Sharing Family Photos on the Web

By Ryan Dube

Now that social networking has evolved on the Internet, there are many tools and websites available for sharing family photos on the web.

Why are People Sharing Family Photos on the Web?

Before the advent of Internet technologies that allow for easy upload and sharing of personal photos, families had to make duplicates of photographs and send them to family members through the postal service. The world of Web 2.0 has changed all of that. Thanks to technological advances on the Internet, families can make use of all of the following tools online:

Instantly e-mail digital photos to a long list of family members with the click of a button
Create personal photo albums with archives of family photos, and security that only allows access to family members
Hold family discussions about photos on family forums and chat rooms
Publish funny family photos on social networking sites for the whole world to see
Provide family with the opportunity to purchase select photos of their loved ones in a variety of sizes and prints

Help with Sharing Photos

If you are like many people who don't use the computer every day, you may be wondering how you're supposed to go about taking digital photos, transferring the photos to your computer, putting the photos on the Internet, and then sharing them with family. For many people, the prospect of connecting cables and struggling through complicated procedures to enough to scare anyone away. The truth is, the process is amazingly simple. Print this guide and take it with you, and you'll be sharing all of your family's precious moments with everyone in your family, and they'll be thanking you for it.

Get Those Photos Off of the Camera

Regardless of what brand of digital camera you've purchased, the odds are good that your camera came with a CD with software on it, and a USB cable to connect it to the computer. Transferring photos to your computer is amazingly simple. First, use the CD that came with the camera to install the camera's software. This software will help your computer automatically detect the camera and transfer photos off of it and onto your computer. Once you've installed the software and it's running, simply plug one end of the USB cable into your camera, the other into the computer, and then turn on your camera. Your computer will automatically sense the camera and provide you with the option to transfer the photos onto your computer's hard drive.

Resize the Photos

Believe it or not, you're already prepared to share the photos with your family. The first thing you'll need to do before you start emailing the photos or posting them on the web is to resize them so that they are easy to send and don't take centuries to load on the other person's computer.

Original images taken by a digital camera can range from 1.5MB up to 3MB or more. Ideally, internet quality images are 50kB to 100kB. If you know how to use photo software on your computer to resize photos, then do this before sharing them. If you don't know how, then try the following websites that will help you automatically optimize photos for Internet sharing.

Once you've resized all of your photos, you can send them in emails to your family by clicking the "attach files" option in your email program, or you can choose from the many family photo sharing websites on the Internet to share photos with friends and family.

Family Photo Sharing Websites

The following are the four best websites for sharing your digital photos with your circle of family and friends.

Hearts Apart is a very inexpensive website that offers the ability to upload lots of photos, and you can even create very cute scrapbooks to spruce up those photos. You can keep a journal/blog, send messages, and even post a calendar for family events. This is a full-feature social network specifically for families.
MyFamily is an excellent social website created for families to stay connected even when separated by distance. MyFamily offers photo and video sharing, message boards, chat rooms and an excellent administration section to manage your Family site.
SnapFish was one of the first websites that offered free photo sharing, with the unique marketing feature that allows invited friends to view your gallery and purchase from a variety of photo products, such as simple prints, CDs, pet collars, clothing, and more. You can have a free account as long as you order prints at least once a year.
Kodak has been the king of online photo sharing for many years. Like SnapFish, Kodak Gallery will allow you to have a free account if you order at least once a year. You can invite friends to view the photos and purchase photo gifts for you or for themselves.

Final Words

Once you choose which social network or website you'd like to use to share photos with your family, transferring photos from your computer to the website is typically as simple as clicking the "browse" button on the upload page and locating where you stored the photo on your hard drive. Users no longer need to understand complicated "file transfer protocol" procedures - everything today is as simple as point and click.For additional information about using the Internet to keep in touch with family, check out these 'LoveToKnow articles: