Duane Hoffman/msnbc.com

More than 250 million photos are uploaded each day on Facebook, according to the social network's media site. And in case you hadn't noticed, "sharing pictures is one of the most popular activities on Facebook." So, not surprisingly, Facebook etiquette about photos is a common complaint among users.

Whether to limit who can tag you in an image, or if pics of other peoples' kids should be shared at all, are often topics of controversy. Most egregious, however, are those embarrassing photos — purposely posted by your so-called "friends," or pics you posted and later regretted. Whether drunk, foolish or flirting with someone you shouldn't be, your appearance in such pics can lead to all manner of awkward situations, including, as we continue to see in the news, getting Facebook fired, or not even hired in the first place.

The best course of action in such situations seems to be obvious — delete these photos from the social network as soon as possible, whenever possible. But as Ars Technica reports, the photos you delete may still exist via direct links to the image, even years after you thought you removed the photo from your profile.

On Monday, Facebook confirmed to Technolog that the social network does have photos in its system that users believe to be deleted. Instead, these images live on, hiding out on content delivery networks which store copies of network data.

"Approximately 2 percent of users' photos are being stored in an older system that was not properly deleting (these images) after a user deleted the photo on the site," Facebook spokesperson Fred Wolens said.

How many photos is that? In September 2011, Facebook had more than 140 billion photos, making it 10,000 times larger than the photo catalog in the Library of Congress. So that's nearly 3 billion photos stored on that hinky, hoarding system — though who knows how many are supposed to be deleted, let alone how many feature the drunk and/or otherwise humiliated among us?

At any rate, said Wolens, "We are in the process of migrating these photos to the newer system to ensure proper deletion, but until this migration is complete (ETA four to eight weeks) CDN URLs from deleted photos stored on this legacy system may still be accessible."

Ars Technica first reported Facebook's problems with photo retention in 2009, and at the time was told by a Facebook spokesperson something similar — that the social network was "working with our content delivery network (CDN) partner to significantly reduce the amount of time that backup copies persist."

Follow-ups stories by Ars Technica 2010, and again on Sunday reported that images believed to be deleted by readers as far back as 2008 still exist via direct links on Facebook.

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Why there are so many drunk Brits on Facebook
• Facebook IPO explained ... in cartoon form!
• 7 signs we're living in the post-privacy era

 Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about privacy and then asks her to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+. Because that's how she rolls.

msnbc.com

By Steve Morgenstern, Techlicious.com

The automatic point-and-shoot systems in today’s digital cameras generally do an excellent job, but there are still many shooting situations where a little manual control can make an enormous difference. During the holidays, here are some simple steps you can take to improve your pictures for the holidays or anytime that will work with both simple and sophisticated cameras.

1. Out of focus photos
When your main subject isn’t in the center of the image, the camera may decide to focus elsewhere. The fastest, easiest solution is to move the camera temporarily so your subject is in the center of the photo, press the shutter button halfway, and hold it.

As long as you keep the shutter button pressed halfway, the camera will maintain focus on your subject, even if you move the camera to recompose the shot. Alternatively, you may be able to turn on face detection (if it’s a person you’re shooting) and the system will find the people in the scene anywhere on the screen. And with an advanced camera you can adjust the focal point manually, but this can be time-consuming and result in missed shots.

2. Blurry images
Movement can cause image blur, whether it’s an athlete running down the field or your own hands shaking slightly as you press the shutter button in dim lighting. You can combat this by adjusting the camera’s ISO setting — with a higher ISO, the shutter speed can be faster, making it easier to freeze the action.

There is a trade-off here when it comes to image quality, though. As you boost the ISO, the amount of noise, or visible graininess, in your photos increases. The degree to which this occurs differs from camera to camera, so a little trial and error is a good idea, but as a rule you can go to ISO 400 or even 800 with acceptable results, and often significantly higher if you’re planning to post rather than print your picture.

3. Off-color images
We don’t ordinarily notice changes in the color of light — our brains make the adjustment automatically — but in fact sunlight, incandescent bulb light, fluorescent light and so on are distinctly different shades. Your camera automatically adjusts to compensate for this, but it doesn’t always succeed. The most common problems are overly reddish-orange photos in rooms lit with standard household bulbs, and greenish shots under fluorescent light.

There are two approaches to tackling this problem. Nearly every camera lets you choose a white balance setting to match the environment — sunny, cloudy, tungsten (incandescent bulbs), fluorescent, etc. Even better is taking a manual white balance reading, if your camera allows it. This sounds fancy, but it’s actually a fast operation — you point the camera at a white piece of paper and press a button to take the setting. This provides the most accurate color reproduction possible, and you don’t have to take a new setting for each photo. Once you take a manual white balance reading, it will stay in effect until you change it.

4. Faces in outdoor shots are too dark
Your camera tries to ensure that everything in your photo will be reasonably well lit, using an automatic exposure system. In some instances, though, this just doesn’t work. For example, when you’re shooting at a sunny beach or in a snowy setting, the background is much brighter than the people in your photo, so they can come out far too dark. One solution is to use your camera’s preset scene settings. These vary from camera to camera, but nearly all models include settings for Beach and Snow or Backlit situations.

Another option: Set your camera to fire off the flash with each shot. When left in automatic mode, the flash won’t fire when the overall lighting is bright, but in an outdoor scene it can help illuminate faces and freeze action even when the sun is shining. This is called a "fill flash.”

For finer lighting control, explore your exposure compensation options. Even cameras without extensive manual controls usually provide this option. Exposure compensation lets you tweak the camera’s automatic setting to match conditions as you see them. Setting a positive exposure compensation makes the photo brighter, while a negative setting darkens the image. Try experimenting in your spare time, when you’re not trying to take mission-critical photos at important events.

5. Cluttered backgrounds
Often we’re so busy looking at the subject of our photos that we don’t notice what’s going on in the background. Then, when we look at the actual picture, we see a ton of distracting detail that ruins the overall effect of the image.

Strategy one for dealing with this: Try repositioning your subject and/or yourself to frame a cleaner shot. Does that tree branch look like it’s coming out of your child’s ear? Move three inches to the right and it’s gone. Is the busy wallpaper pattern going to distract from your daughter’s lovely smile? Ask her to move a few feet away from the wall, allowing the background to fade into the background.

A more technological solution depends on your camera’s manual controls — specifically, whether it offers "aperture-priority" mode. The camera’s aperture setting determines how much light enters the camera and impacts how much of the image is in focus — what’s known as depth of field. A shallow depth of field means objects that fall within a narrower distance from the camera will be in focus, which can create a nice blurry background behind the subject of your photo. The automatic setting of most cameras, though, favors maximizing depth of field. If you can adjust the aperture manually — lower numbers equal a shallower depth of field — you can turn distracting backgrounds into fuzzy abstract patterns that make your subject in the foreground the focus of attention.

More stories on Techlicious:

• Digital Camera Buying Guide 2011
• The Best Photo Editing Apps
• 10 Tips to Keep Your Digital Photos Organized

Chat with Techlicious on Facebook and get the free daily Techlicious Newsletter.

Kodak

For all of the wonderful tech products I recommend, there is nothing more special than a personalized present from your family or a close friend. And even if you're not crafty (I'm not!), photo gifts are easy to create using family photos or kids' artwork.

I found some great photo gift ideas, from ornaments to photo books to iPhone cases. There are options for any budget and, for you procrastinators out there, these gifts can still be ordered in time for the holidays.

Hard-shell iPhone case

This shatter-proof, scratch-resistant Capsule iPhone case from Kodak combines personal style and protection for iPhone 4/4s and iPhone 3G owners. Plus, the case's two-piece design prevents the case from popping off when dropped. Price: $39.99 on KodakGallery.com

Shutterfly

Custom notebook

Whether it's a hostess gift or stocking stuffer for a child, anyone on your list could use a 150-page, 5.5- by 8.5-inch custom notebook. Start by choosing blank or lined pages and then create a custom cover from nearly 150 designs in categories like travel, school, baby and wedding. Layouts accommodate up to nine photos. Price: $12.99 on Shutterfly.com

Snapfish

Pre-loaded digital photo frame

A digital photo frame, like this 8-inch model from Snapfish ($109.99), is a great holiday gift. But it's well worth the extra $30 to pre-load it with up to 100 of your own images, so it's ready to go right out of the box. Easily update images by connecting the frame to a computer and dragging and dropping images, for a total of 6,400 on its 1GB of memory. The 800-by-600-pixel frame will also play AVI video files and MP3 music files. Price: $139.99 on Snapfish.com

Cafepress.com

Christmas ornaments

Cafepress.com is a destination for user-designed merchandise where you can create, sell and buy “print-on demand” products. But this Christmas, we’re crazy about the Create-Your-Own-Ornament design tool. Just choose from one of the 30 templates (round or oval shapes), upload an image, edit it to fit and add text if you’d like. Price: $12 on Cafepress.com

Kodak

Hardcover photo books

Kodak's SmartFit technology automatically arranges photos into a book in the order they were taken. You can, of course, then go back to make adjustments, but it works surprisingly well. A small 5-by-7 paperback starts at $11.99 (14 pages), a medium 9-by-10.25 paperback book starts at $22.99 (20 pages); a medium printed hardcover at $39.99; and a large 12-by-14 printed hardcover book starts at $62.99 (20 pages). You can add additional pages up to 90 for small books (49 cents per page), and up to 60 pages for medium ($1.29 per page) and large ($1.99 per page). Available on KodakGallery.com

Shutterfly

Travel mug

Take your most cherished memories to work with you — or just stare at them while you caffeinate every morning with Shutterfly’s travel mug. The BPA-free mug has a drip-proof lid and comes in a 16 ounce-size ($15.99) and 20-ounce size ($19.99), enough to satisfy just about anyone’s thirst. Available on Shutterfly.com

SnapTotes

Bags

Create a one-of-a-kind photo bag and bring your favorite memories with you wherever you go. SnapTotes.com is a simple to navigate website which lets you choose your bag by style (think tote, beach or make-up), size (small, medium, large) occasion (like mom, teacher, work) and price (under $35 to $140). You can also decide on your own strap, liner and color. All the bags are designed to work best with a standard 4-by-6 photo, so just upload your image to the site or mail it in using the “mail in photos” option (costs $5 and the original will be sent back to you with the bag).

More stories on Techlicious:

• The Best Affordable Photo Books
• The Best Photo Sharing Sites
• 10 Tips to Keep Your Digital Photos Organized

Chat with Suzanne on Facebook  or on Google+ and get her free daily Techlicious Newsletter.

Helen A.S. Popkin

To be fair, this Facebook photo features two Americans, one of which is me.

British Facebook users are under the influence of old demon alcohol in 76 percent of the photos in which they are tagged, according to a recent survey. More than half said they sure wouldn't want their employers or co-workers to see those photos. And yet, two-thirds of survey respondents said they'd intentionally tagged their "friends" in embarrassing photos to make sure other Facebook friends got a look.

So the big take away from this survey seems to be that three quarters of British Facebook users are lousy friends.

Sure, only 8 percent of survey respondents said they'd been tagged in such photos on Facebook that might cause them to get in trouble with their employers or even lose their job. But nearly all survey participants (93 percent) said they'd actively untagged their names from photos they found "too embarrassing." 

That's some pretty lax observance of the Golden Rule, IMHO.

It might really make me question the superfluous "u" spellings of our former rulers across the pond, if my own self-hating xenophobia didn't make me suspect that we Americans are way more obnoxious when it comes to blatant attempts to humiliate our closest compatriots via tagged photos on Facebook. 

Alas, I just don't have the science to back that up.

The survey — conducted by photo website MyMemory.com — is restricted to British Facebook users, and only 1,781 of them at that. With such a humble polling pool, we are not even assured how accurately it applies to the more than 30 million Facebook users in the UK.

Such a survey does remind us however — especially during holiday party season when drunkenness has been known to occur — how it's important to remain vigilant about who's posting what about you on Facebook. Now, it used to be you didn't have much control over who tagged you in photos. Over the summer however, Facebook rolled out new privacy settings that allow you to approve who can tag photos of you, as well as who can see those photos.

More than 50 percent of the survey respondents said their settings allowed Facebook friends to view photos tagged with their name, and a quarter said their tagged photos were set to "Public."  One in 10 however said they blocked their friends from seeing photos in which they are tagged. 

You can change the "Public" default settings on tagged photos by clicking the drop down arrow at the top right of your Facebook page, choosing "Privacy Settings" and on that page, scroll down to "How Tags Work" and click "Edit Settings."

— via The Telegraph

More on the annoying way we live now:

• You've got 7 days to approve Facebook Timeline
• FTC settlement aside, Facebook still owns your privacy
• Facebook's porn attack: Lawmaker wants answers

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about privacy, then asks you to join her on Facebook and/or Twitter ... because that's how she rolls. Oh! Also, Google+.

Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images file

Carved pumpkins at the 7th annual pumpkin carving competition at the Helix Lounge in Washington on October 26, 2011.

Between the kids’ costumes, jack-o-lanterns and trick-or-treating, there are a lot of photo moments to capture. To get great photos in these difficult lighting situations, though, you’ll have to do a little more than just point and shoot. So check out our tips for taking your photos up a notch. And we’ll give you ideas for special effects that will make an already spooky holiday even spookier.

Photographing jack-o-lanterns
Great jack-o-lantern shots capture both the glow coming from the pumpkin and the textures of the pumpkin’s skin and surrounding objects in low light.

Take this shot at twilight (about 20 minutes after the sun goes down) when the glow from your pumpkin will produce about the same amount of light as the sky. With the exposure for everything the same, your camera will easily capture details in the entire shot.

If you miss this window, put your camera in HDR mode (High Dynamic Range) mode (Cameras we recommend, like the $200 Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS have this). In HDR mode, the camera takes an overexposed shot to capture the pumpkin skin detail and an underexposed shot for the candle’s glow and then merges them together without your intervention. If your camera doesn’t have an HDR mode, you can merge photos of different exposures together using Adobe Photoshop Elements’ Photomerge Exposure editing mode.

Be sure you can’t see the flame of the candle when taking your shots. It will appear too bright as a spot in your picture. And use a tripod and set the camera’s self-timer to avoid the brief shake that inevitably occurs when you press down on the shutter button.

Creating ghosts in your photos
You can create ghosts two ways. If your camera supports long exposures — at least 8 seconds — you can have the person or object remain in the frame for part of the exposure, about 5 seconds. The space where the person was is double exposed, making your subject appear somewhat translucent.

The other way to create a ghost is to take two photos and merge them together. In Photoshop Elements, you create two layers. Make sure the photo containing the person is the layer on top and then experiment with the transparency of that layer to create your effect.

Making ghost writing
For ghost writing, you’ll need a camera that supports exposures of at least 8 seconds, with 16 or 30 producing even better results, a tripod or flat surface, a flashlight or two and darkness. The trick is to use the flashlight to draw pictures or words in the air. The long exposure captures the trailing light as a bright image floating in the air.

Keep in mind that the camera captures the mirror image of what you draw, so you’ll have to write your message backward (hard) or flip the photo in your photo editing program (easy).

Shooting spooky silhouettes
Around sunset, take photos against the beautiful orange and red sky without a flash to create a silhouette of your subject. Make sure you have a clear sightline to the sky, so your subject doesn’t have to compete with other objects on the horizon. The technique works great with kids in funky costumes.

More stories on Techlicious:

• The Best Photo Sharing Sites
• Digital Camera Buying Guide
• The Best Affordable Photo Books

Chat with Suzanne on Facebook  or on Google+ and get her free daily Techlicious Newsletter.

1000memories

Shoebox app on the iPhone

A new app released by a "memory sharing" site makes converting photo prints to digital a little easier by turning an iPhone into a mobile photo scanner. 

Shoebox, the first app released by 1000memories, gives iPhone users the ability to scan and share large collections of photos and documents on Facebook and Twitter, as well as on 1000memories. 

While it seems like it's impossible there was ever a time when cameras weren't digital, many of us have ample evidence there was such a thing as film and photo prints. Albums — and shoeboxes, as the video below shows — bursting with dusty images remind us that we used to spend time sitting down and reliving those moments with others, rather than solo clicking and commenting.

Not that those times are dead. Plenty of photobooks are available through digital sharing sites, but this app may actually be quite useful for those of us who have been eyeing daily deals for mass photo scanning packages. Using this free app, which will soon be available on Android and other mobile platforms, users can produce scanned 4x6 photos with a DPI of up to 550 (web quality only requires 72 DPI, optimal printing DPI is around 300). The best photos will come through the new iPhone 4S, which will produce scans at 2448 x 3264 pixel resolution. The app will take advantage of the improved f2.4 lens, for lower-light scans to show up in better quality. 

The app will remain compatible with all previous iPhone models, including the iPhone 4, 3G, and 3GS, as well as the iPad.

Shoebox also incorporates cropping and straightening as it auto-detects the edges of a photo. Users who already caption and tag photos taken on mobile phones, Shoebox users can do the same with these scans. The photos are then automatically uploaded to 1000memories, where it can be organized and shared with friends and family.  

1000memories claims your account will never expire, and it has partnered with the Internet Archive "to make your content as close to permanent as possible." To feel a little safe, users can download unlimited copies of their entire photo collections at any time.

Kids today have plenty of videos uploaded to YouTube and a gazillion Facebook albums taken by their parents, but for many of us, our photos are the only physical links we have to our past, beyond the last decade or so. 

Since it has such a keen stake in digital images, 1000memories noted in a blog post that an estimated that 2.5 billion people around the world own digital cameras (also those with mobile phones). If the average person snaps 150 photos this year that would total 375 billion photos this year — a third of them on Facebook.

In an informal poll we conducted, that's where most of you (71 percent) upload to as well. 

More stories:

• 1000memories adds the living as well as the dead
• One-third of year's digital photos are on Facebook
• How to make your new Facebook profile look awesome
• Life everlasting on 1000memories

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.

Courtesy Andy Katz / Sony Electronics

Notice how the shade really brings out the color and texture of the fur on this pooch.

By Josh Kirschner, Techlicious.com

In the past, we've offered tips for photographing babies and toddlers, and some of our readers have asked, "What about photographing pets? They're a part of the family, too."

So, I sat down with Andy Katz, professional photographer and a Sony Artisan of Imagery, to discuss pet photography. He gave me eight tips that will help any pet owner take better photos of his or her treasured companion.

Courtesy of Andy Katz / Sony Electronics

In direct sun, the dog becomes washed out by light.

1. Beautiful light makes for beautiful photos
The best light is early in the morning and late afternoon, it has a warmer color and creates more interesting shadows than at noon. If you are shooting at noon, place your pet in shade or shadow for prettier light and more image detail. Flashes look unnatural, so try to stay with natural light sources, use a slower shutter speed if necessary and follow our tips for shooting in low light.

2. Create an effect of movement
Shoot at a slow shutter speed while holding the camera still so the background is still but your pet is in motion. If you’re not using a tripod, keep image stabilization on to keep the background sharp.

3. Take a lot of photos to get one great shot
With the large memory cards in modern digital cameras, “Pixels are free," says Andy, so keep shooting your pet and sort through the shots later to find the best.

4. Use color if it adds to the photo, or black and white for more detail
Always set your camera to shoot your pet in color and then decide later whether color ads to the photo. If not, try removing the color through your photo-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, to accentuate the details.

5. Shoot RAW, if possible, to ensure you get all the detail
A RAW file contains all of the information captured by your camera’s sensor. When your camera converts an image to a JPEG, it compresses the image and some data are lost. It’s better to keep the files RAW and convert them to JPEG after you have finished editing or cropping them.

6. Use selective focus to change a photo's mood
Choosing whether to place your pet in focus or the foreground/background can completely change the mood of the photo. Try it both ways and see which image you prefer.

Andy Katz / Sony Electronics

On the left, the focus is on the dog. And on the right the focus is on the fence. Do you notice how the mood differs between the two photos?

7. Highlight the eyes
Find a shot that creates highlights in your pet’s eyes. If the eyes look good, your pet will look good. Look back at the first photo. Your eyes are drawn to the dog's eyes and there's a vibrancy that you wouldn't get if the highlights weren't there.

8. Let your pet be a pet
Don’t get caught up in having your pet pose for a photo. First of all, given that they’re animals, pets don’t listen very well and you're likely to get frustrated. Secondly, letting your pet act like a pet will give you more natural photos that capture your pet’s true character.

More stories on Techlicious:

• Digital Camera Buying Guide 2011
• The Best Products for Exercising with Your Dog
• Tips for Taking Great Low Light Photos

Chat with Techlicious on Facebook and get the free daily Techlicious Newsletter.

1000memories

1000memories started out as a memorial website where users could post photos, texts of stories and other remembrances, songs and videos of their loved ones who have died.

The site, which is free to use, still offers that important service. But now it's expanding its features to include your own memories to share with others. TechCrunch recently dubbed this as 1000memories becoming "a Facebook for the past," and that's apt. Certainly, if you don't want to use Facebook's new Timeline feature, which is similar to what 1000memories is doing with its "Shoebox" feed, 1000memories is another way to share that information in a less-crowded venue.

1000memories, a little more than a year old, says on its blog:

Over the last year, we’ve watched countless beautiful old photos, documents and handwritten letters pour into our site. People have rediscovered their most treasured memories — the ones hidden in old shoeboxes and stuck in photo albums — and finally found a place to share them with friends and family.

Another new addition to the site is The Family Tree for helping to create just that. "As people began creating pages for multiple family members, we realized that those photos, stories and memories should all be connected," 1000memories says.

While nothing lasts forever, 1000memories says the content posted there will be "as close to permanent as has ever existed" because of the site's partnership with the Internet Archive. Still, copies of copies are always a good way to go — especially when dealing with your most valuable personal treasures: your photos and documents.

Related stories:

• How to make your new Facebook profile look awesome
• How to try the new Facebook Timeline right now
• Facebook shows off new Timeline profiles, apps and more
• Life everlasting on 1000memories

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Blurb

By Kristy Holch, Techlicious.com

I hate to admit it, but I rarely print photos anymore.  Yet when I have a memorable get-together with friends or family, sometimes I surprise everyone afterwards with a little photo book of the highlights. They take just a few minutes to make online, and with prices starting under $3, they are affordable gifts.

Today’s photo books come in all sizes, qualities, and prices for every budget and occasion. And they’re a lot easier to make than you’d think.

Most photo book websites can auto-fill your photo book with one click, based on when you took your photos. And some go beyond that. For example, Apple’s iPhoto uses facial recognition to center pictures on faces when fitting photos into templates; star ratings to feature favorite photos more prominently; and meta-data (date info and more saved in your photo files) to group related photos together on the same spread.

You’re not stuck with files that you’ve uploaded to the site you’re using to create your photo book, either. Many now let you pull photos in from Facebook, as well as from your computer.

You can also choose to edit your books online or offline. If you’re just looking to auto-fill your books or do a few edits, online works well. Downloadable applications are great for working on very long or complex books, especially if you don’t have a fast Internet connection.

Two other things to keep in mind when choosing a photo book site. First, if you plan to use the book as a keepsake album, pay more for acid-free archival books.  Also consider online archivability — some sites just keep your online book for 30 days, while others will store it indefinitely, even letting you share it with others online so they can make their own customized version. 

Also, double-check the shipping options and costs before you start, and factor them in to your total project.  Many sites have optional pick up at an affiliate retail store to avoid shipping costs.

Here are some of our favorite sites for affordable photo books. 

Hotbooks

HotPrints
HotPrints may be the industry’s best kept secret. The site offers a free 16-page 8 inch-by-10 inch paperback book for $2.99 S&H. What’s the catch? It comes with a removable ad insert, there is only one fixed size and length for a maximum 84 photos, quantities are limited to 4 books per month, books can only be sent to your address, and the 20 theme designs and 34 layouts are limited compared to other sites.  Quality is good enough, with weighty stock and saddle stitching instead of glue. If you don’t need alternate sizes or multiple copies, HotPrints books are an incredible value.   

Snapfish

Walgreens and Snapfish
No kidding, Walgreens offers some of the smallest and most affordable paperback photo books, with 2 inch-by-3 inch minibooks at $5.99 for 25 full-page photos.  These have fixed length and don’t allow captions. Step up to the 4 inch-by-6 inch bound brag books at $6.99 for 25 pages (up to 15 photos/page), expandable up to 150 pages, with customizable layouts and captions by page. Walgreens’ print partner, Snapfish, features the same robust user interface and similar book formats, and many more ways to repurpose your photos.  Use Walgreens when you want to avoid shipping costs with in-store pickup, and even get same-day pickup on one hardcover format. 

Mixbook

MixBook
Mixbook is a relative newcomer that offers robust customization in books starting at 4-by-6 for $6.99. Unique to Mixbook are its sharing and collaboration tools. Invited friends can collaborate on the work in progress, adding photos and pages to the book. Finished books can be shared by embedding the Mixbook player code on a website or blog.   

Blurb
Blurb is all about books, and it shows. Here you can make (and sell!) customized books of any shape, size, paper type and layout. Its entry level is a $4.95 paperback 5-inch-by-8 inch booklet with 20 pages. Use the online tool, or download the bookmaking software. Blurb excels when text and photos combine in complex layouts, as in a memoir, and when special shapes and sizes are needed.  

iPhoto

iPhoto
Mac users have a simple but functional solution in the pre-installed iPhoto application. The smallest book format is 3½ inches-by-2⁵⁄₈ inches soft cover with 20 pages, sold in three-packs for $11.97. (Similar-sized booklets in multipacks are available to non-Mac users from www.lulu.com and www.viovio.com.)  Additional pages can be added. Also unique to Apple is a spiral-bound option in larger sizes that allows the two-sided printed pages to lay flat when open. Few formats and layouts are available from iPhoto, but the software runs on the local PC, which means no worries with Internet lag, and checkout is easy using an AppleID. 

More stories on Techlicious:

• The Best Photo Editing Apps
• The Best Photo Sharing Sites
• Digital Camera Buying Guide

Check out Techlicious on Facebook and get the free daily Techlicious Newsletter.

1000memories

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then Facebook photos would be worth 140 quadrillion words, which is equal to 140 billion photos — more than a third of all digital photos taken in a year. 

Answering the question, "How many photos have ever been taken?" —3.5 trillion photos — 1000memories went on to figure out how that number has risen steeply with the advent of the digital camera.

The site, which specializes in multimedia online memorials (and as a central sharing site for the living, too), estimated that 2.5 billion people around the world own digital cameras (also including phones that have built-in cameras). Then, if the average person snaps 150 photos this year that would total 375 billion photos.

Facebook's collection will be 140 billion by year's end, which makes the social network the reigning champion of memory keeping. (The volume of pictures, if it can be imagined, is kind of mind-blowing: "over 10,000 times larger than the Library of Congress.")

Just this year, an estimated 70 billion to 100 billion photos will be uploaded to Facebook, which amounts to 20 percent of all photos taken in 2011. 

Facebook's 750 million members are certifiably crazy about photo-sharing. TechCrunch reported that at the start of 2011, more than 750 million photos were uploaded New Year's Eve weekend.

Way behind Facebook is Photobucket with 8 billion and Flickr, which recorded its 5 billion uploads as of a year ago.

More stories:

• WhatWasThere.com creates album of then-and-now photos
• How to stop pervs from stealing your naked pics
• Twitter's new 'galleries' reveal your recent photos
• Switch your Facebook photo viewer back to 'classic'

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.

Duane Hoffman/msnbc.com

Scarlett Johansson's got her lawyer trying to purge her stolen nude pics from the Internet — yeah, good luck with that — and her people on the horn to the feds, to to put the hammer down on whoever ripped those self-portraits from her phone.

Meanwhile, someone's shopping revealing pics allegedly plucked from the phone of Mila Kunis, in a hacker's haul that's rumored to contain a cameo from Justin Timberlake's junk, as well as sexy text messages between the two. And the FBI continues to investigate similar compromising content snatched from the electronic devices of Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Vanessa Hudgens.

This isn't just a Hollywood trend, however. In at least three recent cases, men face criminal charges for infiltrating email and Facebook accounts of dozens of unfamous women. There, they found nude or semi-nude photos of their victims, and published those photos on porn sites or even the victims' own Facebook profiles.

So what have we learned, kids? If you're going to take naked pictures of yourself — and let's face it, lots of you already have — do like your parents had the good sense to do with their racy Polaroids: Hide 'em good!

Eventually, everyone will be naked on the Internet, and everyone who isn't will be dead, and not in a position to hamper your employment prospects and whatnot.

Until then however, if you're not a famous person whose career only benefits from naked scandals even if you star in "High School Musical," you have your immediate future to think about.

It's not like naked pics and sexting are a gateway behavior to, say, working at Goldman Sachs. Some people disagree however, and even some people can make your life miserable.

Punchline solutions, such as just keep your clothes on in front of cameras (or camera phones), are howlarious, but in the end, not helpful. To say "just don't do it," and mean it, is a denial of how we humans work. You're gonna do what you're gonna do ... especially if it involves being naked. So, as with everything you do naked, take precautions.

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to steal your naked pics — more often than not, these are crimes of opportunity. Hackers looking to steal your intimate portraits use the same methods that have been the bread and butter of identity thieves for years. Here are the simplest tips to keep your naughty pics locked down. You already know them, you just don't do them. So let's review.

Don't leave things laying around

• Don't leave your naked pictures on your cellphone.
• Don't leave your naked pictures in your email, including the "sent" folder.
• Don't leave your cellphone or computer where others can access it, even for a short period of time.
• Don't loan out your cellphone or computer to anyone who snoops (Everyone snoops).
• Don't email or post your private pics on Facebook, even if you think you've got you the privacy controls figured out.

But in case you do ... 

Take your passwords seriously:

• Password protect your cellphone, computer and Wi-Fi. 
• Use random passwords — not something easily guessed, like your pet's name or 1234 or the always classic "password."
• Change your passwords regularly on your electronic devices, your email, Facebook and other online accounts.
• Don't use the same password on all your accounts.
• Chose random security questions and answers in case you need to verify your accounts. Avoid easily researched answers such as your mother's maiden name or your hometown.

Don't talk to strangers

• Don't open email or text attachments from strangers — these can download Trojan viruses that can access your files.
• Don't open suspect email or text attachments that appear to be from trusted sources until you've confirmed their origin. "Suspect" as in "OMG! LOOK AT THIS VIDEO I FOUND OF YOU!!!" or anything else that shows up with CAPS LOCK or claiming to have info you really need to see RIGHT NOW. Trusted sources get their accounts hacked too, and that hacker could be attempting to use their account to get into your computer.
• Don't respond to emails claiming to need your log-on, password, account number and/or other personal information, even if it appears to be from, say, Facebook, Google, your Internet or email provider. Phishing scam emails can appear deceptively authentic, but real companies never ask you such personal info via email.

Consider creative photo editing

• Don't be a Weiner, cut your head out of the picture.
• Make sure your face isn't reflected elsewhere in the photo, somehow!
• Don't include recognizable backgrounds, especially if you're a famous person whose lovely home has been featured in photos on the Internet.
• Probably best to put away those framed photos of you with your lovely wife and/or former U.S. president Bill Clinton, too.
• Oh! And don't run outside naked, not even for a minute. You never know when the Google Street View car is going by!

Remember! Naked pictures exist without the risk of discovery — you roll the dice, you take your chances.

If all else fails, hey! The new Polaroid 300 Instant is back — and available at Target, according to Polaroid's website. Of course, you still run the risk of your naked Polaroids being discovered, but unlike the Internet, those photos do deteriorate over time (unless that thieving perv has a scanner). 

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Hacker posted women's nude photos on their own Facebook pages
• Facebook hacker posts stolen pics on porn site
• Dad sues Facebook over daughter's racy pics
• Google Street View captures naked guy in trunk
• Man steals $57K from neighbors using their Facebook info

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+. 

Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images

An attendee takes a photo with her cell phone as President Barack Obama speaks during a "Twitter Town Hall" July 6, 2011 at the White House.

By Kristy Holch, Techlicious.com

Look around the next time you’re at a baseball game, playground or even a wedding. Chances are a lot of the photos are being taken with a cellphone, not a digital camera. More and more, people are also editing their photos on their phones. There are apps for both for traditional editing, like cropping and brightness, and for applying fun and artistic effects, like sepia or cartoonization. 

Here are some of our favorite apps for Apple iOS and Android devices. Just one bit of advice: Always start by getting the picture you want, before experimenting with effects. You can always undo those you don’t like.   

Instagram

Instagram
Primarily a photo-sharing app, much like a Twitter for photos, Instagram lets you share with groups of friends and view their feeds. But it also includes basic image editing and some fun filters and effects. Plus you can upload your creations to Facebook. A downside is that images are down-sized. Free on iTunes.

Snapbucket
The popular photo-sharing site Photobucket recently launched this mobile app for both Android and iPhone, and not surprisingly, it excels at sharing. It offers basic editing, filters and effects in an easy interface. Photos can be saved and posted to social sites, with captions. Free on Android Market and iTunes

Picplz

Picplz
Like its closest rival Instagram, Picplz is mainly about sharing, and offers all the basic editing and effects tools. It excels in sharing, even offering a Dropbox option. Free on Android Market and iTunes

Fotolr Photo Studio
Fotolr is a nifty image editor that has most of the features you would want for on-the-fly sharing.  Aside from the basic editing tools and creative filters and effects, it includes several creative makeover tools, including “acne removal." The tools are not for creating a professional headshot, but for having a laugh with your friends. Free on iTunes.

Camera+ by tap tap tap

Camera+ 
This elegant app offers the basic tools you need: editor for cropping/adjusting the image, filters for applying cool effects, and sharing. The Facebook integration lets you add a caption with the upload. $1.99 on iTunes

FX Photo Studio
In addition to the standard repertoire of editing tools, this robust photo tool offers some professional-level tools like masking and gamma adjustment. The nearly 200 effects and filters have sliders for easily adjusting the degree of the effect. If you love to tinker, this is the app for you. 99 cents on iTunes.

PicSay Pro
PicSay Pro version is one of the most robust photo apps, with a full suite of capabilities from start to finish. It stores your original un-edited photo, and applies edits to a copy, as it should. There’s even a version for Android tablets. $4.28 on Android Market.

Vignette by NEILANDTHERESA

Vignette
If you love special effects, Vignette delivers. There are 84 effects, including retro and vintage styles, toy camera effects (LOMO, Diana and Holga), photobooth, as well as a bunch of interesting film effects, like double exposure and cross-process. It is designed to apply those filters during picture-taking, but they can be applied from the gallery too.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t save your original images. $4.04 on Android Market

More stories on Techlicious:

The Best Photo Sharing Sites

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