Online Photo Sharing - Staying Connected to Family and Friends
Your kids are growing up faster than ever. Your toddler just learned to "toddle". Or perhaps you've just attended your seniors graduation. Seems like they are doing something new every day. As a good digital camera owner you are diligently recording all these events. Besides making some prints for yourself you need to get those pictures to people across the country. You can use an online photo sharing service to get your pictures out to your family and friends and keep them up to date with what's going on in your life.
Find an Online Photo Sharing Site
When you search for online photo sharing sites you'll see there's way too many of them. Flickr, Smugmug, Ofoto, dotPhoto, Ritzpix, Shutterfly, Pbase, Google Web Albums. The list goes on and on. Each of them have certain benefits or are geared for a certain group of users.
Deciding which one to use comes down to one simple question. Do you need (want) to make prints from these images? If so, you'll want to select the correct service. Many online photo sharing sites are for just that: sharing pictures online. Be sure to research a few and compare features before choosing one.
Common Features
All of the online photo sharing sites share a fairly common feature set.
- They usually offer a free account. You may be limited to the number of photos uploaded or how long they are stored.
- Photos can be stored into different albums
- You can share the albums with others
- You can add captions or descriptions to photos and/or albums
- You can view an online slideshow of all images in an album
Making Prints
Some sites give you the capability to print your photos. Ofoto and Shutterfly will mail the prints to you, but Ritzpix, Wal-Mart and other national chains let you order online and pick up your prints at a local store. So, you can upload your pictures and email Grandma a link to them. She goes online and selects a number of them to print. The online photo service sends the order to her local store and she picks them up. How cool is that! The convenience of a digital photo print service is great.
You can also order prints or gift items online and have them shipped directly to someone else. Mouse pads, Tshirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, puzzles, or just a nice framed print can all be ordered online and shipped to your loved ones. Consider the possibilities for your next gift occasion.
Keep Your Family "In The Know"
Digital cameras and online photo sharing sites have certainly changed how we stay connected with family and friends. Instead of waiting days or weeks for photos to arrive in the mail you only have to wait a few minutes for an email. After placing an online order for local pickup most companies will have them done in an hour or two.
Try out some of the photo sharing websites mentioned in this article. Get a free account, send 5-10 photos and play around with the various features. Find one you like and enjoy this wonderful technology.
NOTE: For printing, you'll want to send good quality images. You don't really need full 6-10 MP files; half of that is fine unless you're making a big print. For online viewing, 640x480 or 800x600 is preferred. Smaller files will transmit faster and take less space in your free account.
