Before you delete a single original, here's the order I'd do it in

The scariest button in any storage tool isn't "compress." It's the delete you hit afterwards, when you decide you trust the archive enough to let the originals go.

I don't want anybody hitting that button on faith. So here's the order I'd do it in, with BatchFox or with anything else.

1. Start with one shoot that's already backed up

Don't start with your whole library. Pick one shoot that already has a backup somewhere else and run that.

2. Read the finish screen

When an archive finishes, BatchFox tells you how much space came back and how many files it handled. It also shows you the archive was checked. If anything on that screen surprises you, stop right there and send it my way. I'd much rather hear about it before you delete anything.

3. Check the archive again on disk

Archives live on drives, and drives go bad. Verify Integrity re-checks your archive the way it is on disk right now, not the way it was when it was made. Run it on the one you just made.

4. Restore a few files somewhere else and compare

Restore a handful of photos to a different folder, then fingerprint the original and the restored file with SHA-256. Windows can do this with nothing from me:

Get-FileHash "C:\Photos\DSC01234.ARW" -Algorithm SHA256

If the two strings match, it's the same file. Open a couple in your editor too. It just feels good to see them come back.

Original002C86D38A16B08A2438780728B4FDA8EFCC745FA6C26231DAD6AF67B383B11E

Restored002C86D38A16B08A2438780728B4FDA8EFCC745FA6C26231DAD6AF67B383B11EMatch

One bit changed67D9DD3D2946F2F1DBFEFDF44D1BAB2CD89A970A83417862935912328363868EDifferent

Real SHA-256 fingerprints. A Sony A7C II RAW file was archived and then restored on the Exact setting in BatchFox 1.0.3.22, and the restored file matches the original. The last row is the same 18 MB file with a single bit flipped.

5. Keep your backups

This one's important. An archive makes your library smaller. It is NOT a backup. If the drive it's on dies, the archive goes with it, same as your originals would have. Keep backing up, it just takes less space now.

6. Then free up the space

Once you've watched it work on your own files, that's when you clear the originals for that shoot. One shoot at a time until you're comfortable.

And getting your photos back is always free. Restore works on every plan, even after the beta. I'm never holding anyone's photos hostage.

BatchFox is in beta and I'm looking for photographers to run it on real shoots. Sign up at batchfox.app.

How do you decide when you trust a copy enough to delete the original?