Photographic Memory : How To Create Online Photo Albums

Published February 18, 2020

Article by Steve Minkler

Creating a photo album website can be a great way to share your collection of old shoebox prints or slides (as well as more recent digital photos) with the public at large. The first step is to organize your best photos under various sub-headings. For example, you might have a large number of Hawaii vacation photos which could be placed under the heading “pictures of Hawaii”. Or maybe photographs from another beautiful tropical setting which could go under the heading of “tropical island photos”. Images of urban life might be placed under the heading of “city pictures” and so forth.

The next step is to edit out the ordinary or mundane photos and only keep the very best for display. After all, you want your online visitor to enjoy viewing as many of your photographs as possible. This is not always an easy task so it might be good to get a second opinion regarding which pictures would display the best.

After you have your photographs organized, you need to make sure they are all in digital form (unless of course, they were all taken with a digital camera originally). All camera stores or drugstores which still process film can scan your photos or slides onto a disc. The price for a scanned disc will vary according to what resolution you require. However, the good news here is that photos scanned for web use do not need to be top quality scans to look good. Most computer monitors display images at 72 d.p.i. (dots per inch) and any scan you would receive would exceed this minimum specification.

If you would like to scan your own images, there are many excellent scanners available in all price ranges. Again, for simple web use and display, you do not need to worry too much about the scanning resolution. However, if you would like to be able to make nice enlargements of scanned images, then purchasing a dedicated film scanner might make sense for you. Some film scanners only scan 35mm negatives and slides, while others will scan photographic prints as well.

Finally, you need to build your website and find a host to get everything online. There are numerous software programs available online or at stores such as Staples or Office Depot which can help you easily create the design of your website. You will need to purchase a domain name for your site (available from many different online vendors) and then find a web hosting company to place it online by doing a simple Google search (there are many hosting companies as well).

Or you can go the route I went which is to find a company which will provide you with software to build your site and also host it for you. There are several companies like this out there. However, the one I chose takes things much further. They also help you find and select a perfect domain name for your site and handle all the technical stuff regarding search engine submissions. And they teach you how to build your site so it will generate lots of traffic (as opposed to having no one find your site once it is built). The cost of their extensive website building and hosting program works out to less than per month and comes with an unmatched library of helpful tools for the beginner. I feel fortunate to have discovered this unique company and plan to stay with them for a long time.

No matter which method you choose to build your internet photo album, the pleasure derived from seeing your photographs displayed online cannot be underestimated. While it may seem like a daunting task to undertake at first, creating an online photo album is a great way to preserve and pass on those cherished photographic memories that each of us have.

Steve Minkler has been drawing high-quality custom house plans in the Southern California area for more than 30 years. Visit Minkler Building Design for examples of his work and photographs of custom homes. Steve also enjoys travel photography and features a number of his travel photos at Minkler Photo Gallery.