Organizing, Printing and Sharing

After taking pictures with your digital camera, the next step is to transfer them from the memory card to your computer. Depending on your camera, you either remove the card and place it in a card reader, or you plug your camera directly into your computer's USB or FireWire port. Some people wait until the memory card is nearly full, but it's a good idea to go ahead and copy your pictures soon after you take them. That way, you won't lose your pictures if something happens to your camera, and you can sort and share your pictures while they're still fresh on your mind. You should also back your pictures up onto CD-ROM or DVD-ROM regularly.

Many digital cameras come with software to help you manage your pictures. Often, the program will show you thumbnails, or miniature versions of your pictures, so you can quickly navigate through your collection. You can use the program to categorize your photos by date, subject matter or type. Many programs also let you make basic image corrections, like removing red eye. Or, you can use more advanced software, like Adobe Photoshop, to completely change the look of your pictures. See Digital Photography Basics for more details.

A screenshot of image sorting software
Some digital cameras come with software, such as
Kodak's EasyShare.

After transferring pictures, some people get stuck -- they wind up with a computer full of images that they're not quite sure what to do with. But there are lots of options for sharing and displaying your pictures. You can print them, upload them to an image sharing site, e-mail them or incorporate them into a Web page.

You can print pictures at home on a photo printer, or you can send them to a printing service. Both options have some pros and cons. If you buy a printer, you can print your pictures right away. Many printers are portable, so you can take them with you on vacation and print photos as you go. But the cost of the printer, ink and paper can add up -- in general, this is an expensive way to print your photos.

A digital printer
Image courtesy Amazon

Most of the time, using a professional printing service is a more economical option. You can make standard-sized prints for a few cents each and very large prints for a few dollars. Typically, you sign up for a free account, upload the photos you want to print, and place your order. Sometimes, you can take CDs of images to an in-store kiosk and place your order there.

Using a professional service is generally cheaper than buying your own printer, and your prints will probably be better quality. However, uploading the pictures can take time, since you'll want to send full-sized, high-resolution pictures. You'll also have to wait a few days for your prints to arrive.

If you're going to share your photos via e-mail, it's a good idea to re-size them before you send them. Digital cameras can create very large image files, and these files can take a long time to download. To reduce the size of your pictures, open them in your photo editing software. Make the files smaller in one of two ways:

  • Reduce the resolution, measured in dots per inch (DPI). The minimum resolution for good-quality onscreen viewing is 72 DPI.
  • Reduce the image size, measured in inches, centimeters or pixels. A 3 by 5 inch (7.6 by 12.7 centimeter) picture will travel well by e-mail but will still be big enough to see.
Save the result as a new file, and keep your original high-resolution image.

If you'd rather share your photos in an online gallery than via e-mail, you can start an account on an image-sharing site like Flickr, Fotki or Snapfish. Your camera's software may also include automatic uploading options. Many of these services are free, but some limit how many pictures you can upload per month or how much disc space you can use. CNET has a good comparison of online sharing and printing sites.

Finally, some people start taking lots of pictures after buying a digital camera -- so many that sorting them and choosing which ones to print becomes a chore. Rather than taking hundreds of pictures in the hope of getting a few good ones, it's a good idea to learn a little about color, light and composition. Here are a few good photography tutorials:

See the links on the next page for more information on digital photography and related subjects.