The how, when + where of digital photography

Digital photography provides the opportunity to incorporate the stories of your life into your life in brilliant, vivid color. It also creates creative outlets for handing down the stories that are important to you. As daunting as it can seem, a little forethought will help you navigate the path. Here are the three most important things to consider when getting started... the how, when, and where of digital photography.


The where...

Images should be stored in two places. First, when you download the images from your camera, they are transferred to your computer which is where they should stay. From there you may organize them and edit them, but you will always have them at your fingertips. The second place they should be is on a website- which website depends on how you want to use them, but having them online enables you to share the images with friends and family, create prints and gifts, and ensures that the images are safeguarded from the cup of coffee you spilled on your computer this afternoon.

There are a number of websites that will host your images for free. They generally require that you purchase at least one item per year, but will keep your images as long as you continue to do so. Here are a few of the most popular:

KodakGallery: http://www.kodakgallery.com
Picasa: http://www.picasa.com
Shutterfly: http://www.shutterfly.com
Snapfish: http://www.snapfish.com


The how...

As I mentioned, which site you choose depends on exactly how you want to use the images. You may, of course, print them at home, but you should know that most printer images will last 5-10 years (there are special printers whose prints have significantly longer shelf lives, but they also have somewhat higher price tags), whereas professionally printed images will last approximately 100 years or more. Each of the popular sites provide a variety of photo gifts including cards, coasters, aprons and playing cards, so the most important thing is to choose a site you trust.

The when...

One of the problems I see frequently is how often to download images to the computer- and then upload them to the Web. The best seems to be downloading at least once a month and, then, uploading to the web (Note: Name your web folders with the same name as your computer folders-- that way the original is easy to locate). While this means you won't see the images of your holiday party the next day, it also means that you'll be able to find the images two years later because they will be in the proper folder.

Download the images, edit them and then place them in a folder titled with the name of the month and year. From there it is easy to upload them to the web, because they are all in one place. Also, keep a special folder for the "best of" images. This makes it easy to find the shots you'll most likely want to use again and again-- in a holiday card perhaps!