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Photo Storage and Sharing

By Ginger Wentrcek

One obstacle many photographers face is determining the best way to store and display their astrophotography images and share them with others. Websites can be expensive - hosting, domain name, security plan, SSL certificate, and more. However, there are several options which are free and easy to set up.

I took the images in the banner at the top of the page and wanted a quick and easy way to share them with friends. One option I have discovered is Google Photos. If you have a gmail account or Google account, it takes less than 5 minutes to set up Google Photos and start loading and sharing with others.

Once the Google Photos account has been established, albums can be created and images can be shared with just family, or just friends, or everyone. You decide how you want to share the link to your photos.

What I really like and appreciate is the fact that the photos do not need to be resized or optimized for the web - just select, drag, and drop into an album. It's that easy and quick.

There are numerous free, photo storage and sharing programs on the web, but this is one I have found to be user friendly - and the cost is just right - it's free.

The instructions for installing Google Photos are listed at the end of this article.

A Special Signature for Your Images

Before you load up those photos, check into some of the companies that can design a polished signature for your images.

If you want a signature that resembles one that is handwritten with a bit of a flair, Photologo can design something for you which is very impressive. Their signatures are drawn by hand, not computer generated. Of course you can create your real signature in Photoshop, save it as a png on a transparent background, and embed it when you edit images.

Dr. Randy Light ordered aluminum prints of his deep sky photos from Nations Photo Lab with stunning results.

Printing Your Images

Randy Light shared a link to a company that infuses his stunning deep sky photos onto raw aluminum. The company, Nations Photo Lab, also offers a variety of paper and canvas for printing purposes. His aluminum prints of deep sky objects are out of this world beautiful.

There is another alternative located right here in College Station. Copy Corner will print a 19 x 13 inch print on 12pt gloss paper for $1.35. Adding a mat-board and frame from a hobby store will add to the cost, but Hobby Lobby often runs sales for these items.

Steps to Set Up a Google Photos Account

Follow the steps below to set up a Google Photos account and start sharing your astrophotography photos with others. If you would like to add the link to the Brazos Valley Astronomy Club website, send the link to Ginger.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE - PLEASE READ
Every individual has personal settings on their home computers, laptops, cell phones, and iPads which may or may not permit tracking, sharing, and a host of other allowances. If you have concerns about privacy, tracking, or any other issue, and you are unsure about your privacy settings, you may want to search for another way to store and display your photos.