If you want to get your photos out for the general public to view, one fast way to do this is by putting your photographs online. To do this you will need to learn a few basic steps, but uploading pictures to a website is far easier than you think, even if you are a beginner with computers. Depending on your perseverance and skill level, you can create simple or complex websites, but either way you will have another options for letting your friends, family, and fans see your work.
The simplest and fastest way to show your pictures online is to register with a website that specializes in just that. Some examples include Snapfish and Yahoo. Most of these sites are free for a certain number of pictures uploaded, so this will not initially cost you a thing! Scan or download your pictures to your computer, and you're ready to go as uploading to these types of sites is easy because they are made for beginners who simply want to store pictures online. Just remember though that anyone on the Internet has access to your photographs.
If you want something a little more uniquely "you" then try building your own website or using one of the many online programs that helps new users create free web pages. Geocities is the most popular example of this - using this type of program requires no special knowledge of HTML. The downside to this is that you don't have unlimited upload capabilities and that your domain won't be professional as it will be a shared domain name. For example, through Geocities, your URL (web address) will be yourname.geocities.com, while if you build your own website and register a domain name, it will simply be yourname.com.
This is the other website-building option and that is registering your own domain name. Building a website in this fashion requires more time and there are monthly fees associated with keeping your site online. Depending on the traffic your site generates, this can be anywhere from $10 to $100 a month or more. You should know a little bit about HTML coding as well to build a website. You can learn the basics from books and manuals on the subject or take a coding class. You'll also need to invest in a program to build your website. If you know HTML extensively, all you need is Notepad, but for the majority of us who do not, you'll need a program such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage that will help you build your site.
Whatever option you choose, posting your pictures online can be very rewarding. You can then easily share you pictures, and it is also a good option for getting more exposure for your work. Research the different ways of posting pictures online to find one that works for you.
