Separating yolks from whites
First, it's easiest to separate the yolk and white when the egg is cold; the white stays together better. There are different techniques and even little tools to help you separate the yolk from the egg whites but I've always used the old school method of cracking the egg, breaking the shell in half and shuffling the yolk between the two shells until the white is fully separated. Be careful though, when using the broken shell to transfer the yolk back and forth makes it more likely that the yolk will be punctured on the sharp edge of the shell.
I've also used the technique of cracking the egg into a bowl and using my fingers I gently cradle the yolk and let the whites slide through my fingers. When I need to separate a lot of eggs (in the commercial bakeries there were times when I had to separate over 50 eggs) I ALWAYS use the hand cradling method because it's faster. Even though the hand method is messier, it's preferred because it's less likely that the yolk will break.
I've worked with bakers who crack all the eggs into one large bowl and slowly remove the yolks one by one. I don't trust myself to do this because even the smallest bit of yolk will ruin the entire batch of whites so I prefer to get 3 separate bowls, one bowl I use for the actual process of separating of yolk and white (what I call the "action bowl") and then I use one bowl to hold the whites and the other for the yolk. After separating each egg I empty the action bowl. This way, if I break the yolk I can just wash out the action bowl and won't have to worry about all the other whites being contaminated. If you do get a little bit of yolk in the whites, all is not lost. Use a broken shell and scoop up the yolk. The yolk is attracted to the shell and makes it easier to fish out rather that using a spoon or your finger.
Building Egg Whites
You may think that you're ready to whip the whites but it's best to wait for the egg whites to come to room temperature. If you're impatient, you can whip the whites while they are cold but it takes a lot longer. If you're mixing by hand I definitely, definitely suggest that you wait for the whites to come to room temperature. Before adding the egg whites to a mixing bowl make sure that the bowl is clean. Any trace amount of fat (butter, grease) will deflate you egg whites which is why it's imperative that the egg whites don't contain any yolk. Begin beating your whites on low and gradually increase the speed. Once the egg whites have become opaque and are at a soft peak, if in the recipe, gradually add the sugar. The sugar will help stiffen the egg whites. Be careful not to over beat, if over mixed the egg whites will deflate and become liquid again. Beat the eggs to the desired thickness. Dip your finger in the egg whites, if the tip of peak falls over when you remove your finger, it's soft. If the peak stand straight up, it's firm. Another sign of stiff egg whites is when the wire whip is making ribbons while it mixes. You'll notice that the ribbons will become more defined the stiffer the egg whites get. If you added sugar to the whites you'll also notice a glossy look to the whites.
Remember, always watch the bowl. While baking I've been distracted and left egg whites mixing for too long. By the time I remembered them the egg whites were so firm they were super dense, almost like marshmallows. It made it incredibly hard to incorporate into the rest of the batter so pay attention!
When incorporating egg whites into the batter it is important to be gentle while folding. If you are too aggressive with folding in the egg whites (stirring instead of folding) you will deflate the egg whites and all that work will be for nothing.
Not sure how to fold egg whites? No problem, I've made a quick little video.
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