Before a house move, confirm your photos have an off-site backup (cloud, or a copy stored somewhere other than the house), since photo albums, prints and hard drives can all be lost, damaged or misplaced during a move in ways a backup elsewhere can’t be.
What you need
- Your physical photo collection: albums, prints, negatives, hard drives
- Access to cloud backup or another off-site storage option
- A little time before the move itself, not during the chaos of moving day
The risk isn’t just breakage
The risk during a move isn’t just breakage — boxes go missing, get left behind, or end up in storage you lose track of. An off-site digital backup is unaffected by any of that.
How to protect photos before you move
- Digitise your most irreplaceable prints and albums first, if you haven’t already. Photograph or scan your most important physical photos before the move, so a digital copy exists independently of the physical originals’ fate during transit.
- Back up any hard drives or memory cards to the cloud, or to a drive that’s travelling with you personally. Don’t rely on a single external drive packed in with the rest of the boxes — if it’s your only backup, keep it with you rather than in the moving truck.
- Photograph the physical albums themselves as a fallback record. Even a quick phone photo of each album page is better than nothing if an album is lost or damaged in the move, and it’s fast to do.
- Pack physical photos separately and clearly labelled. Keep them in a clearly marked box you carry yourself, rather than mixed in with general boxes that might get placed in storage or handled roughly.
- Confirm your cloud backup is current before moving day. Check the most recent backup date so you know your digital safety net is actually up to date going into the move.
Check the irreplaceable ones are covered
Before moving day, you should be able to say: your prints and albums are digitised or at least photographed, your hard drives are backed up to the cloud or travelling with you, and your physical photo box is clearly labelled and going with you personally.
If you’re short on time before the move
If there’s too much to fully digitise before the move, prioritise your smallest, most irreplaceable set first (baby photos, a specific relative’s only photos) rather than trying to do everything at once.
Next step
If digitising albums and prints is new to you, see Digitise photos from an old photo album without removing them from the pages for a gentler way to do it.
Sources and date checked
General moving-preparation guidance based on common causes of photo loss during house moves; not tied to a specific product or service. Checked 22 September 2026.