Great (Easy) Pictures

Although I am a recent convert to digital photography, I've been taking advantage of a lot of the conveniences that come along with the technology for quite some time. My very favorite thing is that picture processing and sharing is sooooo easy. Snapfish is my favorite site for this. Uploading is very easy and so is sharing. Unfortunately, you have to sign up with a password to see the photos that have been shared with you. Yes, that's kind of a pain, but there are benefits to signing up and using their service. They have great deals on prints which are already priced very reasonably. They have tons of personalized gift options available, too. For example, Lisa makes a book every year for Debbie that is a pictoral history of Lacey's year. I guess she'll have to add Daylen this year. That's a pretty cool and unique gift for family members who have everything. I also enjoy the convenience of doing everything online. You just order what you want and they send it out. Very easy.

If you need pics faster, the next most convenient service is through Wal-Mart. I absolutely hate to give them a plug since I totally hate Wal-Mart and am trying to boycott their stores. But, I can't deny that they have made photo processing quick and easy too. Just go to walmart.com and upload your pics to the photo section. You can even process pics that you have doctored up in PhotoShop (we did that with our Christmas card photos last year and the invitations for my mom's party.). Then you can choose to pick up your photos from whichever Wal-Mart you want in an hour. That is a quick and convenient option. Wal-greens might do something similar. I doubt Target does since they took out most of their one hour photo centers. These are two options that are much easier than using the Kodak Picture Maker kiosks that have popped up everywhere that always have a line and seem to be a general pain for people. I have been very happy with the pics I have received from both Snapfish and Wal-Mart.

Extra tip: If you are new to computer photo editing and PhotoShop kind of scares you, a good beginner's option is Picasa. I have it and it does a nice job at basic color correction, cropping and effects. You have to download the software. Once you do, it is very easy to work with. Hey, it's a Google product so it must be good, right?

On-line photo processing is a great thing!