The best storage options for creatives and when to use them

External SSDs

Once you’ve transferred your photos from your memory cards to your computer, they can start to take up a lot of space on your internal drive. And what if you want to transfer some photos to another device? Investing in a portable SSD is a great option for creatives who want to be able to take their work with them wherever they go. The great thing about portable SSDs is that you can easily back up and secure your files without an internet connection. Also, for creatives working outside or in remote locations, portable SSDs are a great option as they are less likely to break if dropped and some are even built to withstand extreme conditions. The Kingston XS2000 and XS1000 external SSDs are both great choices for your go-to backup solution, as they allow you to access your data anywhere and will not weigh you down as they are compact and pocket-sized. Creatives no longer need to rely on carrying bulky external hard drives with them. Instead, offload your photos onto a portable SSD and access your digital library from wherever you are.

Online storage

Online storage is another good option for creatives as it allows you to work on your files from wherever you are and across all your devices. One of the best use cases for online storage is to share larger files with clients and collaborators. There are multiple online storage services available from Google Drive to Dropbox to iCloud. But remember, online storage requires an internet connection, so for creatives out in the field make sure to have a backup of the files you need on either a portable SSD or another storage option. Also, when using cloud storage, your files and data are no longer on your physical storage, so security could be something to think about.

Internal SSDs

Although many new laptops now include internal SSDs, some may include hard drives. These can be upgraded to SSDs to get faster performance. An entry-level SSD is roughly ten times faster than a typical 7200RPM hard drive. If you want even faster performance or want to take advantage of PCIe technology, explore the full range of Kingston SATA SSDs to find the one that best meets your performance, storage and budget.

Hard drives

Traditional hard drives are a great solution for long term, non-portable storage since they are less expensive per gigabyte when compared to SSDs. They have much slower transfer speeds, so it is best to use them for tasks such as backup or archival once a project is completed. They are also heavier and more fragile when compared to SSDs, so it is best to leave them in one place like a home workstation or office. There are two styles of hard drives: directly connected drives via USB and network attached storage (NAS). With NAS drives you can share large files with others in your local network.