Sharing pictures with family used to be a chore. To take the photos, you needed a camera, often big and clunky, and a constant supply of film. And when you took your photos, you often had no idea how well they came out until you took the film to be developed, waited a few days and then picked up your prints.
But like virtually everything else, photo sharing has become far easier thanks to digital technology and the Web. Nowadays, all you need is a digital camera, a computer and Internet access, and you can share photos within moments of taking them.
Taking the pictures.
Step 1
Start shooting. Regardless of your price range and your technological know-how, there's a digital camera on the market for everyone. Even if you don't have a digital camera, most cell phones manufactured these days have them built in. Find one that suits your needs and begin snapping away.
Step 2
Upload the photos to a computer that has Internet access. Or, if you've taken the photos using a phone that has Internet connectivity, simply open a new text message addressed to your family member and add the photo. The downfalls here are that cell phone photos are generally smaller and not the best quality, and you can usually only send one photo at a time via text.
If you're using a digital camera, connect it to a USB port on the computer's backside using the cord that came with the camera. A window should appear either stating that your photos are being uploaded or asking you where on the machine you'd like to store them.
Step 3
Email the photos to your family members. Simply open your email account, log in and begin a new email. Put the addresses of your recipients in the "To:" box. Click on the "attachments" button and a window should pop up, prompting you to click on the photos you'd like to attach.
If the photos are large in size, you may want to limit each email to four or five or send them via a social sharing network, so as not to clutter your recipient's inbox with massive files.
Step 4
Share them via social networking sites. There's a plethora of them available: Facebook and MySpace are the most popular.
Facebook's photo album technology allows you to "Tag" family members in specific photos, so that the images automatically appear on that person's Facebook page.
Step 5
Register an account at a photo hosting site, such as Flickr or Photobucket. There are many more out there. If your family members don't have an account or Facebook is too involved for your tastes, simply sign up for a free account at one of these sites. From there you can start a new album and upload all of your photos. You can then email links of specific photos or entire albums to family members. Most of these sites offer the option of auto-emailing friend and family invitations to view your photos.
Things You'll Need
- Digital camera or cell phone with built-in camera
- Computer
