Long gone are the days of worrying about over exposing or damaging your precious film, for digital cameras and the memory cards that accompany them have replaced the traditional photographer's temperamental 35mm equipment.

But all of these advances aren't exactly blunder-proof. In fact, the digital photography era has opened up a whole new can of worms when it comes to errors, some of which can easily delete your valued keepsakes before your very eyes at the click of a button or mouse.

So, are your photos gone forever? According to many experts in the field, it's not necessarily the case. Many digital cameras and computers offer a 'second' chance with a 'back' button, recycle bin, or a file for the accidentally deleted pictures to call home until they are restored.

Of course, so many other things could have gone wrong to make your pictures vanish. The memory card may have been removed from the camera while the device was still on, or maybe the camera was turned off too soon, therefore, corrupting the data.

For these reasons, image recovery software has become the latest rage within the digital photography industry. Many of these software programs have been developed by the very same companies that have created computer hard drive recovery programs, so they know how to recover.

A plethora of programs are available for your immediate use through downloads over the internet, recovering such 'misplaced' files as photo and image files, audio, PDF's and video, just to name a few. In order to get the results you are after, be sure that you have, at least, a general idea of what type of file you're trying to recover, as different software programs will yield differing results.

If these options aren't solving your problem, you may want to consider a recovery service for your long lost files. There are a number of companies that offer a mail-in type of service for you to send your camera and/or memory card in for them to analyze and retract the missing files. Of course, there are no guarantees, but the odds are definitely in your favor.

If the files in question are in your computer and you're not having any luck, a recovery technician may be able to make a house call to your ailing PC, or have a drop off service for you and your computer to utilize.

Of course, if files have been severely damaged of written over, restoring them may be impossible. For this reason, the professionals suggest that as soon as a problem occurs with your digital camera, you begin recovering your photos and backing up your files immediately. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure-especially when it comes to such memorable possessions.