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With family flung across the globe — from cousins in California, to a mother in the Middle East — Toronto mom Lisa Froggatt-Alexander was stymied by the desire to share every giggle and grunt of her two babies and the inefficiency of "snail mail photo sharing."
"Like most mothers, I wanted to share the joy of my precious bundles," says Froggatt-Alexander, "but I never seemed to get around to developing film, making duplicates, writing letters and mailing."
For the industrious Froggatt-Alexander, the answer lay in exploring a variety of multimedia opportunities. With only a digital camera and a computer, Gabrielle and Zoe's mom, falteringly at first, waded into the world of the "techno-geek," e-mailing digital images and even posting a rudimentary Web site complete with photos and quotes from the kids. "If I can do it, anybody can," says the former technology neophyte. "You just have to know how to get started."
Getting started requires little more than a digital camera, computer and Internet connection (preferably high-speed) — oh, and an incredibly adorable baby.
Advice for the novice
E-mail digital photographs
The easiest method for sharing your baby’s important moments almost immediately after birth is to e-mail photos taken on your digital camera. Simply connect your camera and computer with the cable provided by the manufacturer, click the download button and images instantly appear on-screen. Now, those images can be fired off to friends as an e-mail attachment.
Vista users can send photos as e-mail attachments in Windows Photo Gallery. Simply open the photo(s) you want to send in the Gallery, then click the E-mail button across the top of the screen. The e-mail wizard will automatically resize the photo to the desired size.
To ensure family members receive images without delay
- Be sure each file is around 1 – 2 megabytes or less because files any larger may be too much for your recipient's computer to handle
- Save images as JPEGs because these files are universally accepted by all makes of computers
- Attach only two or three images at a time so recipients don't lose patience as files endlessly download
Many newer digital cameras have an instant-share function allowing you to select the destinations to which images are sent as soon as the camera is docked or hooked to a computer.
Create an online album accessible by all
Sites like those found at Today’s Parent, Photobucket and Flickr make sharing photos easy by hosting them for you. Add or update shots at will — for free. "This is the best option for anyone with limited technical experience or limited time," says Toronto Web developer Glen Hunter. "They do all the technical work and maintenance for you. All you have to do is click a mouse to tell the site which photos to upload. It's so easy, just about anybody can do it."
As a bonus, host sites offer additional services, such as online access to professional photo developing. The downside is that you, and guests to your section of the site, will have to tolerate Web advertising.
Another great way to post photos of baby is through an online journal or blog, like Windows Live Spaces. Creating a Windows Live Space is easy. Simply visit the Windows Live Spaces homepage and choose to Create your space. Now the fun begins. Customize the colour and layout, share your thoughts in a blog, and of course, post countless adorable photos of baby.
A great example of this is Reallivemoms, a Windows Live Space dedicated to providing moms with helpful advice, information and ways to connect with others moms.
Advice for the adventurous
Create a mini-movie starring your baby
Most digital cameras have a movie setting allowing you to record live action. The camera stores the segment like an image, so you can download and e-mail the way you would a photo.
For those with digital camcorders, software programs such as Windows Movie Maker put you in the director's seat. Intuitive, step-by-step directions help users edit recorded sequences and add audio before saving the movie on a hard drive where it can be stored or sent to grandma.
Hunter advises proud parents to save film to a DVD that can be mailed. That's a bonus for recipients on dial-up who can't handle large downloads and means your mini-movie won't get lost in an inbox. In addition, he says, "you also have back-up should your computer fail."
Make a baby book — online
At Baby's Story, moms and dads can upload photos and even add scrapbook-style commentary by following the directions provided on the site. The free service also offers e-cards and birth announcements, along with helpful health information on your growing child. Simply share the site's address with family so they, too, can be part of the joy.
If you'd prefer a more detailed journal of baby's development, Baby Diary software can be purchased for 24.95 US. Complete with growth and tooth charts, the program guides users to insertion of audio and visual attachments.
Advice for the technophile
Build your baby his or her own website
Sites like MediaCollege.com offer tutorials for do-it-yourself fans. Since most Internet service providers offer free Web space, the cost is minimal.
"The good thing is that you can design the site to look any way you want," says Hunter. “That level of customization is appealing, but you have to be comfortable in the language of computers to do it, and maintenance will require some investment of time."
For Froggatt-Alexander, that time commitment was well worth it. "My mother is in Israel most of the year, and being able to get instantaneous baby updates really helped her stay connected to us."
Updated July 2007
E-mail this to a friend | Printer-friendly version
Writer, Liza Finlay
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