If you've found that you're taking a lot of pictures through the summer, or are just a natural shutterbug, you'll probably want to share some of your best photos with friends and family. One of the most convenient ways is to post them online on your web site. While you could display your photos in a web page using HTML, it will not insure that only certain people can view your album. In addition, adding photos and even albums can be a lot of work.

There is a program called Coppermine which you can install on your Active Web Hosting CGI server which will make organizing and sharing your photos much easier. We also have a full Installation Tutorial to help you install and set up Coppermine. Do remember that you will also need to set up a CGI account and then a MySQL Database for Coppermine to work.

Once you have set up Coppermine, you first will want to log into your Coppermine Administration page and set up at least one photo album. The installation tutorial will show you how to do this and the basics of using Coppermine. After you have your album set up, you can use your FTP program to upload the pictures you would like to share. Then you can return to Coppermine to add them to your new Photo Album. You can also add captions and tell a little bit about each image and set up keywords for easy searching.

If you would like to keep some albums private, you can set the album up so that only registered users (friends and family) can view the photo album. You could set up accounts for everyone you want to share pictures with and E-Mail them their log-in information, or you could have your friends and family register by themselves. Once registered, they can also keep some of their favorite photos from your collection in a favorites area for later viewing or downloading to make prints.

Coppermine is easy to set up and use, and gives you some control over who can view your photos. This is an excellent system for vacationers, online family albums, and even photographers to show off their skills.