Share your shots

(This article has been updated to reflect current technologies and services. For the most up-to-date information on digital photo sharing, please refer to our regularly updated guide.)

Remember those holiday photos? A few prints, some low-resolution emails to family – but the rest are likely gathering digital dust on your hard drive. Don't let this happen!

Category: Tech Guide Topic: Online Photo Sharing Cost: Free to $100 Top Picks: Snapfish, Smugmug, [Alternative Service Name] Difficulty: Easy to Moderate (Editor's Rating: 4/5)

Modern photo-sharing services make it easy to share your memories instantly. Capture your daughter's birthday, and within minutes, Grandma can view a slideshow, order prints (even poster-sized archival prints!), or – for tech-savvy grandmas – download high-resolution versions for editing.

Many free services offer these features, often requiring occasional print orders or merchandise purchases to maintain account activity. Paid services (monthly or annual subscriptions) provide unlimited, permanent storage, advanced editing tools, and highly customizable albums. For sharing large, high-resolution images, peer-to-peer options bypass the web entirely, allowing authorized downloads directly from your computer.

While Ofoto was an early leader, many competitors now offer compelling alternatives. Explore our top picks below and start sharing your photos!

Two Approaches to Digital Photo Sharing:

Web-Based Services:

Today's photo sites are incredibly user-friendly. Simply create an account and upload photos, either individually or in bulk using desktop software. The key differences lie in the additional features:

• Ofoto: A solid all-around choice, but recipients can only print, not download, high-resolution images.
• Snapfish: Allows you to control download permissions (high-res or view-only) and offers various print paper types (glossy, matte, heavyweight).
• Shutterfly: Adds personalized messages to the backs of prints and provides editing software for multiple operating systems.
• Walmart: Offers a unique one-hour print option.
• PhotoWorks: Stands out with its extensive photo book options, ranging from affordable paperbacks to premium, foil-embossed books.

Free services often display ads and require occasional purchases to keep your account active. Paid services (Photosite, Smugmug, Clubphoto) offer permanent storage, larger images, customizable templates, and personalized web addresses (e.g., yoursite.smugmug.com).

Peer-to-Peer Services:

Ideal for collaborative editing (e.g., color correction of RAW or TIFF files in Photoshop), peer-to-peer services transfer photos directly between computers. Software resembling a file manager with image previews is used to share albums. Recipients with the same software receive photos directly; otherwise, they receive a download invitation.

Most offer basic album organization; some integrate with popular photo management software (PhotoPeer with iPhoto, Hello with Picasa). Pixpo automatically creates albums by scanning your computer. True peer-to-peer services (Hello, Pixpo) require your computer to remain on for downloads. Mediated services (ShareALot, OurPictures, PhotoPeer) store low-resolution copies on their servers for high-resolution retrieval.

While initially free, some services (OurPictures, Pixpo) charge for unlimited sharing. Others (Hello, ShareALot, PhotoPeer) currently remain free (with potential future changes).

Additional Sharing Options:

• Photoblogs: A more artistic approach, offering simpler presentation than dedicated sharing sites. Examples can be found at photoblogs.org, with services like fotolog.net or Blogger offering hosting.
• Flickr: Blending photoblog and sharing site features, Flickr limits free storage but allows public access to your photos. Prints are not offered.
• Digital Photo Frames: A convenient alternative for less tech-savvy recipients, digital photo frames (like Ceiva) automatically download photos from a website when connected to a phone line.
• File Storage Services: Services like Yahoo (limited free storage) or Xdrive (paid plans with larger storage capacity) can be used for sharing and backing up high-resolution images.

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