Make the most of your photos

You can e-mail around links to slide shows or albums via photo-sharing sites. The best of these preserve photos at full resolution, have simple controls over who sees the pics, and sell prints and photobooks. (Most of those features are lacking on Facebook, which has become a de facto sharing site, notes Alan Bullock of market researcher InfoTrends.) These two sites meet the criteria, while fulfilling different needs.

For an occasional snapper: Flickr.com

What you'll get: For free: up to 100MB a month, or 100 low-res images (more for a fee)

Why it's great: The free version, which runs ads, is fine for casual shooters. It has good features for public and private sharing, and lets you join groups based on photos.

For a serious photographer: SmugMug.com

What you'll get: For $40 a year: unlimited storage of photos up to 12MB each

Why it's great: SmugMug is ideal for backing up lots of high-res photos from a PC. It has no ads, an artful and professional interface, and customization options.

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