Yesterday I took you through a five minute process for setting up and using the absolutely free Picasa photo organizer and editor. Well, today in the words of Emeril; it’s time to take your photo shenanigans up “another notch” (sorry for the ridiculous reference… but I am a Food Network HD whore). Today I’m going to go over Picasa’s fully integrated Web Albums. You see, those glorious savages at Google have made it extremely easy and free to upload your photos with one click from Picasa to your Picasa Web Album.
Just think about it, you no longer have to clog inboxes with 800 pictures of your sleeping toddler… now you can just send your friends your Picasa Web Album URL and call it a day. Trust me, they’ll thank you later. I know people who use social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have a place to host their images but there is really something to be said for an actual web album site dedicated to being just that. Flickr is amazingly popular and a great site but to get the full experience you have to pay a monthly fee… why do that when Google gives you just as good an option for free?
So, you have Picasa installed and your images edited and looking pretty, your eight year old doesn’t look like the spawn of satan anymore thanks to that nifty red eye removal tool… and now you want to show the world (or just your friends). First thing is first, you need to sign up for a Picasa Web Albums account. The process is quick and painless and if you have a Gmail or Adsense account you can use the same login details. (note: you don’t have to use Picasa to use Picasa Web Albums or vice versa, they both can work together or alone).
1. Choose your desired username and enter your First and Last name. On the next page choose “I accept” to the Google Terms of Service.
2. BAM! You’re ready to get uploading (again, sorry for the Emeril reference).
3. You can upload directly from the website by hitting the “Upload” button or you can upload via the Picasa application, which is what is shown below. In Picasa hit the “Sign in to web albums” link in the upper left corner.
04. Once you are signed in uploading your images or folders are as easy as right clicking (either the folder or individual images) and choosing “Upload to Web Album…”
05. When you choose to upload you will be given the option to create a new album or to add to an existing album. You can also choose to resize the images from a drop down box and give a description and location of the album. You also have the ability to make the album public (anyone can view) or unlisted which allows only people you choose to view the album.
Once you’ve finished uploading your files you can view your web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/username. I encourage you to look around your Picasa Web Album where you can add image captions, input the location the picture was taken, create slideshows, order prints, share and organize. You have 1GB of storage space to share your photos, so upload at will. You can take a look at the album I uploaded here, the images were taken with my iPhone last September in Boston, MA at an Underworld show.
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