Using Shared Photo Albums
I could talk about the shift from film to digital photos for HOURS, so I'm going to make this week's Tech Tuesday Tip pretty straight to the point!
Often overlooked due to the expectations of everything being "made for social media" - a great way for us to privately share photos with our friends and loved ones is by using Shared Photo Albums! These are so wonderful because they are less limiting than social media posts, and not necessarily for the world to see!
In the Apple ecosystem - you can create shared photo albums right in your Photos app (on any of your Apple devices or via iCloud.com).
Once you're in the Photos app, click the "+" icon in the top left corner and select "New Shared Album"
Give the album a name, then add who you want to share the album with from your contacts
You will then see an empty album with the title you gave it - select/open that album
On this screen you will see a big blue "+" which you will press and be taken to the screen where you can select what photos to add/share
The invitee will receive a message/invite request that they have to accept in order to join
(You can also do this in reverse - where you select all of the photos you'd like to share, then press the share option. You will then select "Add to Shared Album" and either select an existing album or create a new one on the following screen!)
In the Google ecosystem - you can create these shared albums right from the Google Photos app on your Android Devices or via web at photos.google.com.
Once you're in the Google Photos app, press on the icon at the bottom that says "Shared"
From here, you will select the "+" that says "Create Shared Album"
From this screen you will give it a title, and select the photos you want included
You will then press "share" and send the invitation to join with the members you want to share with!
The invitee will receive a message/invite request that they have to accept in order to join
(Similarly to Apple, you have the ability to do this in reverse where you select all of the photos to be shared first, then you will see an option to "Add To" - from there you can select "Shared Album" and repeat the steps of naming and inviting others!)
Once these albums are made and shared with others, all members will have the ability to add their own photos or save the photos you've shared! You can also go back to add additional photos or share with more members at any time! All of these albums will also give you the option to share via link if you run into any issues directly inviting someone based on the device(s) they're using!