New Year, Better Workflow: Why Every Photographer Needs an External SSD
Happy New Year! As we look forward to the photographic possibilities of the year ahead, there is one job that I prioritize above all others to ensure a smooth, creative year: preparing my storage.
It’s a boring but crucial job. From occasional holiday shooters to professional photographers, I’ve been helping a wide variety of photographers improve photography editing workflow. And of all the issues I’ve helped people with, storage is the most common problem.
If you are currently storing all your photos directly on your laptop or computer, you are sitting on a ticking time bomb. Eventually, your drive will fill up, your machine will slow down, and you’ll be forced to scramble for a solution.
By moving to an external and efficient workflow now, you can stop future headaches and start focusing on the more fun job of taking photos!
The Hardware: Speed and Reliability
This year, I’m sticking with what has proven reliable for me: the SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD.
While they aren't the cheapest drives on the market, I opt for the "Pro" version specifically for the faster read/write speeds. When you are transferring thousands of RAW files or editing high-resolution video, that speed difference saves you hours of staring at progress bars.
How much storage do you need?
The 4TB: I use a 4TB drive for the year. I shoot heavily in RAW and produce a lot of video.
The Average User: For most photographers, 1TB per year (or even every two years) is often plenty. The only way to find out is to just start somewhere and adjust as you progress.
The "75% Rule": To keep an SSD working at its best, try not to exceed 3/4 of its capacity. If you overfill it, performance can start to drop.
The "Rule of Three" Backup Strategy
There is an old saying in the tech world: If a file doesn't exist in three different places, it doesn't exist at all. Here is how I manage my triple-backup:
The Working Drive: My SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD.
The Physical Backup: I mirror everything onto a desktop external hard drive (like a WD Elements). These are slower but much cheaper for large-volume storage.
The Cloud/Off-site: Once an edit is finished, the final versions go to the cloud. During a big trip, I also keep my camera memory cards as a temporary "third copy" until I’m back home and the files are safely on my main drives.
How to Set Up Your New Drive
Before you start dragging files over, you need to format the drive correctly. On a Mac, you’ll use Disk Utility & Erase:
APFS: Choose this if you are only using Apple computers. It offers the best performance.
ExFAT: Choose this if you need to move the drive between a Mac and a Windows PC.
My "Honed" Folder Structure
Organisation is the key to finding a photo ten years from now. I name my drive by the year (e.g., 2026) and use the following hierarchy:
Year (2026) (SSD)
Raw Photos
Month (e.g. January)
Event/Location (e.g. Ilkley Moor - Heavy Frost)
Video
By including descriptive words like "Heavy Frost" or "Snow" in the folder name, I make it much easier for my future self to find specific shots without having to open every single file.
What’s Your Workflow?
This system has evolved over years of trial and error, and it’s what works for me as a working and obsessed photographer. But I’m always curious—how do you handle your data? Do you prefer a different folder structure or a different brand of drive?
