LAST YEAR WAS a blessed one for many of those I hold dear. Two of my nieces had first children, another niece got married, my oldest brother and his wife went on a five-week road trip, and my grad-school clan had a virtual reunion. In each case, someone set up a shared photo folder so anyone could post images and comment on others’. What a joy! Here’s how you, too, can set up such a folder. —Neil Wertheimer

1. Choose your platform Cloud services let you create shareable photo albums. They include Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive.

2. Create your folder Upload or copy your initial set of photos or videos into the new folder

3. Organize your folder This is where services may vary the most: Some allow for artful “album” presentations; others are a basic stack of photos. Explore, rename and organize as you wish.

4. Share the folder Find the sharing option on the folder page. Add in email addresses. Often you can customize a note to go out. Hit Send. The email will include a secure link to the folder; recipients can save this.

5. Update and personalize Some services will alert you when new photos or videos are added. And recipients can add their photos too.