Top 10 Cloud Storage for Photos
As a keen photographer with plenty of photographs to store, backup and share, a good cloud storage solution with a focus on providing plenty of storage space, useful gallery features, auto camera uploads and great photo sharing functionality (amongst many other features) is rapidly becoming a must have tool!
In this Top 10 guide I will be looking at 10 of the best cloud storage solutions with specific provisions for the storing and sharing of photographs which are available as of today. This is with done with reference to the reviews performed right here on BestBackupReviews.com in order to help make the process of choosing a cloud storage service for working with photographs as simple and straightforward as possible!
Remember, whenever assessing any kind of cloud storage, always look past the initial free plans and features and see what the upgrade path looks like. If at some point in the future you do find yourself needing to upgrade your account, then be aware of any costs involved in doing so as well as the additional features which might also come with such an upgrade!
This page provides a quick look at my top 10 favourite cloud services for storing photographs! If you are looking for more a more in-depth guide to choosing cloud storage in general, then please be sure to check out my full and detailed guide to choosing the best free cloud storage!
Tips for Finding the Best Cloud Storage for Photos
Before starting to list my top 10 favourite cloud storage solutions for storing, backing-up and sharing photographs (which is just below if you want to jump straight there), here are a few quick tips and things to look out for when choosing such cloud storage for yourself.
1) Built-in Gallery Views
One of the most important features for anyone storing their photos in the cloud will be a web-based gallery viewing tool! Such a gallery tool makes browsing through any photos stored upon the cloud both quick and easy and, thanks to the use of the cloud storage, means even if you don’t have access to the original versions of photos on your current device or memory card then they can still easily be seen and shared via such a gallery view.
2) Photo Sharing Features
Most cloud storage services now come with at least some form of file sharing functionality built-in. The extent of this sharing functionality does, however, vary between different providers as to how detailed the sharing tools are and which advanced sharing features such as password protection and auto expiring links might be available at some providers but not others.
Another useful feature when it comes to sharing photos via the cloud comes from providers which offer a web-based gallery view for any shared photo or folder links, a feature which makes sharing photos with others a much easier and more pleasant experience overall!
3) Auto Camera Uploads
With many modern smartphones featuring amazing camera technology of recent years, you might find yourself doing a lot of your photography on a smartphone device instead of a more traditional camera. Being this the case, there are a growing number of cloud storage providers now offering smartphone apps which will, amongst other features, offer to automatically upload any photos taken on your device to your cloud storage for you!
This automatic photo upload capability can often be a real benefit as it removes any manual processing work which is usually involved with photography and the storing of photographs and will leave you with photos which are ready to share and safely stored on the cloud just moments after taking them!
4) Built-in Editing Tools
Some cloud storage providers are now going as far as offering image editing capabilities which are built directly into their cloud-based storage offering!
Whilst these cloud-based photo editing solutions in many cases might not quite yet be a replacement for a full desktop-based photo editing suite, they are often great for allowing any quick photo fixes to be easily applied whilst on the go using nothing but a smartphone device.
5) Multiple Device Synchronisation
It is not uncommon for creative professionals to work across multiple devices these days! Even as a keen amateur photographer, it is highly likely you will have at least 2 devices in regular use and being able to keep all of your photos in synchronisation and available across these devices can be of great benefit.
Many cloud storage providers now offer some kind of “desktop” application software, such software usually provides a special “Sync Folder” function which will work in the background and keep any files and folders within this folder synchronised across multiple devices which are connected to the cloud account (and will automatically update any changes made on any one device to all other connected devices).
6) Low-Cost Cloud Storage
This is not a feature per se, but having access to a generous allocation of reasonably priced cloud storage is very helpful for anyone storing photographs and will make the process of managing your photos in the cloud much easier (versus constantly having to move and delete photos to stay within a small cloud storage quota).
With the above in mind, choosing a cloud storage plan with a good allocation of storage and reasonably priced upgrade plans is vital (and is something which should be considered form the very beginning to help avoid wasted time switching between cloud provides later on).
FAQs
Generally speaking, storing photos upon a reliable and reputable cloud storage provider is a very safe option! Not only do cloud providers deliver an additional layer of backup protection for your photos (versus storing them only on a local device), but by storing them away from you home or office will also provide an additional layer of protection against localised dangers including fire, floods and theft!
In order to provide the maximum levels of protection to any photos stored in the cloud, be sure to seek out cloud storage providers which offer always on, zero-knowledge encryption of all files which are sent to and stored upon their cloud storage service!
Many leading cloud storage services are now providing some very generous free account offerings! These free offerings, often affording up to 20GB or more of free cloud storage, are ideal for anyone wanting to store their photos online without having to pay a subscription fee or for the testing of a service before committing to a premium subscription later on down the line!
In order to ensure maximum levels of safety for any photos stored upon the cloud, always be sure to choose providers which employ strong zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption on all files automatically as they are uploaded. Whilst some providers will have various other security features to help protect cloud accounts and the data stored within them, services featuring zero-knowledge AES 256-bit encryption (or stronger) are often considered some of the most secure platforms with user data theoretically still protected even if the cloud service itself is compromised!
When wanting to share numerous photos, one of the best methods is to seek out a cloud storage provider which allows for sharing an entire folder full of photos as opposed to having to share individual files one-by-one. One of my favourite cloud providers, pCloud, allows both individual file sharing as well as providing options to set-up special sharing folders thus allowing for a large number of photos to be shared at once with ease!
My Top 10 Best Cloud Storage for Photos
Below is a top 10 list of my favourite cloud storage services for storing photos as are tested and reviewed right here on BestBackupReviews.com.
Remember, any ratings given below are only intended as a guide and that the service with the highest rating might not necessarily be the best for your own personal needs. With this in mind, please refer to my detailed reviews of each entry for more information on the cloud service itself and how it might fit with your own individual photo storage requirements.
- Built-in gallery tools
- Secure photo sharing
- AES 256-bit security
- Lifetime pricing plans
- Google Photos
- iOS & Android apps
- Secure photo sharing
- 2TB @ $9.99 / month
- Photo galery view
- End-to-end encryption
- Secure photo sharing
- 2TB @ €9.99 / month
- Photo library view
- End-to-end encryption
- Secure photo sharing
- 2TB @ $8.99 / month
- Photo gallery view
- Secure photo sharing
- iOS & Android apps
- 5TB @ $79.50 / year
- Photo gallery features
- Easy photo sharing
- unlimited storage
- From €99 / year
- Gallery view
- Auto camera upload
- Secure photo sharing
- 2TB @ $9.99 / month
- Gallery view
- iOS & Android apps
- Secure encryption
- 150GB @ $1.99 / month
- Gallery view
- End-to-end encryption
- Secure photo sharing
- 1TB @ $6 / month
- Gallery view
- Auto camera upload
- Social media transfer
- 100GB @ €2 / month
This page provides a quick look at my top 10 favourite cloud services for storing photographs! If you are looking for more a more in-depth guide to choosing cloud storage in general, then please be sure to check out my full and detailed guide to choosing the best free cloud storage!