You�ve taken lots of pictures and transferred them to your computer....
Now you want to share some of them with friends...
Here are a few suggestions on how to do that!

(Assume you have transferred digital photos from your camera to computer.)

Before starting to edit or share, I�d strongly suggest the following:

Print Contact Sheets
Most photo-editing software has provision for printing contact sheets.
But Windows has built-in software for doing quite an adequate job.

DEMO 1 � printing a contact sheet (Windows XP / My Pictures / . . .) Have thumbnails of your pictures visible on screen, notice the PICTURE TASKS menu on the left of the screen. Left-click on �Print Pictures� and follow instructions leading to �Contact Sheet Prints�. Up to 35 thumbnails per sheet of 8.5x11 paper can print with this wizard. From an existing CD � if �Print Pictures� option doesn�t appear in PICTURE TASK menu. Select all picture files on CD (Ctrl-A).� Right-click on any photo, select �open with� and click on �WINDOWS PICTURE AND FAX VIEWER�.� Click on printer icon and proceed as above. Suggested reference: http://www.logicaltips.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=426 The website that this suggestion comes from is:�http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/communities/photo.mspx Mac users � Google on �Macintosh printing contact sheet�.

Burn CDs�- of all your original pics, BEFORE doing any editing.� Then burn another CD, after editing - of just the pics worth keeping/sharing. If you don�t have specific CD burning software, here�s a link to how to do it with software built-in to Windows.

NOW,�LET�S SHARE SOME�PHOTOS
e-mailing just a few photos��Digital picture files are often quite large. If e-mailed without resizing first, they can take a long time to upload and/or download - especially using dial-up connections.

This photo of a snow-covered statue in my backyard was edited in PhotoShop Elements to be 4x6 inches @ 300dpi.
The file is 2.42 megabits (MB) in size.
Such a large size it�s not very practical to e-mail.

Here are two methods to make picture files smaller for e-mailing.

METHOD ONE � Using a feature built-in to Windows XP. �Practical for single photos or perhaps two or three, but not many more.
1.        Select the photo files on your screen, and right-click on them .
          On the drop-down menu, move (don�t click) the cursor on top of�Send To�.
2.       A drop-down menu will appear. In that menu left-click on �Mail Recipient�.
          This little window shows up.
          Click OK to accept the default option.
          Clicking OK automatically starts your e-mail program (wait � it may take several seconds), with the smaller photo file already created, and set up as an attachment.
          In the case of this �Snow Girl� photo, originally a 2.42 MB file, it automatically becomes an attachment of just 52.4 kilobytes (KB).
          That is just 2% the original size! And, the screen is ready to be addressed to a recipient; and for a message to be typed.

METHOD TWO - Work within any photo-editing program such as PhotoShop Elements (PSE)

Use editing program to resize the photo. Set the photo�s resolution to 150 dpi.�Resize it�s largest dimension to 3.5 inches (800 to 1000 pixels) wide. �Save the adjusted photo with a new name.
Now, open your e-mail program and attach the adjusted photo.� This resolution and size uploads/downloads reasonably fast, even over dial-up connections.
Pictures that are between 800 and 1000 pixels wide fit nicely on most monitors.
If you know your recipient has a larger, higher resolution monitor (and broadband service) then widths up to 1800 pixels and resolutions of 200 dpi work out fine.
Some people recommend resolutions of 72 dpi for computer screen viewing. But to my mind such images are too fuzzy to enjoy looking at.
Give both of these methods a try by e-mailing a photo to yourself.

Also, Google �resizing photos�. There are several free programs available to resize picture files.

One I�d recommend is �Image Resizer�at�http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloadss/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Sharing Photos On-line

Using the Internet means to upload all the photos you want to share to a website.� Then, send your friends a regular e-mail (no attachments) with the URL (website link) given in the e-mail.� When your friends click on the URL link in your e-mail, their own Internet program immediately goes to that website and they can see all your photos there.

A decent review of the growing photo-sharing industry is available on �Wikipedia�.� Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_sharing

Here is a link to one review / comparison of photo sharing sites: http://photo-sharing-services-review.toptenreviews.com/

Another good source of information (2005) is cnet.com.�http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6451_7-6245099-1.html�This link separates out sites for �snapshot photographers� from those for �enthusiasts and pros�, and gives each company a numerical ranking.

A lot of good information on photo sharing is published on-line by Microsoft.� Take some time browsing here. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/communities/photo.mspx

A very popular site to share photos is called�Flickr�http://www.flickr.com/

The site I�m registered with is http://www.pbase.com
http://www.pbase.com/charlie_wisc/galleries
Let�s take a brief tour.

Google search on �genealogy photo sharing�: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=genealogy+photo+sharing&spell=1

http://genealogy.about.com/od/photos/a/share.htm

Google on �Genealogy Software Reviews�: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Genealogy+Software+Reviews