Deleted images do not “go away.” Formatting a memory card does not “erase” the images. Never sell or loan a memory card unless you’re willing to risk the potential of sharing every image, video and other file that’s ever been saved to it. The same applies to hard drives, SSDs and other recording media. Here’s why it happens, and how to protect yourself.

Sometimes the outdoor images we make don’t look as remarkable on the computer as they did through the viewfinder. In some cases that’s due to challenging light, while other times the problem is incorrect exposure or other camera settings.