Pictures have been a big part of my life ever since I was born. Not only was I raised by a “shutter bug” (my mother), my uncle was a professional photographer who had a built-in photography studio right in his own home. One of the perks of being the niece of a photographer back then was getting to see the whole process of picture taking from start to finish. Removing the film from the camera, putting it through a special machine, and soaking the photo paper in chemicals, bringing the photos to life before my very eyes. I was always fascinated, and thrilled, to be able to leave at the end of the day with some “home made” pictures.
So much has changed in the world of photography since those days. In fact, in this “digital age”, it’s rare when any of us actually holds a real photograph in our hands anymore. We are all taking more pictures than ever before, and those pictures? They are all ending up on the hard drives of our computers and laptops.
For me, the scary part about having all my precious photos sitting on the hard drive of my laptop is the fact that, as we all know, laptops die. And they don’t usually die slowly and give you time to think about where you’d like to transfer your pictures to. Ever seen that blue screen of death? I have – twice. In fact it just happened to me recently. One minute I was typing away on my laptop, the next, I was headed over to Future Shop with my credit card in hand, ready to purchase a new one.
After my first brush with that blue screen of death a few years ago when I lost numerous photos that were not backed up onto an external hard drive, I got smart. I purchased an external hard drive. Wow…what a concept, eh? So this time when the blue screen of death appeared in front of me again, I just smiled. Ha! Ha! Didn’t lose any pictures this time!
Oh wait…I did.
You see, I had gotten lazy. Getting out my external hard drive and hooking it up to my laptop had somehow become a chore – one that I would continually put off until “next time I upload more photos off the camera”. So when my laptop died, I was certain I had just lost dozens of pictures – again. I lucked out though. I found that I hadn’t erased all the photos off my camera yet, so I was able to upload them to the new laptop. Phew!
Then along came the folks from Picture Keeper. Some how they knew I needed their help. In fact, I think they made their product just for me. That’s right. They’ve made a photo storage product that is so easy to use, convenient and “smart”, that I no longer have any excuses when it comes to not backing up my photos.
You see, Picture Keeper “is the world’s first all-in-one Picture Keeper device with embedded software to protect pictures and other irreplaceable files”.
So what does this mean?
The Picture Keeper difference: no software to install, wires to connect, passwords to remember, or monthly fees. Use on multiple computers; both PC and Mac compatible. Once one Picture Keeper fills, just use another and the second will continue where the first left off. Amazing! Picture Keeper works well with all photo organizing software, like Kodak Easy Share, and is easy to use with your digital photo frame and favorite print kiosk.”
Picture Keeper has 4 different models to choose from:
PK 4
Holds up to 4,000* photos
$29.99
Keeps up to ~4000* pictures safe!
*ESTIMATE – based on an average size of 1 MB per picture
PK 8
Holds up to 8,000* photos
$59.99
Keeps ~8000* pictures safe!
*ESTIMATE – based on an average size of 1 MB per picture
PK 16
Holds up to 16,000* photos
$99.99
Keeps ~16,000* pictures safe!
*ESTIMATE – based on an average size of 1 MB per picture
PK Pro
Holds up to 250,000* photos based on a 1MB photo size. ( drive color may vary)
$189.99
With Picture Keeper Pro, it’s a snap to save up to 250,000* pictures! And because there’s no software to install, it’s that much easier.
How much is peace of mind worth to you? With Picture Keeper you can store thousands of pictures – safely and securely. The Picture Keeper automatically finds and saves your pictures. Just plug it in, click start and Picture Keeper does the work for you. Use it in a digital picture frame, LCD TV, photo kiosks or just store it away.
I was sent my very own PK 8 Picture Keeper that holds up to 8,000 (based on the size of the photos being 1MB each). I was really intrigued with this device as I wanted to see if I liked it better than using my external hard drive, and if it was really as easy to use as they say it is.
I use Windows 8 on my laptop so I started my photo backup onto my PIcture Keeper by searching my programs and files for “File Explorer”. Next I double-clicked on “Removable Disk D” (this could be E or another drive on your computer). I was then able to “Launch Picture Keeper”. Then I was presented with the “Start Backup” Picture Keeper screen you see above ^. I clicked on the “Start Backup” button and…viola! That’s all there was to it! Talk about easy!
The Picture Keeper backup process allows you to watch what is going on. You can see what is happening as the Picture Keeper searches your computer for all new pictures since your last backup.
As the Picture Keeper was backing up my pictures, I could see “Time Remaining” for backup, “Pictures Copied” including total amount of space used, and “Duplicates Skipped”.
Within a very short time my pictures were backed up and safely stored on my new Picture Keeper. The whole process was super fast. In fact, Picture Keeper lied, lol. You see that time of 3:22 on my 3rd screen shot? It didn’t take that long. It only took about 90 seconds to back up my 476 pictures. As you can see, even after 476 pictures saved, I still have 84% free space remaining on my Picture Keeper! Amazing!
I love this reminder service that pops up at the end of the backup process. You may not find this service too handy, but I do. For someone like me who “puts off” backing up my pictures, this is a great idea.
2 Key Things I Love About My Picture Keeper:
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This device keeps track of all pictures you have already saved to your Picture Keeper. This means that your Picture Keeper won’t use up valuable space by saving the same pictures again, next time you save your photos to the device. My laptop isn’t even that smart. The last time I went to save photos from my camera to my laptop, it automatically uploaded all 410 pictures again, instead of just uploading the 10 new photos. I still haven’t deleted the duplicates yet. You can see from my screen prints that Picture Keeper avoided copying the duplicates!
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Picture Keeper comes with a FREE downloadable Mobile App for you iPhone, iPad, or Android phone that you can download right from the iTunes App Store or Google Play. This allows you to backup photos wirelessly from your phone to your computer. This is a terrific feature. Currently, if I wish to save pictures from my phone to my laptop, I have to email them to myself and download them to my computer from my email account.
By the way, according to this post, a Picture Keeper is actually worth 1,367 words!
I will be enjoying my PIcture Keeper for a long time to come. Now you can enjoy having your own Picture Keeper too! The great folks at Picture Keeper have generously offered up a PK 4 Picture Keeper (holds up to 4,000 pictures!) for one lucky Canadian Blog House reader! Here’s how you can enter to WIN:
Disclosure: “Picture Keeper has agreed to giveaway the PK4 device. I was not paid in cash for this posting. I was sent a product for review and all opinions are my own.”
Piroska says
I have 3 huge external hard drives in which I store photos and other stuff. I also burn my photos periodically onto DVDs.
Sandy says
Oh good for you, Piroska! That is awesome! Sounds like you are well covered. That’s something I need to start doing also..putting my pics on DVDs! Thanks for entering!
Amy Heffernan says
No i have never backed them up! Always afraid i will loose them like i did before.
Sandy says
So you’ve experienced losing pictures too, Amy? Yes, you need to get yours backed up asap so it doesn’t happen again 🙁 Thanks for entering!
charityk says
i dont back up my pics and i should these are our memories…..thats my big fail
Sandy says
You sure need a Picture Keeper, charityk! Those precious memories could be gone in the blink of an eye. Like I said…I’ve had 2 computers die all of a sudden. Pictures cannot always be recovered from a hard drive if your computer dies. Even if they can, it could be very expensive to do so. Thanks for entering!
andie says
additional cds and usbs
Sandy says
Glad to hear you are already doing some backing up, andie! Thanks for entering!
cruiser says
I back up my photos to my external hard drive, when I remember, just like you. Have various flash drives with photos too. I’ve been lucky with no losses of photos. Cross my fingers.
Sandy says
Yes, fingers crossed it never happens to you, Cruiser. Sounds like you do a good job of keeping them backed up on other sources. Thanks for entering!
tanyab79 says
No I don’t currently back up my photos but should….and not failure either.
Sandy says
Yes, tanyab79, you really should be! I urge you to. Thanks for entering!
Karen Thaeter says
no I haven’t and I didn’t even know that this could happen!
Sandy says
Oh it can, and it can happen suddenly, without warning, Karen. You need to backup your photos/videos to make sure you always have a copy. Thanks for entering!
Pam Dafoe says
Great prize…I could use this. I try my best to save pictures, but like most of you, I am bad at doing it. LOL, pictures of myself I do not want to save!
Sandy says
Hi Pam!! Sounds like many of us are in the same boat. LOL…I’m never worried about pictures of me getting lost. Most of them I hate anyways 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Harry C says
I should really think about backing up like 30000 pics i took over 10 years
Sandy says
Omg Harry….I would definitely start backing those up! You’d hate to lose that many pictures 🙁 Thanks for entering!
Shirley Nicolson says
I keep my pictures on a USB incase something goes wrong
Sandy says
Good idea, Shirley! Thanks for entering 🙂
Jo B says
I need to back up my pictures more often. I am always going to do it tomorrow. I use dvds to put my pictures on. No failures yet.
Sandy says
That’s my problem, Jo….”I’ll do it tomorrow”. Thanks for entering!
Annette C. says
I try to remember to backup my pics, but it is always the one photo that you need that you always forget to backup … sigh.
Sandy says
So true, Annette!! Thanks for entering 🙂
Jennifer says
Yes, I do. I keep backups of important photographs on multiple hard drives (using a docking port to easily switch between), a couple flash drives, DVD-RWs, an online storage cloud, and of course I always keep some in print form in my fireproof safe.
Sandy says
Wow, Jennifer! That’s impressive! Sounds like a Picture Keeper would be a great addition to your collection of backup options 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Suzanne G says
No I do not backup my pictures and over the years I have lost pictures when my laptop died and could not be brought back from its untimely demise.
Sandy says
Oh boy, Suzanne! Time to back them up before that happens to you again. That sucks 🙁 Thanks for entering!
Paul says
Pictures are backed up to an external HD which is stored in a fireproof safe.
Sandy says
You are a smart man, Paul! Good for you 🙂 Thanks for entering!
B Ha says
Just dropbox
Sandy says
Good option, B Ha! I have that too, but now I love the Picture Keeper because it’s “mine”. Thanks for entering!
Megan Willis says
IN folders on my computer. But I would love a USB or Picture Keeper
Sandy says
Yes, you really need to back them up somewhere other than just on your computer, Megan. Thanks for entering!
Rachel Cartwright says
I keep my photos backed up on an external HD! Have never had a PHOTO storage fail, although have lost other documents before… =(
Sandy says
Sorry to hear you have lost other documents, Rachel 🙁 You can store videos and docs on the Picture Keeper too. Thanks for entering!
@sweetkeet says
Would love to win this!!
Sandy says
It’s a great device, sweetkeet 🙂 Have you had any photo fails? What do you use to backup photos? Anything?
Julie G says
I have burnt some of my photos onto DVDs but have thousands of pictures that I should back up.
Sandy says
Good stuff, Julie….but you really need to backup all the others asap! Thanks for entering 🙂
Patrick Siu says
i put everything on my external SSD drive
Sandy says
Excellent, Patrick. You sound well prepared for any problem. Thanks for entering!
Lily says
Currently, I use cloud storage services like Dropbox.
Sandy says
Good option, Lily 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Angela Mitchell says
Right now we keep the original memory card full and back up onto the computer. But we have too many memory cards now and I’m worried about them getting lost because they are so small.
Sandy says
I worry about that sort of thing too, Angela. You almost need a “dedicated” container to hold them all in. Thanks for entering!
caryn s says
we back up with an external hard drive but my husband isn’t sure how to get the pictures off of it 🙁
Sandy says
It should be as simple as plugging the external drive into your computer, opening up the drive, and dragging the files back onto your computer (or coping and pasting them). Thanks for entering, Caryn!
Mary L says
Currently I don’t back up my pictures and I keep meaning to do that and just never get around to it. I must do this soon!
Sandy says
Oh Mary…don’t put it off any longer. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to your pics 🙁 Thanks for entering!
vanessa wrzesien says
I backup my pictures with dropbox
Sandy says
Good option, Vanessa! Thanks for entering 🙂
browncow says
I have been meaning to backup all my pictures…this would really make it simpler for sure!
browncow says
never tried to download but don’t want a “storage fail” either
Sandy says
The Picture Keeper backup process is so easy…anyone can do it! They provide good instructions in the Picture Keeper box too. Thanks for entering, browncow!
Tricia Cooper says
No, I don’t currently backup my pictures! So far I’ve been lucky — no “photo storage fail”!
Sandy says
I hope you never have that happen, Tricia! It’s not nice 🙁 Thanks for entering!
Sharlene says
I back up my photos every few months. I am terrified of losing photos in between back ups, but it’s so inconvenient. This product sounds so amazing.
Sandy says
Glad you feel the same way, Sharlene! I just find the Picture Keeper so much easier than anything else I have used 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Henry C. says
I do not have anything to backup my photos. This products sounds perfect for me !
Sandy says
Oh Henry! You are definitely in need of a Picture Keeper! Thanks for entering 🙂
Veronica S. says
We have them on CDs but were just talking about getting an external hard drive just to back up our pictures. This is perfect!
Sandy says
You’ve definitely taken some good steps to keep your photos safe, Veronica. Thanks for entering!
Debbie F says
I do not have anything to back up my photos.
Sandy says
Oh Debbie 🙁 I urge you to get something to back up your photos before it’s too late! Thanks for entering!
Alex Petzoldt says
I backup my photos to my personal dropbox account.
Sandy says
Dropbox is a good option too, Alex 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Victoria Ess says
I currently keep them on various hard drives and have not yet had a “fail”.
Sandy says
Sounds like you are doing the right thing, Victoria! Glad you haven’t had any fails 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Edmund S says
I do a manual, monthly backup to an external hard drive. I also backup my photos onto Picasa web, although the photos are shrunk to a smaller resolution. Sadly, I did suffer a loss of photos when my hard drive crashed a few years ago. That is when I started the practice of backing up my photos.
Sandy says
Sorry to hear you had the same thing happen, Edmund 🙁 You sure sound like you are now taking some good steps to avoid that from happening again. Thanks for entering!
Bryan C says
I back up with an external HD. Started after an internal one failed and lost pictures!
Sandy says
Sounds like you have had issues like me, Bryan 🙁 Thanks for entering!
Kandace K says
I do try to backup my pictures currently on an external hard drive. No major fails yet.
Sandy says
Good for you Kandace! Glad to hear you haven’t had any fails yet 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Lynda Cook says
I don’t back my pictures up and I know I should if something ever happened I would be so upset, so I think I really need a picture keeper
Sandy says
It’s scary to see how many of us don’t back up pictures in any way, Lynda. Like the others, I urge you to do that asap 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Betty S says
We use a large external drive. but it is stored in the house, so fire is always a concern.
Sandy says
You raise a good point, Betty! A fire would wipe out all pics/external hard drive. Probably a good idea to back up another set and put that with a relative. Thanks for entering!
Debbie Bashford says
I have not backed them up and really should do this
Sandy says
Hi Debbie! Yes, I urge you to back them up asap! You don’t want to lose them. Thanks for entering!
jay says
i need a picture keeper too
Sandy says
By the sound of things, many of us do, Jay 🙂 Thanks for entering!
Carolle Hall says
Everything is on my computer ..
Sandy says
Oh dear, Carolle, you really need to back up your photos somehow 🙁 I urge you to so that you don’t lose them like I did. Thanks for entering!
Vesper Meikle says
At the moment all my photos are saved as attachments to emails in a dedicated email account
Sandy says
I have some saved like that too, Vesper. I always thought that was a safe way to do it…until I read (just yesterday) about someone’s email account that got hacked and they lost total access to it. If that happened you would lose your pictures. Thanks for entering!
Cassie Fancy says
I back up my photos on cd’s now
Yes I had my computer crash and lots 4 years worth of pictures 🙁 Learned my lesson the hard way
Sandy says
Oh Cassie! That is heartbreaking 🙁 I felt bad when I lost a couple of months of photos..but 4 years. Sad. Glad you use CDs now! Thanks for entering!
Donna L. says
I sometimes back up photos on an external hard drive. Haven’t lost any photos so far, thank goodness!
Sandy says
Glad to hear you do some backing up, Donna 🙂 Probably should do it more often (as I have found out). Thanks for entering!
Frank C says
I don’t back up – I need this !
Sandy says
Yikes Frank! You sure do need this! Don’t risk losing your photos! Thanks for entering 🙂
Mark says
i have a external HD but have not been backing up!
Sandy says
Oh geez 🙁 Better get working on that, Mark, before it’s too late! Thanks for entering!
Andreas Korfmann says
Yes, I have my photos backed up on DropBox & on external HD’s, but I’ve had photo fails… I cheaped out on a memory card one time and it ended up falling apart while I was taking it out of the camera… I never made that mistake again.
Sandy says
Wow, Andreas! I never would have thought of that happening 🙁 Good advice..don’t cheap out on things like that. Thanks for entering!
Shoreh S says
I have 2 external hard drives to back up my laptop and store photos, videos, etc.
Sandy says
You sound well prepared and organized, Shoreh! Thanks for entering!
Heidi C. says
I wish I was as good as everyone else! I don’t back up photos but clearly, I should!
Jennifer L. says
No, I don’t back them up. I lost a lot of photos when my old computer crashed. I really wish I had backed them up.
darci says
I do now, I keep them on a sd card that has scads of memory, I lost a few years worth of my kids photos about 5 years ago when my computer got a virus and I have no backups and hadn’t printed them….all digital…I was devastated.
Christina Murray says
i use an external harddrive
Jody D says
No, I don’t back them up. I should
Diane S says
I have thousands to back up, so please pick me.
Leigh-Ann Murphy says
No backup, been crossing my fingers. Haven’t had a catastrophe yet!
Gary Lin says
My wife has Portable HD and so do I so we backed up two copies.
Won Kim says
Yes I use external harddrive
Meekyung says
I use a portable drive
Harry Chahal says
sweet
Sarah at Journeys of The Zoo says
I am so excited to have the opportunity to review this product and offer a giveaway too. I love that it remembers what is already saved. Saves time and means no chance of forgetting any. Thanks for sharing!
Besos, Sarah
Robert Wise says
I back them up on a pen drive & on a DVD.
ann says
I just store my pics on a usb stick. I don’t have a backup right now but need to get one
Wen Li says
Dropbox!!
Cheryl Grandy says
I get my husband to back them up for me occasionally but not often enough (I’ve lost some). With a picture keeper, I’d learn to do it myself so I never lose any pictures.
tennille says
not recently! Hubby puts them onto a stick and I keep them also on my photo cards
Tricia Hope says
I got caught once and never again.I back up weekly on an sd card
Diana Powell says
Keep meaning to back up , but never have
shauna wyspianski says
I dont have mine backed up, i should because im so scared of my computer just giving up!
sueboobadoo says
I have a all my photos backed up on another drive but panic that one day it will crash and i’ll lose them
Andrea Amy says
i currently keep them on the computer, but other than that no I don’t. I once got a computer virus that wiped my computer clean and I lost all my pictures including newborn ones of my son #4. Thankfully I had put a lot of them up on facebook so they weren’t totally lost, but still…
kathy downey says
i currently keep them on the computer and 2 or 3 times a year i burn them to dvd
Robyn L says
I don’t have pics backed up yet.
Eric Reardon (@KnowNothingMan) says
I store them on multiple hard drive as I rake about 10,000 photos a year. Yes had one hardrive fail but glad everything was backed up.
Sarah says
I currently dont have a backup. You would think I would have after having lost so many pictures in the past.
Michelle Armstrong says
I have pictures on an old computer I can’t turn on, a laptop that the cord is broke, CDs, USBs, old cell phones. If I win this my dreams of having organized pictures would be a reality. Also expecting another child. All my kids baby books last week were ruined cause of a leaky pipe in the basement. Have to redo my girls books now and need my pictures organized. I didn’t know a few years ago that a camera card had to be formatted and my card froze. $50 to get my pictures put on a cd.
lori b says
i currently do not have mine backed up
Ariel Chiu says
Just store on my computer or phone without any back-up… probably should though!
Sandy says
CONGRATULATIONS TO LYNDA N. FOR WINNING THE PICTURE KEEPER!! ENJOY YOUR PRIZE, LYNDA!!
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR ENTERING!!
MANY THANKS TO THE GREAT FOLKS AT PICTURE KEEPER FOR SPONSORING THIS GIVEAWAY!!