Why are hard drives and SSDs essential for creatives?

If you’re a photographer or a filmmaker, the chances are you have an external hard drive or SSD to store your data and edit from. And if not, why not?! There are many reasons why you should use these storage devices in your creative workflow. But to begin with, let’s look at some stats.

According to invenioit.com, above hardware failure and natural disasters, the primary cause of data loss is human error. We’re talking some 75%, and this includes various reasons including poor security implementation and spilling coffee all over your laptop (and it dying a caffeinated digital death (along with all your files)). 

So what’s this got to do with hard drives and SSDs? After all, I could just as easily target my external hard drive with my accidental coffee payload. This article isn’t saying these will be the solution to data loss. Instead, I’m here to tell you about the benefits of using hard drives and SSDs to enhance your workflow and back up your valuable data, and discuss why a dependence on cloud services can be risky and limiting. 

The role of hard drives and SSDs in creative workflows

It seems obvious to get home from a photo or video shoot, plug your SD card into your laptop and get to work on your post-processing. I definitely used to do this. I would import my images immediately and see whether I got that specific shot. But what I’ve started doing is having my external hard drive plugged in, ready for an immediate backup of the entire shoot. This means before I even get to look through, I know that I already have a backup in case of… see previous coffee-based confession. 

There are two main reasons why using a hard drive or an SSD for your creative workflow is a good idea. These are: 

Speed and performance

Most laptop and computer SD card slots aren’t optimised for fast and efficient data transfer. You could have an expensive SD or other memory card and your computer/laptop simply won’t be able to process that data like a hard drive or SSD can.

When it comes to dealing with large files like 4K videos, high-resolution images or extensive audio tracks, speed is critical. If you’re waiting literally minutes to open up files and make edits, you are wasting your time. 

You may face the same efficiency issues if you’re trying to work on files from cloud services. Unless you have ultrafast broadband topping 1000Mbps, SSDs and hard drives are going to faster read/write speeds compared to cloud services. And even if you do have super-fast internet speeds, you still run the risk of lag.

Reliability and control

There’s no real comparison when it comes to local storage vs. cloud storage. Even if you weren’t using a hard drive and just your built-in storage, local storage gives you greater control of your data. Which in turn, reduces the risk of slowed productivity due to service outages, slow internet connection or data breaches. 

Of course, hard drives and external SSDs etc. aren’t impervious to damage, improper use and human error, all of which can cause issues and even data loss. But the point is that if used correctly, they’re more reliable than cloud services or even working from memory cards post-shoot.

You could rely on cloud services...

You could, but you shouldn’t. There are many limitations and risks of relying on cloud services to store your files.

Of course, the huge and undeniable benefits of cloud storage are space, remote access to your data and collaboration opportunities. There are scenarios when you might not be able to transfer your images or videos to a hard drive and the only option is uploading to the cloud — that’s great and kind of vital for modern creatives. In fact, the use of cloud storage is key to an effective, ironclad data storage strategy. However, there are reasons you shouldn’t solely rely on these services. 

Latency and bandwidth issues

I touched on this earlier but there’s always the potential for slow upload/download speeds, especially when dealing with large files, and this can hinder creative workflow. This one is a twofer because it applies to data backup and online editing. With the size of files these days, you’re going to need a fast and reliable internet connection to work effectively. But there will be times when you will be operating some that simply don’t have a reliable connection.

Service reliability

This flows nicely into the idea of service reliability. You are at the mercy of the services that you subscribe to. You might have a reliable internet connection but what if you’re relying on this service to send an image to a client and your chosen cloud service has an outage or shutdown? You’ll be left without access to your files. 

Data privacy and security concerns

I want to believe that I am safe from these issues but in reality, that’s just naive. There are many potential security concerns when using cloud services and we’re all at risk. Cloud storage services are often targets for hackers because of the vast amounts of data they hold. If their security is breached, your sensitive work and documents — your intellectual property (IP) — could be stolen, leaked, copied or sold, potentially resulting in financial loss.

The practical solution

The practical solution is to have a balanced use of both cloud services, hard drives and SSDs. I’d suggest using cloud services primarily for collaboration, image delivery to clients and as an off-site backup as part of your wider backup strategy. While hard drives and SSDs should be used as your primary storage (and backup) and your daily operation e.g. editing your work. 

Backup strategies

Backing up your data is so important. It might be a hassle or a faff but it’s going to be much, much worse if you lose all your data. I am happy to report that thanks to my backing-up process, “coffegate” wasn’t so much of an issue (aside from the hardware side of things…).

It is best to implement regular backups on all local drives to avoid data loss and save new work. There are various methods but I use what is known as the 3-2-1 method. This means you have three copies, two local and one off-site. There are drawbacks to this but it is suitable for my workflow. 

Conclusion

In a nutshell, cloud storage has its place but it should not be relied on. Hard drives and SSDs are and will always be vital to a creative workflow. They will help enhance your daily workflow, increasing productivity and your ability to safely back up your data. 

And you might be asking yourself; which are better? SSDs or hard drives? Well, SSDs use newer technology to store data on instantly-accessible memory chips. They are generally faster, quieter, smaller, consume less energy and are more durable. However, HDDs are cheaper and tend to offer more storage capacity. It is also easier to recover your data if the HDD is damaged.

Top pick:

While I’m not an adventure photographer, diving around with my camera and kit bag in tow, I still want something portable and durable. I need something that can withstand travel and regular use. For that, I choose LaCie and specifically this:

LaCie is a great brand and hugely reliable. This particular model has a huge 5TB capacity and works on both Windows and Mac which is ideal for me switching between the systems. It’s small, lightweight and can withstand pretty heavy use — you can drop it and step on it and it’s going to keep on going. It’s also bus-powered which means that it doesn’t require any additional power source; this is handy if you're working from your laptop. And finally, it’s fast and will allow you to transfer files or even work directly from the SSD in your editing software without issue. 

Check out our full range of memory storage options here or take a look at our best hard drive and best external hard drive buying guides:

About the Author

Leo White has been a member of the Wex Photo Video team since 2018, working in a variety of roles ranging from the contact centre to the product setup team. With both a photography BA and MA, Leo has a wealth of knowledge he's ready to share.