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This page offers advice on finding how to choose a photo sharing site for newbies that's right for your needs.
- You've got a great digital camera and you've used it to take lots of fantastic photos. Now you want to show them to your friends and family. Instead of sending out a massive email with photo attachments, why not share them online? There are lots of easy-to-use photo sharing sites that let you invite people to a specific website to see your photos. Read on to find the perfect service for you and start sharing!
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Select a Photo Sharing Website
Want to share your photos? (Photo by Jesse Miksic)- There are many different online photo sharing services. Each service has its own strengths and weaknesses, though, so pay attention as you choose so you can find the right one for your needs. Think about questions like:
- Do you mind paying an annual fee, or would you rather use a free service?
- How much storage space do you require?
- Do you need to upload photos directly from your cell phone?
- Do you want to be able to import photos directly into your blog?
- Do you want family and friends to be able to print their own copies of your photos?
- Do you want to be able to order merchandise (calendars, mugs, T-shirts, etc.) featuring your photos?
- Do you want your photos available for public viewing, or would you prefer more privacy?
- Also check with your friends and family about which service(s) they use. Using the same service makes sharing photos easier, particularly on sites with a strong social networking component, like Flickr.
- Read on to learn about the pluses and minuses of a few popular photo-sharing sites.
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- Pros:
- Family-oriented
- Family calendar where you can note important events
- Easy to import photos and places them in an interactive family-tree navigation
- Can upload photos by email or from a camera phone
- Can order photo prints and other items
- Integrates Skype; you can call family members from profile pages
- Mapping option lets you show where photos taken
- Cons:
- Annual fee of $49.95, though this covers your entire family
- Not for computer neophytes, users comfortable with social networks and services will benefit more from the site
- Ideal User:
- Tech-savvy families with photos they want to share across generations
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Offers free accounts
- Strong online community with 75% of its photos available for public viewing
- Offers user groups where people share photos of mutual interest
- Has desktop tool that lets you upload photos directly to the site
- Security controls so users can specify who can view photos
- Viewers are not required to register for accounts to view photos
- Makes posting photos in blogs easy
- Easy to upload many photos at once
- Can "tag" photos with words and phrases that describe them
- Lets you organize photos by sets; you can group all your London vacation photos together
- Can organize photos via mobile phone with Yahoo! Go Flickr
- Cons:
- Only 100MB of photo uploads allowed per month for free accounts (upgrade for $24.95 per year gives you unlimited uploads and storage)
- No online editing tools
- Confusing process to order prints of photos
- Ideal User:
- Computer-literate users who want to participate in an online community and who understand concepts like "tagging" photos
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Easy to use and offers free accounts
- Security controls that let users specify who can view photos
- Visitors are not required to register for accounts to see photos
- Desktop uploading application for Apple and PC platforms; can also upload photos directly from iPhoto
- Offers users public photo sharing options
- Easy to create slideshows
- Simple process to get code for embedding photo or slideshow in a blog
- Mapping function lets you show where photos taken
- Can access your albums via cell phone with Google Mobile
- Cons:
- Only 1GB of free storage (which holds over 2,000 high resolution photos), though you can upgrade to 6GB for $20 per year
- Printing services not well-integrated into site
- Ideal User:
- Tech-savvy users who will appreciate storage options and uploading applications
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Easy photo printing
- 4x6" prints cost 15 cents each
- Can pick up photos at CVS pharmacies
- Offers helpful photo-editing tools
- Can get photos on merchandise like calendars and greeting cards
- Can upload photos directly from your cell phone
- Can view photos from any cell phone with Internet access
- Cons:
- Ideal User:
- People who value ease and quality of photo printing (and pick-up options) who do not want to share photos with the general public
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Offers free accounts
- Most popular photo-sharing site
- Users can create slideshows
- Accomodates videos and Flash animations as well as photos
- Helps you embed photos on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook
- Can upload photos from your cell phone with your photo album email address
- Easy to order photo prints and merchandise
- 4x6" prints cost 15 cents each
- Cons:
- Cannot upload photos larger than 1024x768 pixels
- Slideshows limited to 10 photos for free accounts
- Offers only 1GB of free storage (which holds 2,000 high resolution photos); option to upgrade to 5GB for $25 per year (or $3 per month)
- Ideal User:
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Free service with unlimited storage
- Has editing tools for you to re-touch and crop photos
- Easy to order prints (and pick-up option at your local Target store)
- 4x6" prints cost 19 cents each
- Can get your photos on merchandise and greeting cards
- Only people you invite can view your photos
- Cons:
- Cannot upload photos from your cell phone
- Can only view 12 photo thumbnails at a time
- Only people you invite can view your photos
- Ideal User:
- People who value a free site with easy printing options who don't mind having to invite people to view photos
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Easy to use slideshows
- Must invite people before they can see your photos
- Online editing tools
- Easy to order photo prints and merchandise
- 4x6" prints cost 12 cents each
- Unlimited storage if you order at least one item a year
- Can send in photos directly from your cell phone
- Cons:
- People must create Snapfish accounts before they can view photos
- Users must order at least one item per year to maintain free account
- Ideal User:
- Users who want to order prints and other items at least once a year who will appreciate the easy-to-navigate site
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Offers free accounts
- Site makes it easy to share photos via e-mail and blogs
- Can create slideshows
- Can upload photos from your phone into your web albums
- 4x6" prints cost 15 cents each
- Cons:
- Ad-heavy
- Free storage capped at 1,000 photos for new members, although it increases by 100 each month (can upgrade account for $25 per year, which gives you 5,000 photos, increasing by 500 for each month of membership)
- Ideal User:
- User who appreciates ease of sharing photos and creating slideshows, and who does not mind restrictions on free storage
- Pros:
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- Pros:
- Offers free accounts, with no uploading limit
- Strong online community and social networking
- "Marketplace" where photos can be sold commercially, with the majority of money going to the photographer
- Cons:
- Limited to uploading through Zooomr's website
- Site in beta release, with resulting bugs and technical difficulties
- Ideal User:
- Serious photographer who will appreciate possibility of selling stock photos through Zooomr
- Pros:
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Create Your Account
- Once you've picked out the perfect service for your needs, you're just a few steps away from sharing your photos.
Now you can show the world your pics! (Photo by Kelsey Johnson)- Organize your photos so they're easy to upload. You may want to save them in a file on your desktop or in another easily accessible location.
- Go to the photo sharing website and sign up for an account.
- If you're using a site with public viewing, choose a username you're comfortable making public.
- If you're using a site with public viewing options, choose a level of sharing you're comfortable with. You don't need to open your photos to public viewing if you don't want to!
- If you chose a site that has fees, make sure to have your credit card or PayPal information handy.
- Upload your photos to your new account.
- PictureSync lets you upload photos in batches, if you have a lot to upload.
- Be cautious on public sites. You may not want to upload photos that reveal your home address, birthdate, or other private information.
- Invite people to view your photos.
- Congratulations - you've successfully shared your photos online!
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