Everyday in my inbox, I get tons of invites to view my friends, family, or colleagues’ latest attempt at photo sharing. Most of the photos are great and I’m happy to see them, but it’s usually the same scattered compilation of which most photo sharing sites are made. This got me to thinking about different ways to make photo sharing more fun, as well as ways to make your photos stand out from the pack. Making your photos stand out doesn’t mean that you have to post outrageous photos that are likely to get flagged; it just means that you should make your shared photos look as fun as the fun you’re having in the photos. Most of us take great care to compile and upload photos to photo sharing sites, but so few take the time to make our photo sharing experience truly fun.

The first thing you have to do is get everyone involved. Don’t let the entire responsibility of sharing family photos fall to you; recruit your immediate family members to dig out their favorite or most embarrassing photos. Photo sharing should be fun, not a chore, so increase the fun by giving everyone something to do. Obviously dad won’t get too involved in sifting through old photos, but perhaps his talents would be best used by editing the photos. Charge dad with photo editing and photo resizing to make sure everything is ready to go when you are. There’s no reason that you shouldn’t have fun sharing photos, especially when you’ve got the entire family involved.

When you think of photo sharing, do you only think of sharing your photos via the internet? Push that aside and realize that there are plenty of other ways to share photos and have fun. Does your best friend or sibling have a birthday coming up? Make them feel special (and embarrassed) by decorating the party with them! You heard right, plaster photos of the birthday girl or boy all over the party: pillowcases, throw pillows, t-shirts, coffee mugs, frames, and even posters or rugs!

Perhaps the most obvious way to make sharing photos fun, is to use fun photos! Don’t just opt for the mundane photos of you smiling flawlessly for the camera; go for photos of you sleeping or caught off guard as well. Photo sharing is about sharing, not about looking perfect at all times. The more fun photos you use, the more life your shared photos will have. Use fun photo prints to breathe life into your photo collection. You recall having fun when these photos were taken, so why present them in a way that’s anything less than exciting?

Fun photo sharing is what you make of it, but if you’ve committed to sharing your photos with your family, friends, and the world you should truly commit. Besides, isn’t it more important that you have fun than it is that you look good doing it? Sharing photos should be a fun experience that allows you and your loved ones to relive special events, and reminisce about the times when you were all together. Now that everyone’s all grown up, these photos are all that remind you of the good times. Make sharing your old photos fun and reconnect with friends and family to ensure you make new memories to share as well.