Setting Up a Shared Album for Family
Okay so last time we did one year at a time and I told you to stop before you get bored, which, be honest with yourselves about that. This lesson is a nicer one. We're setting up a shared album so your family can actually see the photos you've been taking, instead of them just sitting on your phone forever like a hostage situation.
Sooo, quick story on why I even think this matters. When I first turned on cloud backup I mentioned it grabbed everything, not just photos. Every meme, every receipt, every screenshot of a text conversation I'd saved for some reason. Well, shared albums have almost the opposite problem. If you're not careful about what you put IN one, you end up sending Grandma sixty photos of a Costco receipt and a blurry picture of the dog's ear. So we're going to be a little picky about what goes in.
What a shared album actually is
It's a separate album, not your whole camera roll, that specific people can see and usually add to. You control who's in it. They don't get access to your entire phone, just that one album. This is different from just backing up your photos, which is about not losing them. A shared album is about other people actually getting to enjoy them, which I think we forget is the whole point sometimes.
On iPhone (this is my home turf, so bear with the detail)
- Open your Photos app.
- Tap the plus sign, usually top left, and choose "New Shared Album."
- Name it something simple. I did "Olsen Family Photos" for mine, nothing clever needed.
- Pick the photos you want to start with. You don't have to add years of stuff, just start with a handful, maybe the last month or two.
- Tap "Next" and it'll ask who to invite. You can type in names from your contacts or send a link. I usually just text the link because not everyone in my family has the same setup and the link works for basically anyone.
- Hit Create.
Once it's made, you can add to it anytime. When you're in your regular camera roll, tap a photo, hit the share icon, and add it straight to that shared album instead of texting it out one at a time.
On Android (and I want help from the room here)
Google Photos has "Shared albums" too, under the Library tab usually, then "Sharing." You create one, add photos, and either share a link or pick people from your contacts. The steps move around depending on your phone and your Google Photos version, which is exactly the kind of thing I get shaky on. If someone in here has done this on Android in the last few months, holler out what you did, because I don't want to tell you wrong.
What actually goes in it
This is where I'll say the opinion straight out: screenshots do not belong in your photo backup, and they really don't belong in a shared family album. Nobody wants Aunt Carol's boarding pass in the same feed as the new baby pictures. Pick actual photos. Events, kids, the trip, whatever the album is for. If you want a separate album for something goofy, like the group chat memes everyone loves, make that its own thing with its own name so people know what they're opening.
I'd also say, don't feel like you need to dump your entire organized year into the shared album. That's what your personal backup is for. The shared album is more like a highlight reel. Maybe twenty photos a month instead of two hundred.
A word on who can add photos
When you set it up, there's usually a setting for whether other people can add their own photos to the album, not just view yours. I keep this turned on for my family one, because half the good pictures of my kids were actually taken by Travis or one of the grandparents, not me. Turn it off if you just want people looking, not contributing. Either way is fine, just know it's a choice you're making, not a default you're stuck with.
One small caution: once you send that link out, anyone with it can usually see the album, even if you didn't specifically add them as a contact. So don't post the link somewhere public, and if it's sensitive photos, stick to the contact-based invite instead of a link.
The part I didn't do, and Audrey did
I'll be honest, my daughter Audrey figured this whole feature out faster than I did and set up the cousins' shared album herself before I'd even opened the settings. I just stood there kind of proud and kind of useless. So if one of your teenagers or grandkids offers to help you set this up, let them. It's not a defeat, it's just efficient.
Before next time
Get one shared album started with whoever you want, even if it's just five photos to test it out. Don't worry about making it perfect, we'll build on it.