USBs

Here are some of the reasons why I’ve decided to move to online / digital delivery for my high-resolution images, and am no longer posting images on USB:

  1. USB is an old technology. The USB interface has been around for quite some time; but as technology advances, computer companies are slowly moving to other data delivery methods, such as thunderbolt or USB-C. My computers no longer have a USB port, and I think in a few years time, your new computer or television won’t have a USB port either. In a few decades your children, and grandchildren won’t know what a USB is, let alone how to access the information that’s stored on it. Don’t believe me? Just ask your young nephews and nieces what they think a “3.5 inch floppy” is?
  2. USBs are easy to lose. If only I had a dollar for every time a client frantically emailed asking for a replacement USB of their images, due to theirs having been lost or misplaced, stood on, etc.
  3. USBs often break. Similar to ‘2’ above; USB sticks often seem to break or just randomly stop working.
  4. Digital delivery is faster – so you will have full access to your high resolution photos immediately. The time it takes me to copy your photos to USB, order a few prints to include with the USB, wait for the prints, package everything up, then get to the post office can add a week or more to the entire procedure. I would prefer to get your images to you asap.
  5. Digital delivery is safer. Think: online ‘cloud’ storage of your wedding photos. The sooner I can get your high-resolution images into a private gallery, the sooner they’re in the cloud and not just on my hard drives or your hard drives at home, and the safer they are from random hard disk or computer failure.
  6. Digital delivery gives you better access to your wedding photos. Similar to ‘5’ above, having your entire high resolution gallery stored securely in the cloud means you can access them from any computer, television or mobile device with an internet connection – anywhere in the world.
  7. Ultimately, USBs are electronic waste. Many, many of my clients receive their USB stick, copy their images to a computer, then never touch the USB again.  If I can reduce my contribution to the world’s enormous output of electronic waste, I’d be happy.

Having said that, if you are desperate for your images on a USB, I can still organise this – just let me know!