How To Create Cinematic Looking Photographs
Over the past few years, there has been a real shift towards photographers wanting their images to look more cinematic. It’s not necessarily something you will see in commercial photography but on social media, there are countless accounts dedicated to the cinematic aesthetic, and they are incredibly popular! So how do you make your images look cinematic? I took an evening stroll to see what I could create.
Over the past few years, there has been a real shift towards photographers wanting their images to look more cinematic. It’s not necessarily something you will see in commercial photography but on social media, there are countless accounts dedicated to the cinematic aesthetic, and they are incredibly popular! So how do you make your images look cinematic? I took an evening stroll to see what I could create.
It’s important to understand that this look isn’t for everyone and it will not make a bad photograph look better, it’s very much just a matter of taste. The good news is that the look is very desirable and even better, it can make very mundane scenes seem, well like a still from a gritty Hollywood movie, what’s not to like!
At this point, I’m sure many photographers will be rolling their eyes and thinking ‘it’s all been done before’ and I’ve certainly been guilty of wishing an early demise of the ‘Social Media’ fad of basically, trying to make images look like something they are not! However, maybe it’s my old age or my general love for any type of photography, but I’ve actually come around to quite like the cinematic look. So with my camera, a warm coat and a healthy dose of optimism - I set out around the dark streets of Birmingham to get some film-like photographs.
In all honesty, I’ve received compliments on my photos in the past, ‘Looks like something from a film’! Which is always nice to hear, but I really wanted to be more intentional and delve even deeper into the cinematic feel. I knew that there are certain elements that give an image a more ‘film scene’ feel. As I roamed the streets, looking for the perfect subject matter, those elements were running around my mind!
🌅 Getting the right Colour Grade
It is impossible to talk about cinematic feeling images without speaking about the most predominant element that gives an image a cinematic feel, the colour grade. Many photographers, both amateur and professional alike, will be very aware of the importance of colour and the potential that editing software can give us to manipulate those colours. Before anyone attacks me, yes black and white photography is by its nature, the absence of colour - but even black and white can look very cinematic!
However, we will be focussing on colour photography here and referring to the art of adjusting those colours as colour grading. The term itself can be applied to still or moving images, but more commonly used in the world of cinematography. Grading simply means the ‘feel’ that is given to a video or image in post production by using certain colours to elicit certain emotions. OK, so that’s a lot to wrap our heads around, let’s be a bit more specific.
Basic colour theory can tell us how certain colours may affect our emotions and perceptions of a scene. For instance, it’s pretty common to depict a warm scene using oranges and yellows, to imply heat and a cold scene - you guessed it, blues. Colours such as red can imply danger and greens can be calming and relaxing. We can also use multiple colours together to add interest to a scene, splashes of red in a blue scene will draw the viewer's interest to that point. The same red accents may be lost in an orange scene or lose impact.
The art of grading is, in its most simple essence, the choice the creator makes to convey the overall feeling of the narrative for that image or video. But why is grading our images so popular these days? Surely we want to create a true representation of the scene in front of us? Well, my very unscientific take on this is ‘blame social media’. Many of us can list our inspirations not just in the photography world, but that of the world of cinema and social media is awash with people claiming inspiration from the likes of Wes Anderson, Roger Deakins and countless other directors and cinematographers.
Possibly the most enduring ‘grade’ of modern times is the Teal & Orange look - no prizes for guessing the primary colour scheme there and a quick Google search will show thousands of examples of it! This particular look creates depth and can draw the viewer's attention to important aspects of a scene. However, it’s important to remember that just because this is the most popular, doesn’t make it the only scheme we can use and neither does it imply that we need to use such extreme grades, as with everything, less is often more.
So we have established the importance of colour and its impactfulness of setting a mood for our image. But there is more to creating a cinematic feel than simply ramping up certain colours and hoping for the best! Next we will look at choosing the right subject matter in the first place and making the seemingly mundane, well, look magnificent!
🎥 Choosing Cinematic Feeling Subjects
As I continue my walk around Birmingham, I find my eyes are constantly drawn to construction yards, car parks, street lights and any pools of light in the otherwise dreary night. This is where personal taste and opinion play a huge part in choosing the right subject (and where my particular love of the Sci-Fi and moodier feeling films comes into play!) but the mix of metal, flood lights and concrete give me very ‘Blade Runner’ like feels! It’s a stretch, but I did say I was venturing out with a healthy dose of optimism!
Finding scenes that feel cinematic is no easy feat. For a start, one person’s cinematic scene is, well, another’s ‘picture of a crane in rainy Birmingham on a cold, wet Tuesday night’. If cinema has taught us anything, it’s that almost any scene can look cinematic, it is all in the vision of the person creating it. I’m certainly not adverse to photographing on warm sunny days, but I do find I lean towards darker, moodier settings on a regular basis so choosing what time of day and in what weather conditions, is equally as important.
Unless we are heading out with the intent to create one single image, we usually will have a series of images in mind. This can again have an impact on choosing what and where we shoot. Thinking in even broader terms, we will normally be trying to add images to a portfolio and will want to keep a consistent look and feel across those images, this again will influence the kind of subject that we choose to shoot on a regular basis.
🚦 Seeing the light
As I loop around the dark streets and start to head home, I find I’m drawn even more towards the dark corners, single points of light and the soft puddles of illumination glowing on the wet streets. This is no accident, with cinematic feeling images, it’s often what we choose to leave in the shadows that help create mystery and can give the viewer a slightly uneasy feeling of what might be lurking there.
After years of shooting with film cameras and having a particular love of Cinestill 800T (a derivative of a film stock used in motion pictures) I’ve learnt to seek out artificial lighting and to try to replicate the subtle glow or halation created by such film stocks. This certainly was my intent as I walked around, crown to the lamppost and lights from buildings like a crazed photography moth!
Light is the most fundamental part of any photograph but using light to create a cinematic feel is often about the subtraction of that light. I’ll have a friendly bet with you that if you Google the word ‘cinematic’ the kinds of images you find will lean towards the darker, rather than bright sunny days. Again, it’s not to say that bright and light can’t be cinematic, that’s simply not true. But there is definitely a skew towards the notion of a cinematic image having a darker, moodier overall feel.
📸 Bringing the elements together
As I get home, make myself a drink and sit down to edit the images, I feel engrossed in how all of the elements actually come together to create a look, feel and emotion. I frantically move sliders in Lightroom, a little here, a lot there and slowly concoct my interpretation of something I feel has a cinematic feel. Though it won’t be to everyone's taste, for a brief stroll around the streets of the second city, I feel quite happy with the overall impact of the images.
The choice of subject matter, the light and most importantly, the colour grade all come together to give the images a certain feel. Now I am not saying they are anything special, they’re no ‘In the Mood for Love’ - Wong Kar-Wai’s masterpiece! But they have very distinct stylisation that helps the viewer imagine that they could be a still from a film, and I think that is the goal here.
Yes, there are certain aspects that don’t fit so simply into a ‘cinematic’ feel - for instance, I've still stuck with my love of the 4:5 aspect ratio, where a more widescreen ratio would have helped sell the cinematic look. However, photography is all about compromises and I’m afraid I am a little too stuck in my ways!
✅ Final Thoughts
I hope you found some aspects of this useful - there are no groundbreaking techniques here and nothing that hasn’t been done a thousand times before. However, even for someone as stubborn as I am, it’s still nice just to spend an evening trying something a little different and broadening our photographic horizons!
🔴 FAQ: How to Create Cinematic-Looking Photographs (10 Common Questions + Top Tips)
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It’s rarely one magic slider. The cinematic feel usually comes from a combo of mood, light direction, depth, colour choices, and a frame that feels like a film still — not just “nice photography”.
Top tips:Think scene > subject (what’s happening, what’s about to happen, what just happened).
Prioritise directional light and controlled shadows (mystery sells the story).
Keep the frame intentional: remove the “random clutter” that screams snapshot.
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Settings help, but they’re not the whole film. If you want the classic cinematic separation, you’re usually chasing shallower depth of field and controlled highlights.
Top tips:Shoot wider apertures when it makes sense (don’t nuke the scene into blur for no reason).
Protect highlights (a slightly darker exposure often grades better for mood).
Use longer focal lengths when you want compression + subject separation.
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Cinematic lighting is often about shape: where the light falls, where it doesn’t, and what that contrast says. Contrast ratios matter more than “brightness”.
Top tips:Look for single sources (street lamps, window light, doorway spill, car headlights).
Separate subject from background by adding depth (don’t glue them to a wall).
Embrace shadows—cinematic isn’t allergic to darkness.
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Nope. It’s popular because it can create colour contrast and make subjects (especially skin tones) pop — but it’s not the only way to achieve a cinematic look.
Top tips:Pick a primary mood first (cold, warm, sickly green, sodium-vapour amber, etc.).
Keep grades subtle—a heavy hand can turn “film still” into “preset demo”.
Aim for colour separation (subject vs background), not just “more saturation”.
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Wide crops help because we associate them with cinema but it still depends on a lot of other things such as subject matter and framing.
Top tips:Try 16:9, 2:1, or 2.35:1 crops and see what fits the story.
Compose with the crop in mind (don’t just chop heads off later and call it cinema).
Use negative space deliberately — it’s powerful in widescreen frames.
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One of the keys to a cinematic look is the edit. This is where preset packs can help but look to build your own visual style with your edits. Think about the mood that you want to convey.
Top tips:Start with exposure/contrast, then move to colour (don’t colour-grade a mess).
Use curves to shape contrast more gently than the basic Contrast slider.
Use local adjustments (dodging/burning) to guide the eye like a DP would.
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If it looks like the colour is doing all the work… it’s probably doing too much work. The cinematic feel usually comes from light + composition first, then a supporting grade.
Top tips:If skin tones (or neutrals) look weird, pull it back.
Reduce clarity/texture strategically (don’t smear the whole photo).
Compare with the unedited shot: you want a film mood, not a new planet.
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Whatever helps you tell the story — but generally, lenses that give you subject separation, pleasing falloff, and control over perspective make life easier. (And no, you don’t need “cinema glass” to be cinematic.)
Top tips:For portraits/scenes: try 50–85mm for separation and compression.
For environment + story: use 24–35mm, but watch edge distortion.
Don’t forget distance: stepping back and zooming in can look more “filmic” than standing close on a wide lens.
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Film character is usually a light touch: subtle grain, gentle highlight roll-off, and a hint of glow when it suits the scene.
Top tips:Add grain last, and keep it believable (fine grain > sandstorm).
For glow/halation, target highlights only (don’t fog the whole image).
If you love night scenes, practical lights + a gentle bloom can be chef’s kiss.
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The ones that already have mood baked in: strong light sources, texture, weather, reflections, and a sense of “what’s going on here then?”
Top tips:Hunt for pools of light (street lamps, shop windows, car parks, doorways).
Wet streets, fog, steam, neon, construction yards… all ridiculously cinematic if you frame them well.
Build a mini-series: 6–12 images with a consistent mood reads more “film” than one random banger.
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One clear subject + one clear mood
Directional light and purposeful shadows
Depth (foreground / subject / background)
Colour palette that supports the story (not fights it)
Crop/composition that feels like a film still, not a happy accident
About the Author - Ross Jukes is a professional Photographer and Videographer with over a decade of experience. Working in both Digital and Analogue formats, Ross has worked with international clients, had his worked published numerous times and exhibited his work extensively. With a passion for all things photographic, Ross combines his experience, enthusiasm and dedication to his art form to create engaging and educational content for the photographic community.
Disclaimer: All links to Amazon UK/US are affiliated links - you will still pay the same price but I will receive a small commission for providing the link. All information provided in this blog is intended either for educational or entertainment purposes and is accurate to the best knowledge of the author. However, further research/professional advice should be sought before making purchases/implementing any advice given and no responsibility is taken by the author or parties mentioned here within.
REVIEW: Mamiya 645 Pro - The perfect Medium Format Film camera for beginners?
There is no doubting the allure of film photography. For a number of years it has been in a form of ascendency amongst the photography community. It still struggles to shake off the ‘Hipster’ tag but in truth, there is a lot to love about the format. However, in more modern times, many of us crave better resolution, better aesthetics to the image and just the ‘feel’ that Medium format can give you - step up, the Mamiya 645 Pro!
Once the ‘go to’ camera for working studio professionals, this beast of a camera has been refined over the years and now offers all of the mod-cons you would expect from a modern DSLR. More importantly, it allows you to capture a look & feel to your images that just can’t be replicated by it’s digital counterparts. In the video below, I describe what it’s like to shoot with and who I think it’s for, enjoy!
Why shoot Film Photography in 2020?
The Corona Virus Pandemic has undoubtedly been a terrible time for a lot of people. Personally, I have seen all of my work cancelled which has left me with a lot of free time. Rather than simply binge on box sets, I have tried to use this time productively. One of the things that I’ve wanted to do for a while now is to get back into shooting film. On a side note, I will be making a series of videos about this on my YouTube channel, so keep an eye out for them.
Why Film?
The obvious question for a lot of people, is why shoot film when you have a perfectly good digital camera? The simple answer, for me at least, is to achieve a look & feel that has eluded me for years. Looking at my images, it’s fairly clear that I always try to achieve an element of nostalgia, shooting in soft light and adding grain etc. to make the images feel older than they actually are.
That’s all well and good apart from the fact that digital images tend to be over sharp and well, are clearly digital images. This might sound counter-intuitive to a lot of photographers, ‘you don’t want sharp images?’ - in a way, no. You only have to look at any family album with 70’s, 80’s or 90’s and look at those blurry images to get an instant nostalgia fix! The brain seems to make a correlation between those images and something in our past that always seemed to feel like a ‘better time’. Now, this is obviously not factual, but something in those images makes us feel a sense of comfort - and that is something that I’m always striving to achieve.
OK, so get an old 35mm Camera…
Well, again, things are never quite that straightforward. I’ve shot enough 35mm in the past to understand it’s benefits and limitations. So straight away, I knew it wasn’t going to cut it. So I did what any ‘want-to-be’ hipster photographer would do and went straight to medium format and in particular, the Mamiya 645 Pro. Again, I will make a separate video on the perks & quirks of this particular camera but the simple benefits are that it feels modern enough that I could use it without thinking too much and more importantly, it’s a 120mm film camera - and I want that medium format goodness!
I was always sceptical over people saying that you ‘just can’t replicate the medium format look’ and I still don’t fully subscribe to it, but I do agree that the extra negative size has its own benefits over its 35mm counterpart. Most notably, I love the fall off in the out of focus areas that are very difficult to replicate on 35mm. That combined with the go-to Kodak Portra stocks, is a winning combination for me.
OK, so you just want to be a Hipster?
Well, I do have a beard and more than one check shirt. However, the truth is no. The camera, the medium and even the subject matter are all just ‘tools’ to provoke an emotion. I am not trying to get ‘Insta famous’ - far from it. I have simply found a way to translate the feelings of nostalgia that I want to achieve into an image in the most natural way.
That being said, there is obviously a bit of a trend for photographers turning to film in an attempt to show their credentials as a fully-fledged master of light! Again though, it is not about achieving any acclaim for me, it is simply to understand the process better and to take full control, from start to finish, of the images that I create. So that means I am also developing my own film and scanning my own images - again, more videos on this soon on my YouTube channel.
So no more digital then?
Far from it, I actually still carry my digital camera even when I am shooting film. I will obviously be shooting digital for client work - though I am interested in offering commissions on film, that would be fun! The whole process of shooting film is merely to help convey a metaphor in my images, in the same way, that some might choose to shoot purely black & white because it makes their images feel more ‘honest’. Digital is still absolutely a necessary tool but film simply allows me another option, depending on the subject matter.
What’s next?
I will be shooting a lot more film in the interim and will also be travelling to some of the lesser shot areas of Birmingham to find the kind of gritty, run-down scenes that I like. As previously mentioned, I am developing and scanning at home so I will be looking at simplifying and improving that process too.
Overall, shooting film in 2020 is a great new area for me to explore and allows me to keep developing my own skills. It allows me to slow down a little and work on my composition skills and also improve my ability to meter and read light. All of these will hugely benefit my commercial work and throughout the process, I will, of course, bring you with me to share my experiences and knowledge. I am really excited and glad that I can take at least one tiny positive from the crazy times that we are living in.
The Ultimate Canon EOS-R Cinema Rig
If you want to get the most from your Canon EOS-R for filmmaking, then look no further. Whether you use the EOS-R for cinematic short films, corporate work or simple talking heads, I have compiled what I believe to be the ultimate EOS-R Cinema Rig. These items will boost your cameras abilities and supercharge it to handle almost anything that is thrown at it.
Check out the video and see the links in the description below the video if you wish to purchase any of the items yourself.
10 Useful things Photographers can do during Lockdown!!!
The Corona Virus pandemic has well and truly turned our lives upside down and whilst the health and safety of friends & family is the absolute priority, it can also cause real problems for those working in creative fields. Not only is it hugely damaging to income, but it can also destroy any form of creativity and motivation. However, there are still things that we can be doing to keep ourselves active.
Here are ten things that you can be doing during Lockdown to keep your Photography passion going in the right direction!
VIDEO: MY DREAM DESK/STUDIO SETUP FOR 2020!!!
Being a Photographer & Videographer - I need a space for editing and to store my gear. I also need a space for creating my YouTube videos (don’t forget to Subscribe!) and therefore, I think I have finally created my dream desk/studio setup! Watch the video below for more ;)
5 Tips for Photographers - Making the Most of Autumn
Ask any landscape photographer what their favourite season is and there is a pretty good chance they will say ‘autumn’. There is just something about the golden colours, the low sun (if we’re lucky) and the cool crisp mornings that makes everything better, and more importantly, more photogenic! So how can you make the most of autumn? Well, I have compiled five tips that will allow you to take your photography one step further this year.
1) Make the most of ‘Golden Hour’
Let me just get the most obvious tip out of the way first. By now, I’m sure most photographers understand the sense of shooting at ‘Golden Hour’ to make the most of either sunrise or sunset. During the summer months, sunrise in particular is a bit of a nightmare, as it can mean a 4.30am start or earlier. However, the sunrise times in autumn return to far more reasonable times making it much easier to be motivated to get out and shoot. It goes without saying that the thing we all love most about this time of year is the beautiful colours of the trees, but throw in the warm glow of sunrise/sunset and it can really elevate your images.
2) Get experimental!
Autumn is a fantastic time of year to shoot but many of the images can be lost in the crowd of very ‘similar’ images. This offers photographers a great opportunity to get experimental. Composition is one area that can be great to play with, shooting low to the ground and making the most of the blanket of leaves, for instance. One area that I will be looking to experiment with is ‘off-camera flash’. Having recently used the PocketWizard flash triggers, which I normally use for my automotive work, I see lots of potential for illuminating backlit subjects using off-camera flash whilst shooting into the sun. Hopefully, this will create some really unique images and offer a lot of versatility in terms of lighting subjects.
3) Make use of planning tools…
Planning at this time of year is essential, in particular as the weather can be very hit or miss so every opportunity needs to be grasped. There are several tools that I utilise to make sure I have planned ahead before going out to shoot. The most obvious is a decent weather app. I have used Yahoo Weather for years and found it to be fairly consistent. However, I have also used apps such as AccuWeather and Dark Sky. One particularly useful tool is the Photographers Ephemeris - which allows you to see the angle of sunlight at any particular time of day - essential for understanding what will be bathed in beautiful light and what will be in shade. Finally, I use Google Maps and in particular, Street View to explore different areas, especially if they are further afield so that I have a good idea what to expect when I get there!
4) Expand your editing skills
One of the best ways to take your images to the next level is to improve your editing skills. It’s always really important to capture a scene as well as possible ‘in camera’. However, it’s about what you do with it next that is equally important. Paying attention to the warmer hue’s and the saturation can really help your image ‘pop’. I do the majority of editing in Lightroom and will often make a few final adjustments in Photoshop. With regard to autumnal images in particular, I like to bring out the orange and red tones to make the most of the autumnal feeling. I also like to adjust the tone curve to add a softness to the image, but it is always better when Mother Nature adds a bit of mist! A great place to learn new skills is YouTube and I will be uploading new videos on my own YouTube channel soon.
5) Print your work…
This may not seem like the most obvious tip at first. However, by printing your photos, you are committing to an image and ensuring that you are producing your best possible work. I never feel that an image is complete until it is printed and you can see the fruits of your labour. It also helps you pre-visualise an image and make sure you are making the most of a scene and envisaging the final image, hanging on your wall. More importantly though, it is the warm fuzzy feeling you get weeks, months or years after taking an image you are particularly proud of and you happen to glance back at it and get that satisfied feeling. Autumnal images always feel the most sentimental to me and many others and therefore, make a great option for printing and hanging.
In conclusion, whether you’re experimenting with PocketWizards, planning a trip to the countryside using the Photographers Ephemeris or simply printing a few images you are particularly proud of -autumn is a great time of year to be out shooting! Good luck!
VIDEO - Landscape Photography Wales - Fail!
I know that Landscape Photography isn't really that easy. However, on a recent trip to Wales, I found out just how frustrating things can be. In particular, when you fail to make the correct preparations!
I take a pretty 'common sense approach to all of my photography, checking weather, looking at maps and generally trying to pre-visualise shots before I go out. However, for someone completely ridiculous reason, I did none of that on this trip!
As this video shows, not only did I fail to 'scout' locations and pre-plan some shots that I think would have been worth capturing, but I completely underestimated the weather and the terrain. This was quite silly as it left both me and my girlfriend cold and frustrated with the lack of 'good' images.
Whereas the weekend itself was fun and the landscape was particularly beautiful, the lack of the real 'wow' images, left me a bit underwhelmed. Ultimately, this only came down to poor planning on my behalf and with a little bit of effort, things could have been really different.
The moral to the story? Well, it just goes to show that a little bit of preparation goes a long way. In the future, I will make sure that I have more of a plan... and more warm clothing!
VIDEO: REVIEW - FUJI X100F
I was very fortunate recently to spend a bit of time with the Fuji X100F. It’s a small camera that packs a big punch and you can read about it HERE - but if video is more your thing, then grab a cup of tea, sit back and watch the video below to see my full thoughts on the camera!
You can find more info about the camera at - Fuji X100F
If you are interested in purchasing, please find an affiliated link below. This will not cost you anything extra but I will receive a tiny percentage which will help me continue to make these reviews, thank you.
CASE STUDY: My Experiences of the QNAP TS-435B NAS
As you will have seen in my recent blog posts, I have focussed quite heavily on storage, the importance of protecting your data and Network Attached Storage (NAS). Having used a NAS system for over six months now, I feel in a good position to share my findings on whether it has helped me, any pitfalls I have found and if I would change anything about my setup.
Is NAS right for you?
The first thing to address is that not every storage solution is right for every photographer and there is definitely an element of choosing 'what fits for you'. I still continue to use small, portable hard drives when I travel but knowing that the vast majority of editing would be done at home, meant that I could afford to choose a solution that did not need to be portable. furthermore, I knew that the volume of storage I would need would be huge, in the Terabytes! Which automatically meant that Cloud Storage would be a bit of an issue. So rather quickly, I knew that I was looking at a 'home' based solution.
Secondly, I knew that I would be using multiple computers as (for my sins) I use both Mac and PC to edit on. So I need a system that was both flexible and could be used across a network. Naturally, NAS kept coming up as an option, so I decided to explore it a little deeper. Everyones needs will be slightly different, so doing your research is essential. however, NAS is such a versatile tool, as we will see, that it can really be adapted for most peoples needs.
Choosing the right NAS system
There really are hundreds of options out there and like cameras, they range from the very basic to the extremely complicated and the costs span a similar range, form quite affordable to very, very expensive! Due to the wide range of choice, I would set a realistic budget before even looking at requirements and try to stick to it! The second, important factor to consider is that you will (in most cases) also need to populate the NAS with hard disks, so don't forget to budget for the disks as well!
As with everything in photography, the costs soon add up so being budget conscious is essential. Once you have an idea of what you can spend, look at what your most 'essential' requirements are and go from there. Many NAS systems offer a plethora of additional services, such as the ability to be used as a virtual PC, a media centre, as 'cloud storage' - but these can be costly additions in some circumstances. Whereas if you know that your main concern is large storage that offers redundancy, you should be able to tick that box fairly simply. Once again, research is essential before taking the plunge!
How much Storage do I need?
This is a very definitely a 'how long is a piece of string' kind of question! Everybody's needs will be different but i applied some simple maths whilst working out what I would need. I looked at what I had shot over the past few years and noticed that with an increase in client work, my storage needs were growing roughly 20% a year. I was also shooting more video, which is very 'space hungry' and new that I aimed to grow this by around 20% a year as well. Then, I simply totted up what I was already using and added the required additional storage for the next three years, taking into account the expected rate of growth.
This gave me a figure of around 10 Terabytes, so with a degree of 'flexibility' built in, I knew that 12 Terabytes of storage should be sufficient. A couple of things to consider here are how much do you expect your requirements to grow (it will more than likely be different to mine!) and how many years do you want to protect yourself for? I know that every couple of years, I tend to upgrade my storage anyway, so building in three years of protection should see me right! Finally, you need to consider what RAID set up you are going for? No idea what RAID is? Read on...
Choosing the right RAID set up...
Now, this is where the fun really begins! At first, RAID, which stands for 'Redundant Array of Independent Disks' sounds like something straight out of a Sci-Fy film, and in a way, it is! It's a brilliant piece of technology but one that can seem quite daunting at first. In essence, choosing the right RAID is just a case of marrying your desired level of 'protection' with your budget. Why the emphasis on 'protection' - because there is a common misconception that RAID is 'Backup' and very simply, it's not. RAID offers certain protections against mechanical failure, so if you have a hard disk fail - the other disks in the RAID array will either be mirroring that data or can re-build it. What it does not protect against is 'human error' so you deleting a crucial file - as the disks sync, it will be deleted in all locations so that file is gone! Worst still, if all of your data is in one place, such as at home, if you a flooded or robbed etc. Say goodbye to your data!
Obviously, this does not mean that RAID is pointless, far from it. It just means that you have to consider your 'whole' data handling plan. Back to the RAID options, there are many different setups but the most common three that you will come across are:
RAID '0' - Disk stripping splits data across multiple disks to improve performance. Files are 'split' so that data transfer speeds are improved. There is no redundancy so if any data is lost, it is not recoverable using conventional methods.
RAID '1' - Disk mirroring - Two disks are used and they are read & written too simultaneously, meaning that if you have a disk failure, you (should) still have one 'good' disk. This means you can simpy install a new disk and copy all of the data across. However, this is very 'storage' heavy, as you are duplicating data and does not offer the same performance increases of RAID '0'.
RAID '5' - Stripping with parity - A very good choice as it common uses three or more disks and takes the stripping performance of RAID '0' and adds the Parity (small pieces of usable information that can recover large pieces of lost information) so you have the redundancy of RAID '1' as data can be used from the good disks to rebuild the bad disk. The obvious disadvantage is having to buy at least one additional disk.
RAID '6' - Very similar to RAID '5' but with additional disks for increased performance and parity. This means that it is possible for two disks to fail and still offer redundancy to rebuild lost data.
There are alternative options and once again, it is advisable to do some research before choosing what works best for you. I personally chose RAID '1' as my main concern is disk failure. However, as we will look at later, this is not considered a 'backup' and requires you to do some further steps to fully protect your data.
Setting up a NAS for the first time!
You've chosen what you want, you've hit the 'buy now' button and a few days later, the Postie drops off your shiny new toy to your house, what now? Well setting up a NAS can seem like a very daunting process, but in actual fact, it is quite simple, or at least, my experience was. I would be using the QNAP TS-453B and Seagate Ironwolf drives. Installation was simple and the whole setup process was both quicker and simplerthan I had imagined, you can see it here:
Using a NAS over time
So now to the juicy stuff, how have I actually found using a NAS? Well, in short, very good! I have been very fortunate not being in a position where I have had a disk fail and I put this down, in some part, to the quality of the Seagate Irownolf drives, they really are beasts! However, knowing that I have an additional layer of protection against drive failure really does offer a great piece of mind.
I had to alter my workflow slightly, as previously I had been moving data onto external hard drives and praying that they did not fail! The NAS takes away some of that concern, but as previously stated, it can not be classed as fully 'backed-up' until the data is in at least three places, including 'off-site'. So this has meant that I need to religiously save my most important data to an offsite location such as DropBox, Google Drive or an external drive kept somewhere else - and I still haven't quite cracked this one! As always, 'life' gets in the way and before you know it, you've gone a couple of months without making sure your data is protected against fire, theft, flooding etc.
However, all this aside, as a professional photographer & videographer, I really don't know how I ever lived without a NAS before. The features on the QNAP TS-435B are immense, the fact that you can create multiple accounts for different users, use it as 'cloud storage' for when you are away from home, use share links for accessing data for clients etc. Furthermore, it has Photo Station which makes storing images incredibly simple - show how versatile the system can be and this is before you even touch on the media centre features and the host of other capabilities that NAS's can offer.
Using the QNAP has proven to be a piece of cake. Once the initial setup was completed, managing my data became second nature. I only really use it as a mass storage option, even though it has many other features. Using it like a data vault means that I can move files from my Mac & PC to the NAS where the QNAP quickly & quietly takes care of the dirty work of duplicating the data across the two disks. Accessing files is quick and simple and there are a host of ways of doing so, whether you are at home, in the office or travelling. my most common approach is to use the intuitive files structure to access my 'archived' files, should someone order a print etc.
Final Thoughts
In short, I would class a good NAS setup and a well thought out data workflow as essential as the camera and lenses you use. Our responsibility as photographers does not end with capturing and editing the image. Whether you are a professional or an amateur, being able to protect your data and being able to understand where it is, how it is protected and how it will be stored for years to come is essential. The QNAP really is a 'do it all' kind of tool and when teamed up with high-quality disks such as the Ironwolf NAS rated disks, it allows me the piece-of-mind to be able to concentrate on the important stuff of planning shoots and delivering to clients, rather than worrying about the next drive disaster and what I would do if I lost it all!
For more information on the specifics products, please visit:
QNAP - Click HERE
Seagate - Click HERE