Online Photo Sharing

Digital photography is hot. Why not? Camera and storage prices have reached affordable levels. No expensive film is needed. Pictures can be quickly deleted and retaken. Even average photos can be turned into works of art with computer editing.

Once you have reached the level of creating masterpieces, or at least some darn good photos, you will surely want to share your pictures with others. Sending photo by e-mail can be cumbersome, especially for those with slow Internet connections. Of course you can create your own Web site to post your photos. Most average computer users will find that this requires a learning curve and time obligation that they might not want to commit to.

That's why so many photo album Web sites have popped up in the last few years. One of the main purposes of these photo Web sites is to let users post photos to share with friends and family. Many of these sites are free. They often make money on their photo printing services and customized photo gifts. Many sites also offer photo editing software. Some have custom gifts shops where you can get your photo on everything from coffee mugs to cookies.

The number of photo Web sites is truly amazing. The most popular sites include Kodak's Ofoto, PhotoWorks, PBase, Shutterfly, Snapfish, Sony's ImageStation, ClubPhoto, PictureTrail, ImageEvent, and Yahoo! Photos. A quick Web search will reveal many, many more.

Finding the right one

Finding the right photo Web site can be a challenge. For most users, it will be a trial-and-error experience. The good part is that it can really be fun to try different photo sites. Most, even those with subscription fees, have some sort of free trial. Many sites entice would-be subscribers with free 4 x 6" photo prints. At the time I write this, Shutterfly and PhotoWorks are each offering 15 free prints. Ofoto will give you ten free prints and ClubPhoto will produce 20 prints for free. So trying out just four photo sites will give you a total of 60 free prints.

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Things to look for

There are many things to look for in a photo Web site. You should judge a site on the value it provides for you. This will be different for each user. You will always want an attractive, intuitive user interface, an easy upload process, and an easy sharing process. If you have a lot of photos, the amount of storage space will be important. If you or your photo viewing friends plan to order prints of the photos, then cost and quality of the prints becomes important. If you don't have a photo editing program on your computer, the editing tools that the Web site offers may also be important.

Please visit AARP for more info about online photo sharing.

free photo sharing

HP's online photo service cutting prices

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s recently acquired online photo service Snapfish is cutting prices on digital photography prints by almost 45 percent, as the world's No. 1 personal computer printer maker angles for a larger share of the fast-growing but still nascent market.

HP (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , which is also the world's No. 2 PC maker after Dell Inc., is dropping prices on the popular 4-inch by 6-inch prints by 37 percent to 12 cents from 19 cents, said Ben Nelson, the head of Snapfish, which is now a unit of HP, in a telephone interview.

For customers who prepay for prints, prints will now cost 10 cents, down from 17 cents. The move comes ahead of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend and the unofficial start of summer.

HP's price cuts undercut those by other online photo service companies, such as Eastman Kodak Co.'s KodakEasyShare Gallery, which charges 25 cents per 4X6 print, Shutterfly, which charges 19 cents per 4X6 print and others.

Snapfish, which claims more than 13 million registered users, also continues to grow rapidly, Nelson said, adding that part of the reason HP is able to cut its prices is because the Snapfish unit is adding more than 500,000 registered users each month.

Nelson declined to give Snapfish's annual revenue but said the HP unit will remain profitable after the price cuts.

"We're still making money at both the 10 cent and 12 cent prices," Nelson said. "We're growing at probably a much faster rate than the other online photo printing companies."

Snapfish, like other online photo services, offers free online photo sharing, photo storage and management, free editing and software, as well as online print ordering. It also offers some 70 photo gifts such as picture-emblazoned coffee mugs, T-shirts and other items.

Palo Alto, California-based HP is also cutting prices on other print sizes. A 5X7 print now costs 39 cents to 79 cents, depending on the number of prints ordered, down from 59 cents to 95 cents; 8X10 prints were reduced to $2.99 each from $3.79; and wallet size prints are 99 cents, down from $1.79, a reduction of nearly 45 percent.

Please visit Reuters for more info about free photo sharing.

photo sharing gallery

Gallery is a web based software product that lets you manage your photos on your own website. You must have your own website with PHP support in order to install and use it. With Gallery you can easily create and maintain albums of photos via an intuitive interface. Photo management includes automatic thumbnail creation, image resizing, rotation, ordering, captioning, searching and more. Albums can have read, write and caption permissions per individual authenticated user for an additional level of privacy. Give accounts to your friends and family and let them upload and manage their own photos on your website!

VeloNews Photo Contest: A new winner and a new gallery

The latest Photo Gallery in our continuing photo contest has now been posted for your viewing pleasure.

Last Week's Winner

We've awarded a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling." to Kristi Henne for her photo of the Health Net train getting to work in "Crank it up Boys."

Thank you and congratulations Kristi. We'll be sending you a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling.

This Week's Contest

The announcement of a winner also signals the start of a New Contest, so go ahead and take a look at the Gallery from this round.

From all of the submitted photos, we will chose one winner each week, who will receive a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling."

Take a look at today's, and this week's other galleries, decide what you like and let us know what you think by dropping a note to Rosters@InsideInc.com and, depending on the number of entries, we might even have new galleries posted throughout the week

Contest Rules and answers to common questions.

• Readers are invited to submit one photo in JPG format each week to VeloNews.com via e-mail only to Rosters@InsideInc.com.
• Photos must be titled in a way that describes the content of the image and properly credits the photographer, using the following example as an acceptable format
• Photo submissions may include any topic related to cycling, with a particular emphasis on competitive cycling.
• Photos do not have to be timely, but they do need represent some aspect of cycling.
• Contestants agree to submit only photos they themselves have taken.
• Submission of plagiarized material may result in a contestant being banned from further weekly contests.
• Submission of a photo is no guarantee that it will be posted and only images posted in our weekly gallery are eligible for prizes.
• Decisions of the judges are final.
• By submitting a photo, contestants agree to grant one-time rights to VeloNews.com for the display of photos in a web gallery that may remain posted for as long as VeloNews.com deems appropriate.
• Weekly winners also agree to allow the reposting of the winning photo in at least one story regarding the contest and possible use in a year-end gallery of weekly winners.
• All other ownership rights remain the property of the photographer.

Please visit Velo News for more info about photo sharing gallery.

digital photo sharing

News-anyTime photo Launches 'Mom Friendly' Photo Sharing and Printing Site

launches the Internet's most user-friendly website for sharing and printing digital photos and custom gifts. By emphasizing ease-of-use and competitive pricing, anyTime photo is set to accomplish its mission of being the Web's best bet for managing and purchasing digital photo memories. anyTime photo offers a wide range of products from Share Books™ (online scrapbooks) to custom calendars, cards, and photo gifts like T-Shirts, mouse pads, photo coasters, and coffee mugs. Throw in an impressive array of print options and sizes (matte or glossy, wallets to 20-by-30 inch), and up to 50 MB of FREE photo storage, and Moms may never step up to a photo-processing kiosk again.

"anyTime photo was started as a place for the family to share and print digital photos," said Bryan Fleming, CEO, anyTime photo. "With more and more families getting into digital photography and not knowing what to do with the pictures, anyTime photo sees an opportunity to help Moms everywhere get great prints and custom gifts from their favorite pictures."

It's easy to upload pictures to the anyTime photo website. After that, you're just a few mouse clicks away from creating a Share Book™, complete with captions, custom scrapbook borders, images, and backgrounds. Share Books™ are free to share online, and even more fun to enjoy as hard or soft cover family mementos.

Historically, Mom has been the family photographer - she takes the photos, organizes the photos, scrapbooks, and puts the photos in albums. According to the Photo Marketing Association, a photo trade organization, women are using 57 percent of the digital cameras purchased in the past year. Moms are more technologically savvy than ever before, and anyTime photo wants to help them take full advantage of the sharing capabilities of digital photos, and making prints for family photo albums.

To celebrate its Grand Opening, anyTime photo is offering customers a 20 percent discount on any purchases made within the first 30 days of launch, a huge savings on anyTime photo's already competitive pricing. anyTime photo is inviting people to see why this site will soon be number one for digital photo sharing and printing.

About anyTime photo

anyTime photo, Inc. is a Tampa, Florida-based photo sharing and processing service whose target market is the rapidly growing base of digital camera users. By cultivating a customer experience that is user-friendly, fun, and educational, anyTime photo provides the best online value in digital photo processing. Membership benefits include free online photo sharing, free photo storage and management, and a variety of beginner-friendly photo editing tools. Customers can also order high-quality prints, photo gifts and novelty items, customized photo calendars, photo greeting cards, and Share Books™, anyTime Photo's digital scrapbook that members share online or print in hardcover or softcover.

For more information about digital photo sharing, please visit Imaging Resource.

United Online Acquires Online Digital Photo Sharing Business From Homestead Technologies

United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD), a leading provider of consumer Internet subscription services, today announced that it has acquired certain assets related to PhotoSite, the online digital photo sharing business of Homestead Technologies, Inc., for approximately $10 million in cash and has entered into a related licensing and support agreement with Homestead Technologies.

PhotoSite is a premier photo-sharing service that enables anyone - from casual to amateur to professional photographers - to quickly and easily display photos on their own personal photo website. With both free and subscription packages available, PhotoSite includes custom albums and photoblogs, full-screen slideshows, online print ordering and much more. Homestead employees currently dedicated to the PhotoSite service will join United Online and will continue to be based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"The acquisition of PhotoSite, with its compelling functionality and cutting-edge technologies, is a perfect fit with our existing portfolio of high-quality consumer Internet subscription offerings," said Mark R. Goldston, chairman, CEO and president of United Online, Inc. "Digital photography, specifically photo sharing, continues to be one of the most popular online activities, and PhotoSite has created a feature-rich service that is extremely easy to use. While PhotoSite is clearly attractive as a stand-alone offering, we also intend to integrate it into our existing services - including Classmates.com, NetZero and Juno, and our consumer Web-hosting businesses - enabling us to enhance our current offerings while reaching out to the more than 45 million registered users across our numerous services. We look forward to welcoming the talented PhotoSite staff to the United Online family."

"By joining forces with United Online, PhotoSite will be able to carry on the development of new features for existing customers, while also focusing on making photo sharing even more accessible to millions of digital camera owners whose photos are still trapped on their hard disks," said Justin Kitch, CEO of Homestead Technologies. "While PhotoSite will no longer be part of the Homestead family, I am convinced that United Online will continue our commitment to developing creative, exceptional products that delight non-technical consumers."

Please visit United Online for more info about digital photo sharing.

photo sharing community

Professional Photographers Bank on dotPhoto

dotPhoto, Inc. a leading photo-sharing and digital photography Web site, offers e-storage bank and e-commerce solution for professional photographers, leading the fast-paced charge into the rapidly growing digital photography movement. dotPhoto is also the first Web site of its kind to offer photo-sharing capabilities that integrate voice and sound technologies, as well as other state-of-the-art digital photography processing capabilities.

With unparalleled clarity and viewing options, dotPhoto makes the portfolios of many talented photographers accessible to online customers. The site also allows for both consumers and photographers to display and store an album on dotPhoto’s Web site, add sound, and market their photographs to millions of online viewers worldwide.

"We believe that dotPhoto will become a vehicle that will educate consumers as to the many benefits of digital photography and change the way they have typically used photographs to date," said Glenn Paul, President and CEO of dotPhoto. "This is certainly the wave of the future. dotPhoto can serve as an image engine for individuals, businesses and professionals, to share with family or friends with options to enter the world of e-commerce. This will also allow our Internet-based users to experience the photo development world from a new perspective, changing the role of traditional photos. The possibilities are endless."

Currently featuring the works of Derek Fell, one of the world's most widely published color photographers, dotPhoto has taken the first step in bringing its patented technology to consumers and world-renowned artists alike. With more than 60 books on travel, gardens and landscapes in print, Fell is using dotPhoto as an engine to exhibit his works electronically.

Fell’s most recent book Flower & Garden Photography (Silver Pixel Press), contains over 200 color photographs and helpful how-to's on many aspects of photography. Other recently published works include Secrets of Monet's Garden (Friedman/Fairfax) and Renoir's Garden (the Antique Collector's Garden Club).

About dotPhoto, Inc.

Launched in 1999, dotPhoto, Inc. (www.dotphoto.com) is a privately-held online photo-sharing community where members can post and edit digital photos with sound, text and voice, organize them into their own portfolio or album, and arrange for secure access by friends, family members and business associates. The Company’s patent-pending "talking pictures" technology greatly enhances the process of photo-sharing on the Internet, enabling a more realistic and human digital photography experience. For businesses, dotPhoto offers a full range of digital photography processing and storage solutions. The Company’s state-of-the-art high-speed digital processing system enables rapid file transfer, next-day processing and print output of digital images to custom print formats. Corporate customers can also utilize dotPhoto’s dynamic "talking pictures" technology to enhance their marketing and presentation efforts

For more information about photo sharing community, please visit Digital Media Online

HP To Acquire Leading Online Photo Service Snapfish

Acquisition enables HP to provide consumers with more choice for sharing, storing, printing photos; broadens HP's position in the digital photography market

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 21, 2005 HP today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Snapfish, a leading online photo service.

Snapfish's expertise in online photo services, coupled with HP's worldwide customer reach, will rapidly enhance HP's ability to capitalize on the growing market for online photo printing.

Snapfish offers high-quality photo products and services. These include free online photo sharing, photo storage and management, free editing tools and software, online print ordering, wireless imaging services for camera phone and color handset users, and more than 70 personalized photo products, such as calendars, mousepads and the like.

Snapfish also provides infrastructure services to leading retailers, internet service providers and wireless carriers, allowing them to offer these same products and services to their own consumers.

"Bringing Snapfish into HP's digital photography portfolio is a strategic move for both companies," said Larry Lesley, senior vice president, Consumer Imaging and Printing, HP. "By offering a superior online photo service through Snapfish, we will be able to offer the home photographer greater choice when deciding exactly how, when and where they share, store and print their photos."

Snapfish has more than 13 million registered members and is growing at a rate of more than 500,000 members per month due in part to high customer satisfaction - 90 percent of Snapfish's customers have recommended the service to others.

"This combination of HP's leadership in digital imaging and home printing with Snapfish's leadership in online photography will provide our customers and partners with an expanded mix of quality, value and choice that we believe no comparable business can provide," said Ben Nelson, president of Snapfish, who will lead the new division within HP. "Snapfish customers should know that, following the acquisition, the key benefits of our service and their overall digital photography experience will only get better."

Snapfish customers will enjoy the same benefits they receive today, along with added benefits from HP's digital photography portfolio, including easy access to products and information that will help enhance their digital photography experience. In addition, all of their images and personal information will remain safe and secure.

Whether a consumer wants the immediate gratification of printing photos at home or the simplicity of ordering a large batch of prints or photo merchandise online, HP and Snapfish will provide a more simple, affordable and comprehensive digital photography experience.

The acquisition, which is subject to various standard closing conditions, is expected to close in April 2005.

More info about online photo service, please visit DP Review.

Photo Sharing Considerations

After Isabel’s daughter was born, the camera was an essential object to her list of necessary items wherever she went. She ended up with over 2000 photos in just the first couple months. She found herself wondering what would be the best way to view and share these photos, which brought her to thinking about file sharing, storage, accessibility, and backup.

As a kid she had a number of shoe boxes with photos and other keepsake files in them, but the nature of digital media has completely changed the way she could share, store, and backup all of her most precious memories.

Years ago skepticism was widespread with the arrival of the digital camera. The new technology’s ability to produce a print worth any quality didn’t have people running to out to buy a digital camera. It certainly wasn’t convincing that the technology would replace traditional devices. A digital camera had to offer a resolution high enough to produce an image of any quality, the ink in the printer only covers a range of about 20 high resolution prints before it asks for more, and the price of quality photo resolution paper was hard to justify.

Now there are a number of services offering high resolution uploading capabilities, and high quality inexpensive Digital Prints . You have the option to share a high quality photo with a friend or have it printed as a keepsake for years to come.

Here is a list of things to consider when determining what photo sharing solution is right for you:

• Identify the types of photos, you would be sharing, storing, and backing up.
• Consider the level of sophistication needed for editing and publishing your photos. Will you be sharing the same photos with your family and friends as you would your potential clients or community members?
• Determine if there are other file types aside from photos you would like to share, store, and backup. Some services offer music storage and file sharing as well as photo albums for a similar price.

Will you require a great deal of print services?

More info about photo sharing, please visit File Sharing Freedom.

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How Online Photo Services Work

Get Free Photo Editing Software

With most online printing services you create a FREE account, download their free photo editing programs, browse your photo files and then upload the pictures you've selected with the click of your mouse. Transferring images can take a little while, depending on your modem speed. Broadband cable or DSL is recommended.

After you have uploaded your pictures your possibilities are endless. You can create an online photo gallery, fix your images with photo editing software, order prints of all sizes, try out various digital photo frames with your pictures, which you can order along with your prints, share your digital photos with family and friends and even turn your pictures into novelty items like mugs, mouse pads, t-shirts and more.

Upload Digital Photos

Transferring your digital image files to the online photo service website: You can transfer copies of your digital images from your computer to the online photo service. This transfer process, called uploading, is fairly simple. Most sites offer an Upload screen where you browse to your photo file then click a button to upload it.

Create Online Photo Gallery

Once you have uploaded your pictures, most sites allow you create secure digital photo albums where you can store, organize and edit your pictures and even add photo captions and frames. You can create customized photo albums and send email links to your friends and family. What a great way to share wedding photos, family reunion photos, birthday pictures, etc.!

Digital photo frames

Many sites have "digital" picture frames that you can try out with your photos with the click of your mouse. Don't like it? Try another. When you find a frame that you like, you can order the real thing along with your print.

Fix your photos with photo editing software

Most online photo services offer free photo editing progams and photo editing tools to help you take your photos from good to great. One of the most popular tools is for red-eye removal. Some services will even fix photo problems such as color and red-eye for you. Keep in mind though, that an out of focus photo will still print blurry, so don't expect miracles.

Sharing photos

Instead of bogging down your friends' email with bulky image attachments, you can email links of your digital photo albums to friends and family, who can view your online photo gallery and easily order their own prints.

Create Customized Photo Merchandise

Many sites offer creative photo options such as photo calendars, mugs, mousepads, t-shirts and other merchandise

Please visit Digital Photos 101 for more info about photo sharing.

Online Photo Sharing

Slicker photo sharing with flickr

Now that photography has moved swiftly into the digital realm, photo-sharing sites have popped up all over the Internet. With so many choices, where do you begin? Well, Ludicorp's flickr.com (yes, with the lower-case proper name) would be a good place to start.

Flickr, an online photo community, emphasizes the social aspect of photography. It's taken many features of social networking sites like Friendster, or Orkut, and applied it to photography in some pretty unique and exciting ways.

Control

One of the best aspects of flickr is the amount of control you have over your images and how you share them. Sharing is based on your social network. You have friends, family, and contacts, and you can assign who can see certain photos based on those classifications. This is if you want to limit who can see your work, otherwise you can simply post your photos as public for everyone to see.

That's not to say that you have no control over a public photo. flickr allows you to assign a Creative Commons copyright license to all of your photos. This allows you to designate what type of copyright to apply to your work. If you want to let the photo be freely shared, you can do that, but you can also limit sharing to non-profit situations, or to anyone as long as you receive credit for taking the shot. The screenshot in Figure A shows some of the copyright options.

Please visit Connected Photographer for more info about online photo sharing.