Photo sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user’s digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others (whether publicly or privately). This function is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images. The term can also be loosely applied to the use of online photo galleries that are set up and managed by individual users, including photoblogs.

There is no questioning the fact that digital photography has changed the way that we experience photographs.  In just a few short years we’ve moved from mailing photos back and forth or printing doubles and triples of important events to simply attaching or uploading our fondest moments and sending them away, instantly available to view or distribute.
That being said, there are still lots of ways that we can connect to the people we care about besides email, and some of these methods are amazing at keeping everyone involved.  So, let’s look at three of the most popular websites that are great for online photo sharing.

Facebook Frenzy

Although this site needs no introduction, Facebook is one of the online giants and a leader in social media.  Facebook is used to keep in touch with old friends, classmates, business associates and a wide variety of other people and also has a great way for uploading and sharing photographs.  You can post images of important events, build custom albums, and tag all of your friends and family (as long as they’re Facebook members) so that everyone is in the loop.  The only major downside with Facebook is that they compress and resize your high quality pictures. So, if you want to take advantage of the site’s other features (like it’s social games and status updates) this site is a good choice, but if you want something exclusively for photos without any image quality loss, then Facebook probably isn’t the best choice.

Flickr Fun

Flickr is one of the absolute best ways to share photos and caused a revolution with its innovative photo tagging system.  Users can tag other people similar to Facebook, but the ability to tag places, groups, and objects adds incredible context to your static images.  Besides Flickr’s extremely detailed tagging system, it also gives you a robust set of editing tools and photo printing options like turning your images into gifts like posters or greeting cards.  Flickr is also free, which means you don’t have to pay a dime to keep your loved ones up to date.

Have Fun with Photoshop Online
Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard in photo editing.  Most digital photographers are either familiar with Adobe Photoshop or use it regularly, so it’s not surprising that their online version is more advanced than any other website.  Photoshop Online isn’t just for editing as it also allows you to upload and store up to 2 gigs free with no image shrinking or quality loss.  The other great thing about Photoshop online is that it allows you to export directly to Flickr, Facebook, or a wide variety of other sites. This makes it easy because you can do your photo editing with their online tools and then use whatever sharing method that you prefer.
All in all, there are too many photo sharing sites to count and we sadly don’t have room to talk about them all.  Each website has its own strengths and weaknesses, so see which one best fits your needs and style for sharing your photos.  Some sites offer powerful editors, while some offer a more social approach that is less focused on the images and more on the stories.  No matter which one you choose, just remember that the most important thing is that you’re staying in touch with people that care about you, and in the end that’s the only important thing.
Photo Credit: agapemedia.net