This has to be the best place to ask - BEST online album?

[Madrone]

I'd like to put my pictures up online somewhere that my family/friends can see and/or order prints if they'd like (although that's the least important of my criteria). I signed up at Flikr, but I don't like that friends/family have to sign up if they want to see your pics. I just want a link I can give people. OH - also I'd like a way to keep potential viewers in groups - for example:

Some pictures no one but me can see.

Some pictures only family can access. (password protected?)

Some pictures only friends can access. (as above)


I googled and found one that looks interesting - Winkflash. I just don't want to sign up for a bunch of random sites until I find one I like.

TIA for any input!

[priller]

1. You can give people just a link to Flickr

I do it all the time for my friends. But I guess what you're saying is if you want your friends and family to have access to certain photos hidden from the general public, then they have to sign up also. But I think almost any public photo sharing site is going to be that way.

If the just want to see your pics, then give them the link to "Your photos" page, and it will work.

Also, signing up for Flickr is free, and if they already have a Yahoo account, they just enter that. Not a big deal, I shouldn't think.

[RC]

2. I've never had a problem with Smugmug.

http://www.smugmug.com/

Customizable, can do everything you listed. Only US$39.95 a year.

And your own URL.
http://rc.smugmug.com/

[Maestro]

4. Another vote for smugmug.

http://maestros.smugmug.com

[Ms. Toad]

3. I use Shutterfly

It's not really an showy album site (the on screen images are small, for my taste), but it's free, you can selectively permit access to albums (and once you set up a group you can add albums or photos to the chunk of the site the selected group can see, and visibility can overlap between groups), friends and family only have to sign up if they want to buy prints (not just for viewing), the prints are excellent quality (I order from there or Ofoto when I'm printing for an exhibition) and reasonably priced ($.12 for 4x6 bulk purchases or $.19 for single photo - + shipping).

Down side is that sometimes it is a bit hard to utilize all of the above options, and others such as deleting their automatic color adjustment and cropping (in case you don't know, all photos are cropped by any printer unless you can figure out how to tell them not to, since the proportions of the digital image don't match traditional print sizes). In other words - you need to know what you want to do and be able to search not entirely user friendly directions to set up the album the way you want it.

Up side is that once you have done the hard work it is very user friendly to friends and family. My mother and aunt who are computer novices both managed to view and purchase photos from a family event I posted there.

[dodger501]

5. How About Trading Cards?

I am designing some trading cards for a girls HS softball team.
Anybody have a recommendation of a gallery host that can provide that?
My home gallery, smugmug (dodgerdigital.smugmug.com) doesn't have anything like it.
Neither does shutterfly.

It would have to be 2-sided printing and less than 4x6 (2.5 x 3,5, to be exact).