Online Digital Photo Sharing

Online photo sharing services has cropped up all over the Internet due to the flourishing of the digital photography industry. Although initially online photo sharing services were part of digital photo printing services, there are now numerous options which are not directly connected to digital photo printing.

Online photo sharing services facilitate the publishing of digital photos on the Internet that can then be easily shared with friends and family. Budding photographers also use these services to showcase their work to a wide audience. Some online photo sharing services also provide complete digital photo organization tools to manage users' images and videos.

The latest development in online photo sharing involve integration with mobile devices such as camera phones and even WiFi-capable cameras. Some of these services also come with dedicated desktop applications that facilitate the uploading and sharing of digital photographs. Some of the more popular online photo sharing services are described below.

Google Picasa

Google's Picasa is a free service with 1 GB space for uploading most digital photo formats including RAW as well as videos. The standalone Picasa software allow desktop digital photo management as well as seamless uploading to the web albums. Picasa also allows uploading directly to most of the digital photo printing services available. It also has integrated tools for photoblogging and a very clean, fast interface. It is available free from Google.

Flickr

Flickr online photo sharing is owned by Yahoo and is also a free service that allows up to 100 MB digital photo uploads per month. You also have the option to pay for a Pro account that has unlimited uploads and larger file sizes. Flickr features innovative tools to organize and share digital photos and also videos. Digital photos can be uploaded through a browser or the standalone Uploadr application as well as Mac's iPhoto and Aperture softwares. Flickr also allows direct blogging tools to simplify posting photos to a variety of blog services. Flickr seems to be the choice for professional photographers as well as advanced enthusiasts. Flickr is available free at Flickr.

Photobucket

Photobucket online photo sharing is one of the most popular services available. The free service provides 1 GB space, with an optional Pro service that comes with 5 GB storage space. Photobucket also allows sharing of video files and its digital photo hosting services is used by many popular social networking sites. Photobucket claims to have over 5 billion digital photos uploaded to their service. Photobucket allows easy uploading through browsers and has tools to create slideshows and home videos. This service is available at Photobucket.

Kodak Gallery

Kodak Easy Gallery online photo sharing is part of Kodak's online digital photo printing service. This online photo sharing service has basic digital photo management tools as well as integrated photo printing tools. The Kodak Easy Gallery is free but requires at least one digital photo printing order per year to maintain the account. This service is available at Kodak Easy Gallery.