PHOTO SHARING SITES
X
flickr
FREE OR PAY ACCOUNTS - This Yahoo sponsored photo sharing system of photo groups is truly gigantic in it's scope and scale. When you go to the home page HERE you'll see a Search field in the upper right. Here you can Search for the Keywords most people attach to their photos, but it also searches for photo names.
Click on Explore (lower center) and you will see a different Search box at the upper right. Click on the pulldown triangle next to the Search box and select Groups. Flickr groups have names which usually describe the types of photos that are posted in that group. The group names can denote an activity, like sailing or dancing. There are groups for the cities that photographers live in, which can serve as a reference for places you may be planning to visit. There are also groups for a type of photography like black-and-white, Nikon and Canon owners have their own groups as well as specific types of lens owners, like the ultra-wide fisheye lens group.
If you want more flexibility in your Flickr photo postings be sure to check out the Flickr Pro account. The Flickr Help/FAQ section will show you the details on this type of account. It's well worth the modest yearly fee. Flickr has a well designed and implemented Flash based Slideshow that really makes your pictures look great. When you first go to a groups home page you will NOT see the Slideshow button, click on MORE at the bottom right of the thumbnails to see the Slideshow button. There are also online discussion forums in most group sections. The pdx[portland] group has monthly meet-ups (taverns/brewpubs) on a fairly regular basis, also some group photo-walks.
flickr
FREE OR PAY ACCOUNTS - This Yahoo sponsored photo sharing system of photo groups is truly gigantic in it's scope and scale. When you go to the home page HERE you'll see a Search field in the upper right. Here you can Search for the Keywords most people attach to their photos, but it also searches for photo names.
Click on Explore (lower center) and you will see a different Search box at the upper right. Click on the pulldown triangle next to the Search box and select Groups. Flickr groups have names which usually describe the types of photos that are posted in that group. The group names can denote an activity, like sailing or dancing. There are groups for the cities that photographers live in, which can serve as a reference for places you may be planning to visit. There are also groups for a type of photography like black-and-white, Nikon and Canon owners have their own groups as well as specific types of lens owners, like the ultra-wide fisheye lens group.
If you want more flexibility in your Flickr photo postings be sure to check out the Flickr Pro account. The Flickr Help/FAQ section will show you the details on this type of account. It's well worth the modest yearly fee. Flickr has a well designed and implemented Flash based Slideshow that really makes your pictures look great. When you first go to a groups home page you will NOT see the Slideshow button, click on MORE at the bottom right of the thumbnails to see the Slideshow button. There are also online discussion forums in most group sections. The pdx[portland] group has monthly meet-ups (taverns/brewpubs) on a fairly regular basis, also some group photo-walks.
X
Zenfolio
PAY ACCOUNTS - From my perspective this photo sharing site has it all. A great reputation, Web 2.0 site layout and a great looking Flash based slideshow feature. It offers online printing (Mpix and others) and sales of your photos as well as many other features for the novice to professional photographer... check out their Features page HERE.
Smugmug
PAY ACCOUNTS - This photo sharing site has many of the same features as Zenfolio and is equally liked by most photo geeks on online photography forums. If you look at its feature page HERE and compare it with Zenfolio's HERE you'll see they are not that different. I prefer the page layout of the photo galleries on Zenfolio and the fact that they use Mpix for online printing.
PBase
PAY ACCOUNTS - This photo sharing site has been around for a long time and has a good reputation. The features offered on this site IMO aren't up to the Web 2.0 standards of Smugmug and Zenfolio. If you just want a basic online photo sharing site and a secure place to store photos which can be linked to from online forums, then this may be for you.
Zenfolio
PAY ACCOUNTS - From my perspective this photo sharing site has it all. A great reputation, Web 2.0 site layout and a great looking Flash based slideshow feature. It offers online printing (Mpix and others) and sales of your photos as well as many other features for the novice to professional photographer... check out their Features page HERE.
Smugmug
PAY ACCOUNTS - This photo sharing site has many of the same features as Zenfolio and is equally liked by most photo geeks on online photography forums. If you look at its feature page HERE and compare it with Zenfolio's HERE you'll see they are not that different. I prefer the page layout of the photo galleries on Zenfolio and the fact that they use Mpix for online printing.
PBase
PAY ACCOUNTS - This photo sharing site has been around for a long time and has a good reputation. The features offered on this site IMO aren't up to the Web 2.0 standards of Smugmug and Zenfolio. If you just want a basic online photo sharing site and a secure place to store photos which can be linked to from online forums, then this may be for you.
