ImagingTips.com

Facebook: Photos

by Wren McMains
(Updated 8/19/2009)

You can quickly post a single photo by using the "Photos" button under where you publish thoughts on your Wall or Home page:

Screen Shot

Nothing wrong with this, although what I really recommend is you organize your photos in Albums. Click to skip to creating Albums. Anything you post with the "Photos" button goes in an Album called "Wall" ... think of is as an Album of random, assorted photos (ones you put on your Facebook Wall). Next click on "Upload a Photo":

Screen Shot

(I recommend against using this "Create an Album" because it allows you to create multiple Albums with the same name, which just confuses you and everyone else.)

Click on the Browse button, and select the photo to upload:

Screen Shot

Then write a caption for the photo in the box at the top and click Share:

Screen Shot

It's that easy, the biggest problem most people have is finding the photo.

Another thing I don't like about this technique is that it doesn't give you a chance to "tag" the photo before publishing. But it is quick and easy. The posting on your wall will look like this:

Screen Shot

The caption you typed appears in the post and if you go to your "Wall" Photo Album, you'll also see it appears under the photo as its caption.


Photo Albums

Instead of using the "Photos" button (shown above) I recommend you publish Photos by going to your Profile and clicking on "Photos":

Screen Shot

This brings you to a page like this that at the top shows pictures of you (pictures where you've been "tagged") and a the bottom your Photo Albums:

Sponsored Advertisements:

Sponsored Advertisements:

Sponsored Advertisements:

Screen Shot

You can either create a new Album, or choose an existing Albums to which you want to add pictures (you can click on either the Album name or the picture).

If you're creating a new Album, I recommend NOT using names like the first ones I created. I recommend names like "Summer 2009", "Cherryfield 2009", or "WCRR 2009". Over time it will make it much easier for friends to just view newer pictures, and for new friends to know which pictures are older.

To add pictures to an existing Album, choose it and the click on "Add More Photos":

Screen Shot

You'll probably get something like this. Click on the plus signs in the folder structure at the left to find the folder with your pictures. Then mark the little boxes (by clicking) next to the photos you want to upload to Facebook:

Screen Shot

If you want to use the Windows "Browse" to find your pictures click on "Simple Uploader". If have an older browser you may get this warning (in yellow). Under it is the Simple Loader (with Browse buttons), you can either use that or if you have a new version of Java, click on "Show me the full uploader":

Screen Shot

You can probably upload your original images, but they'll take a long time (almost forever on a dial-up line). Facebook is going to resize them down to something like 600x400 so what I recommend is to use the batch processing feature of FastStone to resize your images first (I usually resize to a size I like to e-mail maybe 900x600 or 1200x800).

Once you check the box that says you can distribute the pictures and click on the "Upload Photos" button, Facebook will transfer the pictures and if all goes well will give you a message like:

Screen Shot

You want to click "Skip" and add captions and "tag" the photos before publishing.

Screen Shot

Scroll down and find the picture(s) you uploaded. Type a caption and/or "tag" people in the picture, especially Facebook friends. To "tag" someone, click about on their mouth; that will put a box around them and bring up this dialog:

Screen Shot

Tip:  Their name will pop-up at the bottom of this box when anyone moves their mouse over the picture ... make sure you're happy with this location and that the name isn't going to appear on someone else. If you're not happy with where the box is, just click Cancel and click again on the picture.

Click on the box next to their name. That's all there is to "tagging".

If you tag someone that doesn't appear on the list, start typing their name. If it's a Facebook friend their name will appear after you type a few characters. if it's not a Facebook friend, type their complete name. Facebook will ask you to invite them to join Facebook, but don't do that unless you want to.

Screen Shot

You'll notice below that I clicked a little to the right of Eliot's mouth (and above a little to the left of his father's mouth). I didn't this so their boxes wouldn't overlap as much and that I was happy with where their name would appear (center, bottom of the box) when someone cursors over the (by then invisible) box.

Screen Shot

Here's what the picture looks like when viewed in the Album and the cursor goes over me:

Screen Shot

As you see, even though I entered no caption Facebook as added the names of people you tagged and made them part of the caption. If they're Facebook friends, clicking on their name takes you to their profile page.

You can also "tag" people later by clicking on "Edit Photo". You can also tag people in pictures your friends post. Once you've tagged someone in a photo, the photo appears on their "Photos" tab on their Profile page.


Organize Your Photos

While viewing one of your albums, choose "Edit Album":

Screen Shot

This gives you several tabs. On the "Edit Photos" tab you can choose which picture to use on the cover of the album:

Screen Shot

Also from the "Edit Photos" tab you can move pictures from that album to another by using the pull-down:

Screen Shot

Any comments and tags will move along with the picture. What you can't seem to do is rename an album. You can create a new album and move pictures to it, but any comments made about the original album will be lost.

From the "Organize" tab you can determine the order in which pictures will be displayed when someone clicks on "Next":

Screen Shot

On the "Edit Info" tab you can edit the description of the album and determine who views it:

Screen Shot

I don't think there is much danger in letting your photos be seen by everyone, I doubt anyone will find them unless they are a friend. And besides they are such low resolution that no one will want to steal them.

Note the weird link in small type at the bottom of both the "Edit Info" tab and the Album itself. This is what you want to copy and paste into an e-mail you send to someone not on Facebook.

Screen Shot

Sometimes you'll also see this link to share the album with someone not on Facebook:

Screen Shot

I don't really trust it, Facebook usually wants the person to join Facebook first. I just tried it and now it seems to setup a pseudo Facebook account for the person and the link in the e-mail sends them is a link to a Facebook message in the pseudo account ... sort of works, but very weird, especially for someone who has never used Facebook. You're better off copying a pasting the link shown about into your own e-mail program. If you do use the Facebook sharing, type the person's e-mail address here:

Screen Shot

The "I've added new Photos!" message is something it fills in, you can change it to anything you like.


Suggested next choices:

ImagingTips.com Site Map
Copyright Wren McMains, 2009
361
Free Internet Security - WOT Web of Trust