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Die hards might mourn the loss of darkrooms, negatives, and film, but digital cameras have completely changed the game for amateur photographers everywhere. Their ease of use (not to mention the convenience of sharing digital photos on the internet) have had many ordinary people turn into shutterbugs. Here's a few tips and tricks to make your digital photos go the distance.

Know what you've got

One of the best things about digital cameras is that a good memory card can hold hundreds of photos, so you can keep shooting and shooting and not miss capturing any of the action. However, going through hundreds and hundreds of mediocre photos to find ten good ones is overwhelming, to say the least. Photo organizational software is a must. A good option available for free online is Picasa, created by Google. Picasa searches your computer for photos, and puts them all in an easy to decipher database so you can see exactly what you've got. In this format, it's easy to get rid of photos that you don't want, and keep track of the ones you do. Also, Picasa allows users to edit and correct their photos, which leads us to...

Fix the ones you love

Adobe Photoshop has been the go-to editing software for graphic designers and photographers for years. However, it carries a hefty price tag, and has capabilities far beyond what the amateur photographer would ever use. A simple web search will bring up a nearly endless amount of free web-based photo editing programs that will give people the results they want. With these programs, you can correct the light levels in your photos, take out red eye, make the colors warmer or cooler, or a nearly endless amount of other options. Picnik is a web-based program that not only allows users to correct their photos, but gives them creative options like different “film” types and unique frames. And Picnik syncs with many popular photo sharing websites, so sharing your finished works is as easy as pressing a button.

Show them off!

Now that you've got a computer full of lovingly touched up digital images, what are you going to do with them? Sure, you could get them printed and put them into albums, but more and more people are foregoing albums and putting their pictures online to share them with people they love all over the world. One of the most popular photo sharing websites is Flickr, which also features a community where users can comment and keep track of each other's photos. Flickr also offers services (and links to services) where users can print their photos both as prints or turn them into invitations, books, postcards, and more.

Whether you're a photo newbie or Ansel Adams in the making, there's plenty of opportunities online to share your photos off with the world!