Create a photo album from your digital pictures, and you have an easy and convenient way to share memories. Online services offer several options we’ve tried and liked:

MyPublisher.com (www.mypublisher.com) lets you make a printed album from photos. You need to download their free Bookmaker software for creating an album on your computer, but the program steps you through the entire process.

Next, just indicate the location of your photos, which are then displayed in thumbnail format. Then select the photos you want to use and drag and drop them into the album window. Use one of the included templates to arrange one to eight photos on each page. Drag and drop the photos wherever they look best to you.

For captions you can enter about 80 characters each in most templates, but a "Story Teller" template allows more text by using smaller pictures. Caption options include six fonts, or choose "Just Photos" for maximum photo size.

During the selection or layout process, you can do limited photo editing: rotate, flip, change to black and white, auto adjust color and brightness or crop. Once you’re satisfied with the layout and captions, connect to the MyPublisher secure site, pay for your selection, and your layout and photos are automatically uploaded.

Both the soft and hard cover albums are perfect bound and use digital 4-color offset printing on heavy acid-free paper for archival quality. There’s a choice of colors and designs for covers, and the hard cover comes in linen or leather. You’ll receive your printed photo album within 5 - 7 days.

SnapFish (www.snapfish.com) has you upload your photos into an "album" on their Web site. Once you’ve decided to create a photo album, you’re led through the process (you can choose other types of photo gifts as well). Pick a style for the background and cover, select the photos you want to use, arrange them (with drag-and-drop ease) and add captions. You can rotate, add or remove photos and edit captions until the final step. Pay for the album, and your photo book is delivered in a few days. Some photo items can be picked up at local Walgreen or Walmart stores, often on the same day.

Picasa (www.picasa.com) is a free online photo sharing service. You create groups of pictures, called albums, into which you upload the pictures you want to share. Add captions if you like. Family and friends can then view the photos, select them individually from thumbnails or run a slide show of all photos in album. You can allow viewing by anyone, viewing only by those to whom you sent a unique link or viewing only by you.

Picasa also has a free program for your PC, offering better control over your photos and providing photo and video editing, more flexible caption control as well as improved photo organization. The albums you create on your PC can then be synced with the online Web Album. Links are provided for ordering prints, printed photo albums, and other photo gifts.