Back Up iPhoto with the
Right Cloud Storage Service

We've been getting a lot of questions from readers asking how they can back up their Mac OS X iPhoto albums online for easy access and the ability to share with friends. Backing up your iPhoto can get tricky because many online backup and cloud storage programs view the included folders as a "package". SugarSync, our highest rated cloud storage solution, is not fully compatible with iPhoto just yet. Though you can back up your iPhoto files with the service, you will not be able to sync these files across multiple computers. If you want to back up iPhoto with SugarSync, make sure to choose the "Originals" folder when selecting your backup; this folder includes original, unmodified versions of the photos files.

On the other hand, if you want to be able to use all of the handy features of cloud storage with your iPhoto pictures, we recommend trying Spideroak. To back up, select the entire iPhoto library. This may take a while depending on how many photos you have, so be patient. Unfortunately, your iPhoto library contains unique preferences that are only applicable to your personal machine, so youwon't be able to share the individual albums because they are linked to these unique preferences. After the backup is completed, you can share your photos with Spideroak's unique "share room" system. Simply create a name and password for the share room, add the folders you would like to share, and Spideroak will create a custom link for you that you can then send to the people you'd like to share with. From there they can view the photos and even download them to their computers. To read more about Spideroak's features, check out our full review.

If you're more interested in an online backup service without all the bells and whistles of cloud storage, we recommend Carbonite for backing up your  iPhoto files and storing them securely online in case of computer emergencies. If you allow Carbonite to automatically manage your backup when you are setting up, iPhoto should automatically be backed up. If not, you must manually select it by going into your system preferences, opening Carbonite preferences, and finding the iPhoto library for backup. Click here to read our full review of Carbonite.

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