One of the chief advantages of using a digital camera is that you can eliminate the need to keep track of endless prints and negative sheets. All you have to do is to store your photos in a digital format and save all that hassle.

Now, there are various options for digital photo storage, so let's look at some of them in this article.

Memory cards
Memory cards are used to store your photos are you shoot them. They are inserted into your digital camera, and will have a set capacity (for example, 256 MB). If you tend to shoot pictures at low resolution (say 1 or 2 megapixels), then can consider storing your photos on the memory card until space runs out. However, I'd recommend that you only use memory cards for temporary storage. After take a batch of photos, you should immediately shift the images over to your computer and store them on your hard drive.

Hard drives
A hard drive is where you'd transfer your images to after you shoot them on the camera's memory card. This is where most people store the bulk of their images. While it is a good option, you have to take care not to lose your images due to hard drive crashes or becomes virus infections. By all means, store gigabytes of photos on the hard drive if you want, but also back up all images regularly. Using CD and DVDs is a good backup option as you'll see below.

Printing Photos
Printing your photos is another way of storage. However, if you destroy your original softcopy images, you'll no longer have them available for subsequent editing and manipulation. The only way to get them into a softcopy format is to scan the photo print - but this will result in an image of lower quality. I'd recommend that you only use photo printing as easy way to see what the images look like.

CDs and DVDs
A CD is an excellent way of storing images. You will, however, need a good CD writer to use this method. If you do have one, simply keep a running backup of all your images. When you burn a new CD of images, try to write down the dates and descriptions of the photos on the CD. Or better yet, make an index print of images on each CD and write the CD name on top of the print. Another idea is to use a good cataloging software like Adobe Photoshop Album. The DVD is even better, as it can probably store all your images on one disc. If you have a DVD burner, buy a rewritable DVD and just keep adding your image files (preferably organized in folders) to the DVD.

Online Storage
Online storage of digital photos is another option to consider. It's a great way to share images with friends and family, and avoids the need to e-mail large image files. Check out my guide on sharing photos to see a list of recommended online photo sharing websites.

Conclusion
Having learnt the different ways to store photos, there are a couple of important things you should note. However you store your images, be sure to file them so they are easy to organize and find. You can read my guide on organizing your photo collection to find out more.