Five Common Photo Sharing Mistakes - and How to Avoid Them

Sharing photos with friends and family online is one of the best ways to share events in your life - no matter where you are. Within seconds of uploading a photo, your loved ones can see exactly what you are talking about when you share stories, describe a setting, or simply wish to reconnect. After all, "a picture is worth a thousand words!"

However, online photo sharing does require some knowledge of the Internet in order to be successful. Here are the five most common photo sharing mistakes that people make...and how to avoid them:

1. Know Your Connection Speed - When uploading photos to a photo sharing Web site, it is important to be aware that a dial-up Internet connection (such as a connection through a phone line) sends fewer kilobytes (kb) per second than a high-speed connection (such as a DSL or Ethernet connection).

Therefore, if you attempt to upload photos through a phone line, be sure that your photos have a relatively small size (fewer than 500 kb) and that you have plenty of patience; it could take awhile.

2. Watch Out for the Time Out - Most photo sharing Web sites automatically "time out" after a certain period of inactivity. Therefore, if you are attempting to upload photos to a photo sharing site, be sure that you already know exactly where those photos are on your computer before you begin the upload process.

Waiting too long to find just the right photos could kick you out of the photo sharing Web site and cause you to lose any photos that you had already uploaded.

3. Ask for permission - If you are uploading photos of people to your photo sharing Web site, be sure to ask for permission. While you might not mind having your photo on the Internet, your friends and family might wish to keep their faces much more private. Privacy may be especially important if you include names with the photos.

4. Save your uploads! - There is nothing worse than uploading the perfect photo album and forgetting to save it. Every photo sharing Web site has a different saving system; some Web sites automatically save images when they are uploaded, whereas other Web sites require the user to actually save an entire album before it is published. Be sure to read the procedure for your favorite photo sharing Web site before signing off.

5. Don't delete your originals - Just because your photos are stored online does not mean you should delete your originals. While you may always be able to retrieve copies of those original files from the Internet, the quality will most likely not be as high as the quality of the original photo that you took.

When you upload a photo to the photo sharing Web site, the image quality will most likely be reduced so that the image can upload and download faster. Plus, the computer only provides images in 72 dots of color per inch, whereas a printed image contains 300 dots of color per inch. Therefore, the original photo will be the best version if you ever wish to print or enlarge your photos.

Always keep in mind that when working with photo sharing Web sites, it is best to read the entire procedure manual before uploading photos. Every photo sharing Web site has its own unique interface that you will need to be familiar with in order to use the site most effectively.