The acquisition of media can be broken into 2 sections: technology and workflow and should be governed by a usage / privacy policy.

The Technology:

Photos for the web need not be 12 megapixels and captured on a $1300 Nikon D90 Digital SLR (If you have one lucky you). Web images are best when downsized, it is faster for uploading and viewing and removes the temptation to photoshop.

So what do you really need, anything 6 mega pixels and above will do fine, web photos are not the same as print material but at a pinch the 6meg will do for printing as well.

A built in flash will prove invaluable at evening events, make sure your card reader is a standard format like SD so it can be read in many machines, if you are really in a rush the new WiFi SD cards can make transfer incredibly simple.

Batteries, and SD Memory cards - get a few, for a normal day you could shoot 2 cards worth and being stuck without charged batteries will cause no end of problems, a 6 pack rechargeable AA batteries and 2 x 2gig memory cards should set you up this should cost less than $70.

Now the camera, a simple camera can do wonderful things, the technology is improving each month so below are three simple cameras, I quote B&H Photo Video as they have superior service.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80

Kodak EasyShare C913 Digital Camera

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S780

All three were listed at time of printing as under $100. If you will be running around camp to shoot you may want to consider a monopod this can help if you end up with a Digital SLR with some weight to it.

Many Video cameras also have half decent stills capture, and even some cell phone have reached 5 megapixel. It is about getting the photo in the moment and lots of them.

Before you begin, setting the camera with the correct date and time will become invaluable when you need to verify an event, check it before the shooting day begins.

The Work flow:

• Once you have the photos they need to be transferred to the computer, try and set up folders by date and copy all the photos from the card (use cut or move). Some programs can auto capture all the images when a card is inserted, consider this option.
  
  
• Sort images and remove obvious duds, the horrible focus, miss-fires and completely under lit.
  
  
• If you have set up theme folders copy across the images that apply like "archery" or "bunk groups- girls 11-12" it is better to have someone not the photographer assigned to this task, normally at the end of a day.
  
  
• Now you have sorted make a backup of the master folder, yes it sounds like a lot of work but many of these tasks can be automated.
  
  
• Now we are almost ready to publish, have you considered a watermark? simple free software like infra view and/or actions in photoshop can place a logo web address or name with copyright on an image. If this is done slightly, it really helps later when proving ownership.
  
  
• once you have marked the images open your browser and begin uploading, setting a fix time they will be available for your online gallery makes it easier for parents.
  
  
• After the summer you can use some of these photos and others you collected to create social network galleries to bring fresh attention to your camp.

Usage and Privacy policy:

Just like the camp rules you need rules for campers and staff publishing online, they can be selected to fit your camps private philosophy, but should consider fair use. It should be spelled out in the camper contract before the summer and in hiring documents.

<MORE - Some good image software>