Getting Photos Online with Snapfish
Snapfish, a production of the folks at Hewlett-Packard, provides services for both digital and film photographers. You can upload digital photos or mail rolls of film for them to develop and upload to your online account. Either way, your photos end up in Snapfish albums, which you can share with friends and family by sending out email invitations. HP also gives you ample opportunity to part with a few bucks by slapping your photos on prints, posters, books, calendars, and so on.
1. Uploading Photos with Your Browser
You upload photos to Snapfish using your Web browser. First, you need to sign up for a free account at www.snapfish.com. Click the Get Started button, and type your name, email address, and password. On the next screen, Snapfish asks for your mailing address so it can send you some postage-paid envelopes for mailing rolls of film for developing. Click “no thanks” at the bottom of the page to skip this step for now. You can always go back to it by clicking the “send film” or “get mailers” links scattered throughout Snapfish.
The link to the upload page is on your Home page; look below and to the right of the top tabs.
Here’s how to put your photos up on Snapfish:
- On the Home page, click the “upload photos” link.In Snapfish, all photos are stored in albums, so when you upload photos, you must specify an album to put them in. When the upload page opens, type a name in the text box under the “new album” icon to create a new album to hold your uploaded photos. (In the future, this page will display icons of all the albums you’ve created, so you can upload photos into an existing album.)
Note: The first time you upload photos, Snapfish asks you to install QuickUpload, its browser plug-in. Click Install to accept the download, and Snapfish stops bugging you about it.
- Click “upload to this album.” Then, on the next screen, click “select photos and movies.”A dialog box opens that helps you find photos on your computer (Figure 1). The buttons on the left and the drop-down menu at top are your navigation tools.
- Navigate to the folder that holds the pictures you want to upload.The main area in the box displays your photos.
- Select the photos you want to upload by clicking its thumbnail or checkbox.Selected photos show a check in the box to the left of the image.
- After you’ve made your selection, click “upload selected photos.”
Figure 1. Choose photos to upload to your Snapfish album using this Windows-style dialog box. When you’re finished, click “upload selected photos.” Your upload may take awhile, especially if you’re sending several large pictures at once.
2. Navigating Snapfish’s Online Tools
Snapfish is easy to navigate. The tabs running horizontally at the top of the page divide the Web site into four main sections (Figure 2):
- Home. You see this screen first when you log in. It displays the albums you created recently, along with an abundance of offers to put your photos on something and sell them back to you. (Fortunately, the ads thin out as you move away from the Home page.)
Figure 2. Like Shutterlfy, the Snapfish Web is easy to learn and use. Both sites feature navigation tabs across the top and command menus on the left side of the page, so if you’re comfortable using one, then you’ll have no problem using the other.
- Photos. This page displays thumbnails representing each album in your photo library. Click an album to see the photos inside. It’s the launch pad for most of your uploading, organizing, editing, and sharing.
- Store. Here’s where you find all the options for turning your photos into merchandise, including, yes, baby blankets and diaper bags.
- Account. This tab lets you review past orders and tweak your delivery and credit card information. You can also create email lists so, for example, you can send baby pictures to your entire family.
3. Ordering photos within a Snapfish album
Rearranging the order of your photos is pretty easy, as you can see in Figure 3. Click a photo and drag it to a new location. An arrow appears above the little photo icon when you’re in position. Release the mouse button, and the photos rearrange themselves.
Figure 3. Simply drag and drop to rearrange photos in a Snapfish album. Once your album is in order, you’ve got the basis for a slideshow or photo book
