Online Photo sharing: Not your average photo album

Online Photo sharing has been taken to a whole new level – no longer an annual sleeper event at family functions with Grandma Petra flipping through the old family albums. Online photo sharing allows you to design an album, and share your pictures with family and friends around the world. But reducing twenty albums worth of pictures is no easy task, and there are many photo sharing sites online, and hopefully this article will help you decide amongst hundreds of different photo sharing sites, which one will best suit your needs.

The first thing you will need to consider is whether you want your photos to be “private”, or “public”. Private photo sharing is designed where only you and an exclusive list of your family and friends can access the album. A public or community site is exact what the title indicates; a site where just about anyone can view your pictures, a community-forum type of album. You will have no problems finding a site that offers this free service allowing you to upload as many or as few photos as you like. However, keep in mind that most of these sites do not provide this service out of the kindness of their hearts, but rather with the hope that you will purchase your photos from them at some point. Of course you are under no obligation to purchase anything, but the option is always there.

The best tip I can give you (by experience) is that if you don’t want to be opening multiple photo sharing accounts, “shop” around and look for the site that will provide you with what you are looking for. Ask yourself a few questions: does each account have a space limit or can I upload unlimited amount of photos? Are all my uploaded pictures accessible to a community site? Does the photo sharing site also allow me to purchase pictures? Is there a [monthly] fee? How much does digital printing cost? What other options does the site offer (cropping, different sizes, calendars, cards, e-postcards etc.)? If you decide to join part of a “community” album, take a look around and see what kind of pictures are up there already, are they drunken college frat parties, or touristy sightseeing, nature pictures? Lastly, be cautious, the last thing you want are personal pictures ending up circulating the internet.

Online photo sharing is like the traditional photo album taken to the tenth power. It gives you the opportunity to organize pictures, access them quickly, anytime or anywhere and allows family and friends to share in those precious moments of yours… however embarrassing those may be.

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