the difference between the two settings: “Auto ISO” and “High ISO.”

Most modern cameras have decent enough sensors to warn you when the lighting is “too low.” If you see this message, change the ISO to high. Doing this will set you up for dramatic photos, however it often takes the steady hand of a surgeon to battle the blur.

My suggestion is to invest in a portable tripod like the versatile GorillaPod ($20). This lightweight device (pictured right) can be propped up on a car hood or wrapped around a tree branch or any place you would need to stabilize your shot. It features a removable clip with universal ¼-inch tripod screw, which fits most compact cameras and locks securely into place. The rubberized feet and the flexible plastic joints will help you stabilize your camera without harming any trees (or car hoods) for your art.

MORE FLASH, PLEASE

If light is scarce and there’s a lot of action, like newlyweds twirling on the dance floor, an open shutter and turned on flash might not be enough. For an extra boost of brightness try the universal Digi-Slave ($125).

Illuminating up to 115 feet ahead, the difference in your shots will be night and day. The flash fits and works on most, if not all, cameras and runs on it’s own batteries, so your DSLR’s power  won’t be affected.

BONUS TIP: Never use a flashlight or car headlights to brighten a dark shot. Those light beams are not multi-directional like a camera flash, so you will likely end up with lots of glare. The flash I recommend above has an adjustable head in case you want to bounce the light off a wall or ceiling, leaving your images free of white hot spots.

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photography by Gary Graves (ballpark). Additional images are courtesy of GorillaPod and Amelia Hennighausen.]

1. SanDisk® Cruzer® Micro USB Flash Drive, $88

Store up to 16GB of images on this tiny, but tough flash drive. As the name “Cruzer” aptly implies, it can transfer data via the USB 2.0 port faster than most of its kind. The lightweight, PC-and-Mac-compatible USB connector retracts easily and travels well, and even comes with a convenient key chain attachment. I have been using this brand of flash drives for years and I can personally vouch that it can take abuse—like being repeatedly tossed in a bag—and has never failed to both save and protect my files.

2. WD series My Passport SE, $140 to $190

Need more space? Back up your desktop files with this Western Digital product, which holds up to 750 GB (or 1 TB) and is available for both Mac and PC. Simply connect it to your computer via a USB port, select the files or folder that you would like to save then hit the backup button, and, presto, it will instantly copy and organize them all. Although it is ten times larger than the flash drive, it is still completely portable and holds a ton more photos, videos, music and other large files. BONUS: You can lock the drive with a password for added security.

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photography courtesy of SanDisk and WD]

The two I tried out—the Optoma Pico PK201 and 3M MPro150—were great. Both were easy to operate (thanks to simple symbol-based intuitive set-ups) and are under $400. Each has a one-year warrantee, cables necessary to connect to a Mac and/or PC, and weigh a mere 5.6 ounces. They also feature standard tripod sockets and built-in speakers, though neither was powerful enough to be heard over a crowd, so I didn’t fuss with them. Another tiny con they both share is that neither will let you adjust the color, which isn’t a big deal, unless you’re photo perfectionist like me.

The projectors allowed everyone to see Pop’s new photos from his recent trips to India and Alaska while sipping cocktails, nibbling on appetizers, and mingling with guests. It was a great conversation starter: People were sharing laughs and swapping stories about the hilarious hairstyles and outfits of back in the day.

If you’re interested in creating a slide show to celebrate a special event, such as a graduation, engagement, wedding, or birthday, I’ve detailed the subtle differences between these two promising projectors to help you choose the best one for you. Let me know if you have any questions!

OPTOMA PICO PK201, $299

Pros As soon as you flip the on switch, the palm-sized projector checks for new media and loads quickly. Once you transfer and select your folder of images, the show will begin. That’s it! You’ll notice the images are crisp even if the room isn’t dark (just make sure you choose the “bright” setting). There are no moving parts, like fans, so this model is ultra silent. The USB memory stick adapter allows for portability of images, including large files, without a computer. Projected image size ranges from five to 66 inches.

Cons Rotation time between slides, which fade into each other, can be set to two, five, or 10 seconds. So if you want images to linger longer, it won’t happen. Unplugged, its battery life is only one hour. The internal memory is 55 MB (not a lot), and if you don’t get rid of the presentation software (for PC only) on the drive, then you only have 22 MB of available space, which is nothing. You’ll have to get an additional MicroSD card (about $10 for 2 GBs).

BUY IT NOW

3M MPRO150, $395.00

Pros As if one GB of internal memory weren’t enough, this handheld projector also comes with a microSD 2 GB card, so you can store tons of images. This model also provides more presentation options than the Optoma, including an “excel” setting (for professional use) and multiple viewing speeds (three, five, 10, 30 and 60 seconds). Projected image size ranges from eight to 50 inches. Battery life is 90 minutes; a light on the top advises you of its status. Added bonus: It comes with international power adapters, making it great for travel, and it has a handy flip down stand for easy tabletop placement.

Cons Fewer options for card reader and no cable for a USB flash reader. Only Micro and VGA-A/V output are provided. Images are slower to load when you click through and they transition inconsistently, from the side or top to bottom (unfortunately, you can’t control this), which I found distracting. Lastly, this model has a fan, which would be noisy in a quieter setting.

BUY IT NOW

ONCE YOU HAVE A PROJECTOR you will need to find a light or white surface to shine the slide show. Ideally, you’ll want a room that is not too bright, so plan ahead for that if you can!

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photography of products courtesy of Optoma and 3M. Opening image by Amelia Hennighausen.]

Winter isn’t the only gift-giving season. Every spring welcomes a back-to-back lineup of special occasions—Mother’s Day, graduations, weddings, Father’s Day—that require some sort of thoughtful shopping. If you’re feeling all tapped out of ideas, I’ve got a simple solution for you: A customized photo album.

Useful, affordable, personal, and memorable, it might just be the perfect present. It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever given. Using the photographs I had taken at my friend’s beautiful rehearsal dinner, I created a photo album for the newlyweds. I had it produced and delivered to their home as they were returning from their honeymoon. They were ecstatic. It now sits on their coffee table as a showpiece for everyone to enjoy.

You don’t need to be a photo geek like me to create a personalized and classic photo album. I tested several online photo book websites just for you and found three that I consider to be topnotch and super easy to use.

1) Kodak’s Photo Books

While popular photo sharing sites, like Shutterfly and Snapfish, offer similar book-making services, Kodak beats them with its wide-ranging design features (both interior and exterior) and high-quality print. Other perks include free, unlimited, private storage of your photos on its website, new design styles updated monthly, and the flexibility to add extra archive-worthy glossy pages, starting at $0.29 per page for up to a maximum of 80 pages per book.

Each album is professionally bound as paperback, hardcover, linen, or leather. Bonus: You can save a bundle by taking advantage of the site’s regular “Special Offers,” which may knock 20 to 40 percent off books. Prices range from $9.99 to $69.99* for a 20-page hardcover book, Kodak.com

2) Smile Books

If you’re pressed for time, Smile Books will take your images and design a book for you. All you need to do is upload your photos and set it on autopilot. Its designers will select the best images, then edit and lay them out in a series for you. When it’s done, you’ll receive an emailed link for your review of the book. At this point, you can make suggestions, add captions, and choose between a glossy or matte finish on their archival quality paper. Additional copies will only cost the printing fee ($40), making this a great gift idea for multiple people. Prices start at $80* for a 26-page hardcover book, including design service and photo selection. Smilebooks.scancafe.com

3) Blurb

This is the go-to site for all my photophile friends. It’s easy to see why: It offers the largest selection of book sizes (ranging from seven-square-inches to 11 x 13-inches), plus options for dust jackets, wrap cover printing (your cover image appears on the front and back, but not along the spine), and premium paper. To create a book, just download its free BookSmart software to a PC or Mac.

When you upload your images it will instantly sort them by date or alphabetical order. Each subsequent step is very intuitive, such as clicking and dragging a selected image to the page of your choice. Best feature: There’s an automatic warning if your digital image’s resolution is too low. It suggests an optimum size so that your shots never get pixilated or grainy! Though this site’s services are pricier compared to its competitors, the quality is undeniably incredible. Prices range from $13 to $200* per book, additional costs for up to 440 pages (which is huge!), Blurb.com

*Shipping costs are extra

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photography by Sam Comen (opening shot). Additional images are courtesy of Kodak, Smile Book, and Blurb.]

The solution was much more simple and elegant than just setting up a computer. I collected her images from her fiancé and her Snapfish account and uploaded them onto a digital picture frame. While I finished cooking, the guests gathered around the frame and listened as she filled them in. On rotation all night, guests were able to see shots they might have missed earlier. It was a fantastic and subtle way to catch up without any hassle.

Finding the right frame is easy, when you know what your priorities are. For most (myself included), the look and style is key. Size, storage capacity (the amount of images its memory can hold), and wireless options are also important factors. Whatever your preferences, I highly recommend that everyone only look into high-resolution 4:3 aspect ratio frames to accommodate the photo size captured by most digital cameras.

With all these features in mind, I’ve selected my top three favorite digital frames currently on the market that will beautifully set the stage for all your vivid photo stories.

Kodak EasyShare P725 Digital Frame, $89

PERKS This sleek and simple best-seller has lots of great customer reviews, most of them raving about its user-friendliness. Photos are automatically resized to fit, meaning you won’t get that stretched look or have to choose a black border in order to see it in the correct ratio. With 512 MB of internal memory, at the standard 72 dpi, it will hold up to 4,000 pictures. If you have images on a memory card or stick, you can review those images directly from that source (no need to upload them into the frame’s memory) via card slots and a USB port. The 10.9-ounce frame is also Energy Star-rated and the display is mercury-free.

DISADVANTAGES It’s not battery operated, so you’ll need a power source and the cord is only six feet long. If you want to load your images directly onto the internal memory, you must have Windows XP or higher operating system. Macs are incompatible. The frame shows JPEG or EXIF files only, which does include TIFFs but does not include GIF or PNG. Translation: Most of your images will read, but some emailed images or screen shots may not. Also, with a black-bordered display screen of only seven inches, it’s on the smaller side (others range up to 15 inches).

BUY IT NOW

Insignia 3.5-Inch Portable LCD Digital Photo Frame, $35

PERKS Best for “taking the show on the road,” this no-frills petite frame features a carrying case, weighs a mere 3.4 ounces, and has a built-in lithium-ion battery, which will last up to two hours. Plus, it’s Mac and PC compatible.

DISADVANTAGES The internal memory is small (can hold only 35 images), but the saving grace here is that it comes with a USB memory stick and card slots. Oh, and the display screen is only 3.5-inches, so plan on huddling in to watch.

BUY IT NOW

Pandigital Pantouch 15-Inch Digital Picture Frame, $230

PERKS The espresso-colored wood frame and gray or white interchangeable matte backgrounds make this popular large-display photo frame the most traditional-looking of my three picks. Ironically, it’s also the most technologically advanced with WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities (no computer needed to transfer images from anywhere including from your phone). A USB port is available if you prefer to input your photos using a cable or memory stick. With 2GB of internal memory, you can store up to a whopping 4,800 images. The frame supports all JPEGs, AVI, and MP3 media files, which lets you show short home movies with sound thanks to its built-in speakers.

DISADVANTAGES At 10 pounds, you’ll likely want to park this dynamic device (and keep it there), preferably near an outlet, which it’ll need to stay juiced up.

BUY IT NOW

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photography courtesy of Kodak, Insignia,and Pandigital]

Between my amateur shutterbug dad and professional photographer father-in-law, we’ve got a mountain of 35mm slides in our lives. To view them, the process is semi-arduous: First, we have sift through them to find the right ones, then set up a projector and screen, next properly put the slides in the carousel slots (hello, upside-down Grandma!), and, lastly, hope that the bulb isn’t blown.

As pleasantly nostalgic as it is to hear the whirring fan and smell the burning hot dust coming off the projector, it’s simply not a convenient way to show off family photos. The least costly solution is to digitize your slides so you can print and email images—not to mention launch effortless slideshows from your computer.

Here are three top-of-the-line slide-converting scanners that will turn all your oldest memories into easy-to-enjoy digital files in no time.

ION Slides 2 PC 35mm Slide and Film Scanner, $90

Pros: You get a compact, lightweight 35mm slide and negative scanner that connects to your PC via a USB 2.0 port. At the press of one button, it creates high resolution (five megapixels) images in seconds. The included software offers user-friendly features with automatic settings such as exposure, color balance, and a fixed focus range. The software also allows you to remove red-eye, crop images, and make other simple (and flattering) edits. Choose to scan images as a “jpg” (lower file size) or “tiff” (more information in the file).

Cons: Not Mac compatible. Since it does not come with any memory, you’ll need that extra room on your PC—at least 128 MB RAM and 50MB disk space.

Wolverine F2D200 Scanner, $129.99

Pros: This cute red standalone device doesn’t require a computer—or much desk space either. This small, lightweight box (14 ounces) is completely portable and can operate via an AC outlet or any USB port (PC or Mac). The 2.4-inch color LCD screen allows you to view the scans as they transform into high-quality, five-megapixel images within five seconds.

Cons: The built-in memory doesn’t hold much (25 slides at a time). You’ll need to purchase extra memory cards or transfer the files to a computer or external hard drive. At $10 each, a 2GB card is the max storage size you can buy. Nowadays, that’s very little space and, therefore, may not be cost-efficient. Also, images are only converted to “jpeg” (“tiff” isn’t an option).

Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner, $200

Pros: Epson scanners and printers are extremely durable and eco-friendly. Its recyclable design is energy-efficient and mercury-free. It scans 35mm slides, negatives, medium-format film, plus regular prints and documents of up to 8.5-inches-by-11.7-inches. The provided software comes with Digital ICE, which automatically removes dust and scratches from your scans—perfect if you’ve been storing these items in less-than-optimum conditions, like a dusty attic.

Cons: As a “flatbed scanner,” it is not portable, and will take up a considerable amount of room on your desk (19-inches tall, 11-inches wide and 5-inches deep). You’ll need lots of room on your computer, too. The software requires a minimum of 350MB of available hard drive space, and 1GB of free hard disk space for Digital ICE.

WANT A PRO TO SCAN SLIDES FOR YOU?

Consider sending your slides and negatives to DigMyPics.com.

Pros: It doesn’t get any easier than simply dropping off your stuff at the post office. Conversion starts at $0.39 cents each, so you decide how much you want to spend. Using topnotch technology, this US-based company offers a fast turnaround (10 to 12 business days on average), a mini album of the images scanned to “tiff” format on each CD, and a consumer-friendly guarantee. If you’re unsatisfied with their work, they won’t charge you for up to 35 percent of the scanned slides.

Cons: Mailing your precious memories is risky. Though unlikely, the fact is they could get lost in transit. Also, this service offers several tempting extra features, like making a DVD movie with sound and fade, which can add up especially if you’re converting a ton of slides (1,000 will cost $390 excluding shipping fees).

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photograph of slide carousel by Alex Palomino]

Backing up your pictures on a secure photography website is a no-brainer. It’s simply the best way to safeguard your memories from accidentally getting lost or damaged forever. However, you can’t just hire any site do this important job. Back in 2008, several hundred paying customers, who trusted the photo site Digital Railroad, were suddenly given just about 10 hours to gather their images and get out. The company had gone belly up.

Despite this nightmarish incident, take note: The lesson here isn’t to avoid using these remote servers, but rather to choose the right one. Think of it this way, you’re not going to just give any old bank your money for safe-keeping. You want one with a good reputation, a smart business model, and positive customer feedback. With the same criteria in mind, I put together this list of the top three most trustworthy photo storing and sharing websites on the Net.

FLICKR

History Created by a husband-and-wife team in 2004, Flickr was founded on the concept of sharing and community. Its membership is now about the size of New York City: 8 million users and counting. Among the rave reviews on its site is this gem: “To say I’m addicted is an understatement. Flickr makes it easy … It … encourages sharing the slices of your life, realized through photos…”

Price Plans Use up to 100 MB every month for free or invest $24.95 a year for unlimited storage.

Share Your Album If you want to keep your images private, you will have to manually choose that setting. The default setting grants access to your galleries to anyone and everyone around the globe.

Cool Features You can map where you’ve taken your pictures around the world via their Organizr page. Also, use the free Flickr Uploadr program (available for both PC and Mac) to create your gallery in a few quick clicks.

KODAK GALLERY

History In June 2001, Kodak, a trusted name in photography, bought the digital photo developing service website originally named ofoto.com, which was founded in 1999.

Price Plans Get up to 2GB for $4.99 a year or unlimited storage for $19.99 a year. There’s one catch: To maintain storage, you need to make minimum purchases (buy prints, albums, calendars, cards, or other products, like mugs or key chains) within three months of uploading images, and then once a year thereafter. If you don’t follow these shopping rules, your photos may be deleted—but only after 60 months (5 years!) of inactivity.

Share Your Album Sending slideshows of your holidays, reunions, and vacations to 50 of your closest family and friends doesn’t get any easier. And you don’t need to be a member to view a gallery.

Cool Features Privacy is sacred here: No one can see your images without your invitation. Also, uploading images is super simple. No special software required.

PHOTOSHELTER

History In 2005, a dinner conversation about the future of photography led friends to launch this website. Five years later, the site has more than 500,000 seemingly happy customers (lots of great feedback on its Facebook wall) ranging from novice to professional photographers.

Price Plans Starts at $9.99 per month for 10 GB of storage space. Get an extra 10 GB for an additional $5.99 per month.

Share Your Album Invite people to view your galleries using a formal invitation feature (perfect for wedding images or promoting a fundraiser) or you can just email them the link (non-members can bypass logging in). You have several photo visibility options here, so you can keep images private for specific users.

Cool Features There are no restrictions on file size or format, meaning that you can upload your high resolution originals in RAW format (an uncompressed, unprocessed data file) as well as your low resolution camera phone snapshots. Plus, for a one-time fee of $100, you can have Photoshelter upload all the images off any thumb drive or external storage drive for you, no matter the quantity (a good deal if you’re in a time crunch).

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

[Photography courtesy of Amelia Hennighausen]

While manufacturers have yet to build the perfect camera, here are three that come pretty close. What makes these models so great is that they each offer something different for everyone. My advice is to first decide what you (or the person on your holiday list) want out of a camera. Criteria may include portability and size, affordability, user-friendliness, high resolution, video capabilities, LCD screen, professional possibilities, and resale value. Then match those needs and skill level to one of these sharp shooters below.

 
THE CAMERA CANON POWERSHOT A480, $110

Best for The Weekender or Traveler

If you loved your old Brownie or Polaroid, you’ll love this modern version of the point-and-shoot. Often categorized as a compact camera, the PowerShot A480 is one of the smallest, most portable options on the market. Easy to use and even easier to stash in any size purse, it also makes for a great accessory (check out the wide color selection) at an unbeatable price.

Features Ten megapixels means frame-worthy high-resolution photos of those great landscapes you shot with this portable camera while on a hike or bike ride. It’s perfect for vacationing in all climates, too: I’ve used mine on the beach and on the ice (-40°F)–although its manual suggests 32°F as the lowest operating temperature. The camera provides 26 different display languages, making it a great gift for your overseas friends.
 
This little camera also lets you shoot short videos in AVI format that you can play back on a PC, Mac, or TV. Other highlights: the 4x digital zoom offers flexibility for capturing distant details, the 2.5-inch LCD screen lets you instantly review your work, and the flash provides auto red-eye correction.
 
Drawbacks It comes with a low memory card (128MG). I would advise purchasing a 2 or 4 GB card for an additional $30. Also, this camera requires two AA batteries, which is ideal if you’re nowhere near an outlet. But it also means you’ll always need to buy spare batteries.

THE CAMERA RICOH GX200, $440

Best for Beginner turned Artist

Go from basic footage to masterpieces with this “mid-range” camera, which offers better quality and more room for growth than a compact. The GX200′s interface is also more intuitive and less demanding than most other cameras in this category. I highly recommend spending an extra $18 for the automatic lens cap.

Features Though smaller than most DSLRs (digital single lens reflex), it provides the same pro level quality. Switch from auto to manual mode for full control of the shutter speed (aka, exposure), which is important for low-light settings, like sunsets or candle-light dinners as well as high-speed action shots, such as your kid scoring the winning goal at a soccer match.
 
Drawbacks Needs a bigger memory card. Pick up the 4 GB for $24 from Panasonic. Unfortunately, Ricoh is not as ubiquitous as other brands, so it may require a bit more effort to find compatible accessories.

THE CAMERA CANON EOS 50D, $1100

Best for The Pro or Blogger

For top of the line DSLRs, I enjoy working with the Canon EOS 50D. While Nikon’s D300 is a close runner-up, it has fewer megapixels, a smaller frame view, and costs $600 more than this Canon. And that’s why the EOS 50D is hands-down the winner for me.

Features The 15 megapixel capability allows for fantastic color images (perfect for photo-driven blogs). Thanks to new automatic brightness settings and a built-in dust resistance feature, you’ll be able to take the richest shots in almost any light without having to worry about glare (aka, hot spots). Other highlights include manual and auto focus capabilities as well as a compatibility with over 60 interchangeable lenses for close-up (macro) or long-range magnification (telephoto). Learn the ins and outs of this camera and you’ll be as good a pro–or at least be properly equipped to shoot like one.
 
Drawbacks At nearly seven times the size and five times the weight of the compact, this camera is cumbersome for day-to-day use.

About Our Expert: With 20 years as an editor, director and producer of photography for magazines and newspapers, Amelia Hennighausen has been immersed in the change from film to digital from the beginning. Also, as a professor of photojournalism at New York’s Fordham University, she’s made it her job to keep on top of the latest developments in technology and to stay current with the most recent trends.

**Ask our expert your questions about digital photography: editors@thefineartoffamily.com.

Nowadays, digital photos are amassed (thousands of them!) and, most often, stored in a computer hard drive without a plan. Not to scare you, but this isn’t exactly your safest bet. Trusting this fallible box that tends to go bust every few years is a surefire way to lose all your photos in the blink of an eye. I can’t tell you how many distressed customers have come in with their laptop or camera, begging me to perform miracles and rescue their lost memories.

Most recently three teary-eyed Swedish girls found their way to our store. Apparently, one of the three had accidentally reformatted the memory card of their single shared camera while attempting to view images of their two-week tour of New York. The entire record of their adventure (hundreds of memories) vanished without a trace.

Sadly, there was little I, or anyone, could do at that point besides reiterate the hard lesson to never ever hit the “format” button before you have downloaded and saved images elsewhere.

It was hard to break the bad news, especially since I know what it’s like to lose something so precious. When I was a kid, I loved to photograph anything and everything with my Kodak Instamatic or a folding roll film camera that Mom had used in college. At the time, I had never considered (or cared) that my images might not last forever.

I soon accumulated a vast amount of processed film that outgrew my filing system. One day, I decided to relocate my old film to a shoebox and give the storage envelopes to my newest film. A year or two later when I returned to the shoebox, I realized the loose film had been thoroughly scratched. Embarrassed, I tossed them in the garbage. In one fell swoop, I discarded my own early visual history.

Now I tend to save too much. Perhaps to compensate for the records I lost long ago. So my heart goes out to these three Swedish girls, whose story ends just like mine.

This is partly why I agreed to write this column in hopes of providing you with a thoughtful guide of how to preserve, archive, and share your most special digitally captured moments. The other part being that I’m naturally curious to explore and learn more about our options as we move forward in this new digital era.

Fortunately, solutions exist to guide us out of this bird’s nest of tangled image files. You may already find it residing in your computer. Check your computer’s available hard disk space. If you have less than 20 percent of free space available, now is the time to buy a new external hard drive. My recommendation: the WiebeTech 500GB ToughTech.

Made by a small company that specializes in storage solutions for forensic and military use, this drive will give you plenty of space to copy your entire internal computer hard drive. I would suggest buying two of these drives so that one could mirror, or duplicate, the other. This will provide an extra level of security. Keeping your files outside of your computer will allow you to easily move them from one to another because, as you know, all computers eventually fail. Bonus feature: It comes with Data Backup software that will let you schedule regular backups.

In the coming months, I’m looking forward to investigating the myriad of storage options available beyond external hard drives, including online services such as Amazon’s on demand “cloud computing”, which permits backup that meets the widest range of needs and uses. Until then, do yourself a favor and backup your memories starting now.

About our Expert: Jeff Hirsch is the owner and president of a popular Manhattan-based photography store named Foto Care, which strives to cater to the needs of all photographers–from amateurs to professionals–by offering high-quality support, products, and services.

Email Jeff all your burning digital photo questions at editors@thefineartoffamily.com and check back often for great advice.