Tusk is a Mac app that automatically backs up your project folders to multiple locations and tracks where every file lives — even when your drives aren't connected.
"How much storage do I need?" is the question that stops people from setting up a proper backup. They buy one 2TB drive, fill it in three months, and go back to guessing.
The answer depends on what you shoot, how often, and how many copies you keep. A wedding photographer shooting 3,000 RAW files per event has different math than a YouTuber recording 4K ProRes daily. This guide gives you the numbers to estimate your actual needs, not a vague "get the biggest drive you can afford."
TL;DR: Estimate your monthly data growth, multiply by how many months you keep active projects, then multiply by 3 for a 3-2-1 setup. A creator adding ~400GB of new footage a month needs roughly 4.8TB of active storage over a year, or ~14TB total across three copies.
The Simple Formula
Total backup storage = Monthly new data × Retention months × Copy count
- Monthly new data: How much you add per month (footage + project files + exports)
- Retention months: How long you keep active projects accessible (not archived to cold storage)
- Copy count: 3 for a standard 3-2-1 setup (working copy + local backup + offsite)
Example: 400GB/month × 12 months × 3 copies = 14.4TB total storage across all destinations.
Your working copy might be 4.8TB. Your two backup layers need another 9.6TB combined. They don't all need to be fast SSDs. The offsite copy can be cloud or a cheap HDD at another location.
Photo Storage: How Much per Shoot?
| Camera | RAW size per file | 500 shots | 2,000 shots | 3,000 shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24MP (Sony A7 III, Canon R6 Mark II) | ~25-30MB | 13-15GB | 50-60GB | 75-90GB |
| 45MP (Canon R5, Nikon Z8) | ~45-55MB | 23-28GB | 90-110GB | 140-165GB |
| 61MP (Sony A7R IV, Sony A7R V) | ~60-80MB | 30-40GB | 120-160GB | 180-240GB |
Add 10-20% for the Lightroom catalog, previews, and exported JPEGs/TIFFs.
A wedding photographer shooting 3,000 RAWs per event at 45MP generates roughly 150GB per wedding, plus 20GB for catalog and exports. That's ~170GB per event.
If you shoot 25 weddings per year: 170GB × 25 = 4.25TB of new data annually.
Video Storage: How Much per Shoot Day?
| Format | Data rate | 1 hour | 4 hours | 8 hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p H.264 (mirrorless) | ~25-50 Mbps | 11-22GB | 45-90GB | 90-180GB |
| 4K H.264/H.265 | ~100-200 Mbps | 45-90GB | 180-360GB | 360-720GB |
| 4K ProRes 422 LT | ~410 Mbps | 185GB | 740GB | 1.5TB |
| 4K ProRes 422 HQ | ~884 Mbps | 398GB | 1.6TB | 3.2TB |
| 6K BRAW (BMPCC, 3:1–5:1) | ~290-490 Mbps | 130-220GB | 520-880GB | 1-1.75TB |
ProRes figures are Apple's target data rates for 4K UHD at 30fps (Apple ProRes white paper); 50fps and 60fps roughly double them. BRAW is constant-bitrate and varies with the compression ratio you pick. These are camera-original sizes. Add project files (Premiere, DaVinci Resolve), proxies, and exports. A reasonable multiplier is 1.3-1.5x camera originals for the full project folder.
A freelance videographer shooting 2 days per week at 4K H.265 (150Mbps average):
- Per day: ~270GB
- Per month (8 shoot days): ~2.2TB
- Per year: ~26TB of new footage
That's a heavy volume. Most independent creators shoot less and use more compressed codecs. But if you're on ProRes, the numbers jump fast.
Project Files vs Footage
Footage is the bulk. Project files are small but critical.
| File type | Typical size |
|---|---|
| Premiere Pro project (.prproj) | 1-50MB (grows with timeline complexity) |
| DaVinci Resolve project | 10-200MB |
| Lightroom catalog | 500MB-5GB (grows over years) |
| Final Cut Pro library | 1-20GB |
| Exported deliverable (4K H.264, 10 min) | 1-3GB |
Back up project files alongside footage. A 50MB Premiere project file is tiny compared to 200GB of RAW, but losing it means rebuilding the entire edit.
How Many Copies Do You Need?
The 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite.
| Setup | Copies | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum viable | 2 | Working SSD + backup HDD |
| Standard | 3 | Working SSD + backup HDD + cloud |
| Paranoid (recommended for paid work) | 3+ | Working SSD + backup HDD + cloud + cold archive HDD at another location |
Two copies is the floor. One copy is not a backup.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Part-time wedding photographer
- 15 weddings/year, 2,500 RAWs each at 30MB = ~1.1TB/year
- Retain active work for 12 months, archive older years to cold HDD
- Active storage needed: ~1.1TB working + 1.1TB backup + 1.1TB offsite = 3.3TB total
- Buy: 2TB SSD (working) + 2TB SSD (backup) + cloud (Backblaze at $99/year)
Example 2: Full-time YouTube creator (4K H.265)
- 3 shoot days/week, 3 hours/day at 150Mbps = ~200GB/day
- ~2.4TB/month, retain 6 months of active projects
- Active storage: 2.4TB × 6 = 14.4TB working
- Total with 3 copies: ~43TB
- Buy: 4TB SSD (working) + 8TB HDD (backup) + 16TB HDD (archive) + Backblaze Personal
Example 3: Freelance filmmaker (ProRes, 2 shoot days/month)
- 2 days/month, 6 hours/day at 4K ProRes 422 LT (~185GB/hr) = ~2.2TB/month
- Retain 3 months active = ~6.7TB working
- Total with 3 copies: ~20TB
- Buy: 4TB SSDs for active work + 16-20TB HDDs for archive + B2 cloud for project files
When to Archive vs Delete
Not everything needs to stay on fast storage forever. A project delivered 18 months ago can move from your working SSD to a cold archive HDD. The cheapest storage per GB guide shows that desktop HDDs cost a fraction of SSDs per terabyte.
Rule of thumb: if you haven't opened a project in 6 months, move it to archive. Keep the backup copies. You still need 3 copies total, but the archive copies can live on slow, cheap drives.
Storage Cost Estimate (2026)
| Media | Cost per TB | 10TB cost |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop HDD (archive) | ~$15-20/TB | ~$150-200 |
| Portable SSD | ~$70-100/TB | ~$700-1,000 |
| Backblaze B2 (cloud) | $6/TB/month | $60/month |
| Backblaze Personal | $99/year unlimited | $99/year (one Mac) |
| Wasabi (cloud) | ~$7/TB/month | ~$70/month |
For most creatives, the cheapest setup is: fast SSD for working + desktop HDD for local backup + Backblaze Personal or B2 for offsite.
The best external drives guide has specific product picks.
Don't Forget Growth
Whatever you calculate today, add 30-50% headroom. Your next camera might shoot larger files. You'll take on bigger clients. Storage needs only go up.
And label your drives. When you have 14TB across four drives, "Untitled" and "Backup 2" will not help you find the 2024 wedding.
FAQ
A part-time photographer shooting 15-20 events per year at 2,000-3,000 RAWs each needs roughly 1-2TB of new data annually. With a 3-2-1 setup (3 copies), that's 3-6TB total across working and backup drives. A full-time wedding photographer at 30+ events per year can hit 5-8TB annually, or 15-24TB across three copies. Add 30-50% headroom for growth. A 2TB portable SSD plus a 4-8TB desktop HDD covers most part-time photographers.
It depends heavily on the codec. 4K H.264/H.265 at typical bitrates (100-200 Mbps) produces 45-90GB per hour. Apple's published target data rates put 4K (UHD, 30fps) ProRes 422 LT at about 410 Mbps, or roughly 185GB per hour, and ProRes 422 HQ at about 884 Mbps, or roughly 400GB per hour. Shooting at 50fps or 60fps roughly doubles those. Check your camera's actual bitrate in the recording settings menu, multiply by your shoot hours, then add 30-50% for project files, proxies, and exports.
For a part-time photographer or light video creator, 2TB can cover a year of work as a single working drive. It's not enough for a complete 3-2-1 setup if you shoot video regularly. A single 4K shoot day can generate 200-500GB. TwoTB fills fast. Use 2TB SSDs for daily offloads and pair them with larger HDDs (8-16TB) for archive. The formula: monthly new data × retention months × 3 copies = total storage needed.
At minimum, two drives beyond your working copy: one local backup and one offsite (cloud or a drive at another location). In practice, most creatives end up with 3-5 drives: a fast SSD for daily work, a second SSD or HDD for local backup, a large HDD for archive, and cloud storage for offsite. Label each drive. If you can't say which drive holds a specific project without plugging them all in, you need better tracking.
Keep at least 3 copies of everything, but not all copies need to be on fast storage. Projects older than 6-12 months can move to cold archive on desktop HDDs. You still need the 3 copies, but the archive copies can be slow, cheap drives stored locally and offsite. Delete only when you're certain all 3 copies are verified and you genuinely don't need the project. Client contracts sometimes require retention for 1-3 years.