Tips offered for online photos

From Staff Reports

If mom or grandma received a new digital camera for Mother's Day, she will want to share her photos with family and friends. An easy way to do that is to create an online photo album.

Andrew Erilchson, the founder of Phanfare.com (www.phanfare.com), a photo and video sharing site designed specifically for parents, offers five tips for creating unique online photo albums:

n Safety first: Before you begin getting creative, first make sure the photo sharing site you choose is safe and protects your precious memories from any unwanted online visitors. Not all sites are created equal, so do a little privacy research first.

n Soundtrack to your Life: Who could forget the final scene in "Dirty Dancing?" Adding music to your special moments brings them alive for friends and family. Upload songs directly from your iTunes account and get grandma saying, "Nobody puts (grand)baby in the corner!"

n Make whites whiter and brights brighter: All your camping photos came out too dark? Have no fear: Sharing sites like Phanfare offer easy-to use "autolevel" tools which enhance your photos by automatically adjusting colors for crystal-clear quality.

n Go big or go home: A little gluttony is okay when you're looking at the pictures of your kids. Look for a site where the full-screen slideshow really means full-screen and shows nothing but your photos in your browser.

n Unleash your inner Spielberg: Who says an album can only hold photos? Choose a site like Phanfare which allows you to combine both photos and videos into one album. Now no one in your family will miss those big "firsts."