Total File Size - All Your Images and Keep or Delete

[extremeinstability]

36.5 gigs 2002 through 2012... at the moment...though I feel like whittling down even more.  Actually quite a lot of TIFF files(star trails/etc) in that making it larger than it really is imagewise. 

I always wonder how many others are like me out there and delete like a madman, just to keep things in check as far as total images kept over the years.  If I don't whittle often and delete away, I end up feeling like I don't even know what all I have and can't keep a grasp on that.  Figured it might be interesting to see some of the total image file size out there.  As in whatever you got that you keep and well back-up. 

I'm sure for the wedding photographers and portrait business folks out there, it's a different deal and huge just for the customer's sake.  Still probably interesting to hear.

Since 2002 I've had a Sony F707, 5 rebels and 2 5D II's and really actually shoot quite a bit.  Often stuff that's just not repeatable later.  I think many take the "logical" route of "it's safer to save and not delete and storage is cheap anyway".  It is logical.  Deleting takes courage lol.  If I took that route and had been keeping everything, man I'd feel so so lost whenever I'd go to do anything with things.  I get into a severe delete mode, just find something, anything to delete, to whittle the pile way way down.  I do that with the collection, then later on I do it again to the same total collection.  The earliest stuff gets so so whittled down.   I'll stop and think to myself, what are you doing, then say screw it, just a photo, and delete...over and over lol.  And of course half the time someone e-mails wanting to license an image, they pick one off the site that I never kept and I kick myself a little. 

It's fun to sorta trip yourself out later realizing you can stick all the images you've kept the last 10 years on a single cheap flash card. 

[JaxPhotographer]

Extreme,

Wow, 36.5 GB to store your last 10 years. I am currently operating with 520GB in image files on my primary storage for photos and another 400GB of non-primary storage RAW files. I agree it is cheap to store but I sadly cannot put my kept files on a flash card right now. My trip out to Arizona a month ago to shoot in Canyon De Chelly, Monument Valley, Slot Canyons in Page, AZ and the GC alone totalled nearly 30GB in files and this was a scouting trip.

[bycostello]

i dare not add it all up....  would frighten me!

[FatDaddyJones]

Memory is cheap. You said it yourself. To me, it's not worth deleting a single frame. If I take a shot that's not worth keeping, it gets deleted in camera before I transfer the files to computer. I'm just an enthusiast that takes the occasional photo shoot on the side for extra cash.

Even though most of my shots are personal pictures, I've got lots of 'em. I went digital in 2002 and have about 60,000 shots from 2002-2009, and another 40,000 shots from 2010-2012. To date, I've taken 100,509 photos in the past ten years. That's nothing compared to most full time pros, but even with over 100,000 shots, it only takes up a little over 600 gigabytes. It needs to be said that I shot only JPEG until 2010, and then only about half of the shots were taken in RAW. I take RAW shots exclusively now, which increases storage space exponentially. I've got all my photos backed up on four separate systems, two external drives, and online too. A also have backups on disc. I'm not taking the chance of losing a single photo.

Doing professional video is another thing I've done for over ten years. That's where the real storage space gets filled. On my main editing system, I've got nine terabytes of drive space, and I only have about 350Gb free right now.  It's all filled with HD video. My external and network storage gives me several more terabytes. In comparison, my picture storage is trivial.

It's video where I'm forced to do what you are doing with photos. After many projects, I will delete the original clips and keep only the final edited video. During some projects, I'll produce several versions of a clip, applying different looks and effects. Those also get deleted after the project is completed, as they take up too much space.

I'm not a packrat at home, but I am obsessive about keeping my photos. They are organized and tagged so that I can find just the one I need, when I need it.

It's fun to sorta trip yourself out later realizing that you have an entire bookshelf full of hard drives.

[Dukinald]

Memory is cheap. You said it yourself. To me, it's not worth deleting a single frame. If I take a shot that's not worth keeping, it gets deleted in camera before I transfer the files to computer. I'm just an enthusiast that takes the occasional photo shoot on the side for extra cash.

Even though most of my shots are personal pictures, I've got lots of 'em. I went digital in 2002 and have about 60,000 shots from 2002-2009, and another 40,000 shots from 2010-2012. To date, I've taken 100,509 photos in the past ten years. That's nothing compared to most full time pros, but even with over 100,000 shots, it only takes up a little over 600 gigabytes. It needs to be said that I shot only JPEG until 2010, and then only about half of the shots were taken in RAW. I take RAW shots exclusively now, which increases storage space exponentially. I've got all my photos backed up on four separate systems, two external drives, and online too. A also have backups on disc. I'm not taking the chance of losing a single photo.

Doing professional video is another thing I've done for over ten years. That's where the real storage space gets filled. On my main editing system, I've got nine terabytes of drive space, and I only have about 350Gb free right now.  It's all filled with HD video. My external and network storage gives me several more terabytes. In comparison, my picture storage is trivial.

It's video where I'm forced to do what you are doing with photos. After many projects, I will delete the original clips and keep only the final edited video. During some projects, I'll produce several versions of a clip, applying different looks and effects. Those also get deleted after the project is completed, as they take up too much space.

I'm not a packrat at home, but I am obsessive about keeping my photos. They are organized and tagged so that I can find just the one I need, when I need it.

It's fun to sorta trip yourself out later realizing that you have an entire bookshelf full of hard drives.

+1

I usually buy several portable HDDs  on black friday. My 3 1TB HDDs should be enough for the coming year as am just a hobbyist.  I also delete shots i do not like right away on camera or while copying from SD card to portable HDD. A great majority of those shots are also loaded to online sites such as facebook or shutterfly.

[FatDaddyJones]

Consider a Flickr Pro account - cheap unlimited storage and more than just photo sharing, but a great backup option for your photos.

[Hillsilly]

36GB isn't a big drama.  Also, if a photo is good enough for you to upload to a website, I wouldn't even consider deleting it.

Personally, I only delete the photos that clearly have problems.  Photos that are suffering focusing or exposure issues which don't have any redeeming features will get deleted.  Often, I might take multiple photos of the same thing and will delete the poorer efforts.  Unflattering photos of my wife also tend to find their way into the trash (sometimes by magic).

[tpatana]

I shoot for fun, and I get ~600-1000GB a year. Never delete anything, and I backup everything on two separate hard drives.

Last 3TB drive I bought was ~$120, so nothing compared to the other photo gear.

[Canon-F1]

around 1500 GB (without backups) for around 80000 images.
80% are edited TIFF files... i store only the best images as RAW originals too.


i delete a lot... it makes no sense for me to store images i will never look at or use.

[extremeinstability]

I didn't even think about video.  I'm almost the same with those.  With those I tend to delete just entire days at a time rather than go through the clips from a day and delete unwanted clips. I chase storms so well later I think, that day/storm wasn't that interesting compared to other things caught.  Trash bin it goes. 

And it has completely nothing to do with cost of drives.  Someone could give me huge TB drives and I'd still have 36 gigs kept right now is all. 

I kinda look at it like a box of family photos later in life.  I'd think say 10,000 should cover it, rather than having to deal with 100,000 instead.  I'll never have 10,000 as I barely have 2,000 after 10 years. Seems like keeping 10 photos from a day out would be ideal or even 20 I guess.  Not sure how much that would change if I say shot sports instead.  Probably a lot but then again not really sure it'd matter much. 

The one thing I have learned is to not spend much time deleting off the camera at the time.  Whole lot easier to do it later on the pc and usually a lot wiser. 

Seems to me spending time deleting and whittling down a lot is anything but "wasting time".  I guess if I was fully wise I'd always stick files on a big ol hard drive and not delete those down and instead just have a separate area where I whittle like mad like I already do.  I have too much of a screw it attitude though.  Not saying to hell with all the photos at all, but it just seems excessive to save everything. 

I'll agree if it's worth putting on a website it should be worth keeping.  I just end up thinking that one backwards after the fact when I'm whittling down and thinking it wasn't worth putting on the site in the end...but it's already there.  If it is in my stock section I will for sure have the original file still.  But man no one wants to just use that section and instead find it elsewhere. 

I've gone over this topic with others a few times in the past and some have come back later totally changing their minds and wishing they had kept their pile at a more sane level.  I want to end up in with a very much best of pile.  Then if I want to say put out a calendar or simply change stock sites, or whatever might come up, it'd be so so much easier to start from a very much best of pile than seeing a trillion highly similar shots.  And it is.  And yet it's still a bit of a mental chore to pick, even now. 

If I shoot say some atmospheric optic that trumps all the versions of the same phenomena shot earlier, then in my mind life is simpler to delete all the lesser versions from the past. 

I will say though that what I do actually keep, I'm a backup madman like most everyone.  I'll have it on this computer at home and another, 2 external hard drives, then I'll also keep a couple copies at my parent's place.  That all barely feels like enough lol. 

I guess I'm just surprised there aren't more that take this approach and would rather do the opposite and keep it all.  The exception is if it's for someone else you are shooting, wedding, portrait, sports, etc. 

[2n10]

I am at around 25GB, but I only got started with DSLR shots in May and did not keep the RAW files after processing at first.  (I know stupid, I'm a hobbyist for now)  I too delete bad and non "A" shots.  I have a few TIFF and DNG copies that are also converted to JPG.

Edit: checked at home last night and I am at about 33GB.

[unfocused]

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who delete and those who don't. I don't.

I have no illusions about the value of most of those images and if I had all the time in the world I would go through my files and delete. But, for me, time is limited. This is a hobby that I practice in my limited spare time and I would rather buy a 3TB portable drive and just transfer all the junk over than waste hours and hours sorting through everything.

I have separate folders of "portfolio" shots that I keep on my hard drive and save backup copies of those files, but the rest of the stuff are like old negatives to me: file them away in a safe place and someday, if I really need them, I'll retrieve them.

[Dylan777]

My ave about 15-20% as a keeper. Recently bought two 5TB external hard drives, since I'm only shoot raw.

[bdunbar79]

For sports, I keep all RAW files from a season.  Once the season changes from Fall sports to winter sports, for example, all the RAW's get deleted and I move on. 

Personal pictures I keep.

[bdunbar79]

My ave about 15-20% as a keeper. Recently bought two 5TB external hard drives, since I'm only shoot raw.

who builds 5TB drives?

I think Toshiba might.