Good sites for hosting pics? How do you get your pics to the web?

[Gunga Din]

I havent posted alot of pics on the web for awhile and wanted to know what people are doing nowadays. I was thinking of using my Comcast acct and using my webspace there to upload pics. Good idea? I'd appreciate any feedback, thx !

[Lovesong]

flickr for free stuff.

smugmug if you're interested in having something more professional.

[bjett92]

I think comcast webspace is terrible, but maybe thats just my opinion.

For free hosting, I think flickr is the best, and Google picasa comes in second.

[Ryan1524]

I've been using flickr for a few years now. They have very good features.

[Gunga Din]

I've been using flickr for a few years now. They have very good features.

Great i'll check it out. Thanks for the quick response.

[Clix Pix]

Many people use Zenfolio.com or Smugmug.com. There is also PBase.com. None of these are free, though. In addition to Flickr there are the free sites Image Shack and Photobucket.

If you have a dot mac account you can put a gallery of your images up on your own website, too.

[Aperture]

I'd have to say Flickr is the best free service. If you are willing to pay then check out Smugmug.

[cutsman]

Go with flickr if you like the whole social community/networking aspect.

Otherwise, I'd suggest either Smugmug or Zenfolio. Both provide a clean and professional-looking interface. I went with Zenfolio after trying the Smugmug trial account. I found Zenfolio to be a little easier to use and I preferred the look and layout options of the Zenfolio pages. Have a look at my zenfolio page (link in signature below).

The one thing i wish Zenfolio had was the option for visitors to leave comments... Smugmug has this. Zenfolio has been promising this feature for a while now and it has yet to surface. I'll be patient. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with either of these sites.

[coastertux]

I really like Zenfolio, if you want professional but at a lower cost than SmugMug, check it out. If you use my referral code it gets you $5 off any plan. AG2-MRX-S3Z

[termina3]

This is going to sound like complete spam... but I'm a devoted and zealous customer.

SmugMug!

For two reasons: great customer service and unlim storage/bandwith.

Their customer service usually respond in MINUTES.

In addition, a few months ago it was late (10pm CST) Thursday and I needed photos for a grieving family by Saturday morning. Smugmug not only pushed my order to the top of the pile at their printing facility, but upgraded the shipping to overnight/sat. AM free of charge. I got the photos 6pm Friday and was able to hand deliver them Saturday morning.

Who else would have done this, let alone free of charge? They're truly compassionate and devoted people.

Save me $10, you $5 with the referral code: AD2YtsjXceosE

[mashny]

I've been using Flickr Pro ($25/year I think) for a year or so and love it. I have over five hundred high-resolution images (4x6 300dpi), most with commentary, and have been very happy with it. As a very minor note, if Microsoft buys Yahoo, I'm not sure how that will affect Flickr, which is owned by Yahoo.

[phiberglass]

Probably flickr, photobucket, service that comes with your ISP.

I would recommend just buying a domain and getting a server it's pretty cheap. I pay 65 a year for 350gb of disk space and 70,000gb of bandwidth.

[Gunga Din]

Probably flickr, photobucket, service that comes with your ISP.

I would recommend just buying a domain and getting a server it's pretty cheap. I pay 65 a year for 350gb of disk space and 70,000gb of bandwidth.

All great advice. Thx to all. I'll check out the different options.

[Terwal]

Hi,

I was actually trying to decide last night which software should I use to share some of my pictures with my friends/family. So far, was hesitating between Picasa and Mac Web Gallery.

What I like in both:

- ability to download pictures (and upload pictures) straight from (to) iPhoto
- free

What I like in Picasa:

- privacy settings: possible to send 1 specific private album to a list of people: only them can access it and they don't see any of my other private albums on Picasa

What I like in Web Gallery:

- very good looking interface
- but I don't like the fact that to protect privacy, one has to set up a specific username/password per album and that recepient of a specific album, even though cannot look at the other albums, can still see that they exist...

Any views ? Opinions ? Clarifications around the respective privacy options ?

(Have never looked at flickr. Given comments above, seems like I should.)

Thanks,

w.

[jasmine84]

I just bought a Flickr and I am kind of obsessed :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenrowsell

That talk about Microsoft buying Yahoo is worrying me... what does that mean for Flickr, if that does happen??????

[skiesforme]

I havent posted alot of pics on the web for awhile and wanted to know what people are doing nowadays. I was thinking of using my Comcast acct and using my webspace there to upload pics. Good idea? I'd appreciate any feedback, thx !

Flickr and Picasaweb !

[skiesforme]

Flickr and Picasaweb !

And now.. Photoshop express.
https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

[Everythingisnt]

Skitch can be used to host images also, I use it for things that I need to embed (like in forums, etc.)

[CrackedButter]

Hi,

I was actually trying to decide last night which software should I use to share some of my pictures with my friends/family. So far, was hesitating between Picasa and Mac Web Gallery.

What I like in both:

- ability to download pictures (and upload pictures) straight from (to) iPhoto
- free

What I like in Picasa:

- privacy settings: possible to send 1 specific private album to a list of people: only them can access it and they don't see any of my other private albums on Picasa

What I like in Web Gallery:

- very good looking interface
- but I don't like the fact that to protect privacy, one has to set up a specific username/password per album and that recepient of a specific album, even though cannot look at the other albums, can still see that they exist...

Any views ? Opinions ? Clarifications around the respective privacy options ?

(Have never looked at flickr. Given comments above, seems like I should.)

Thanks,

w.

Have you read the terms and conditions of Picassa? You lose all right to your work if you upload it on there. Google state they own it and any 3rd party who works with Google may use it for whatever purpose they deem fit.

[jbernie]

I just bought a Flickr and I am kind of obsessed :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenrowsell

That talk about Microsoft buying Yahoo is worrying me... what does that mean for Flickr, if that does happen??????

Assuming the deal goes through (who knows!) given the community size etc you would think MS would want to stick with Flickr as opposed to starting over etc etc. I could see it being merged a bit with their Live setup.

Also keep in mind on the login side we would wait and see how the two messenger products are handled. There is also the possbility that the DoJ could require the combined entity to sell of some assets as well so Flickr could go it alone or something else.

Right now there are too many possibilities and almost no facts, so have fun, use the service and regardless of what happens, always ensure you have backups of your files.

[gauchogolfer]

A friend of mine is a photographer who uses photoshelter.com to distribute proofs to clients for selection. Seems like a nice site.

[EarthDawn]

Flickr is nice... I just recently checked them out.... they have some great features and they load fast as well

my 2 cents ;)

[benzslrpee]

they'll probably rename it MS pictureshare or whatever creative name their marketing team comes up with, make it somehow communicate with Messenger via live updates or something....i dunno, i don't really see them axing flickr because it's hugely popular and quite a success.

I just bought a Flickr and I am kind of obsessed :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenrowsell

That talk about Microsoft buying Yahoo is worrying me... what does that mean for Flickr, if that does happen??????

[jerryrock]

.mac account

[ghostguts]

Pretty much what most people are saying: flickr. It's pretty sleek, quick and convenient for uploading, organizing and sharing photos.

Moreover, it allows you to network with people pretty effectively, without falling victim to the myspace/facebook-ish stalker syndrome or be a victim to others' syndromes.

All in all, flickr is pretty addictive, in the sense that it really gives you incentive to get out there and take the best photos possible.

[Martin C]

I use a Flickr account, but for posting in the 'Photo of the Day' thread here, Flickr's large photo size is generally too large. In that scenario, I use a smaller photo size and I upload it to ImageShack.

[ChrisA]

I havent posted alot of pics on the web for awhile and wanted to know what people are doing nowadays. I was thinking of using my Comcast acct and using my webspace there to upload pics. Good idea? I'd appreciate any feedback, thx !

Flickr, Google's Picosa smug mug and the like are all pre-made image galeries. They are mostly well done but if you use your own hosting company you get total control of the page and how it looks and works. You can (say) iWeb to design the pages then just FP the whole bundle up to your web host. More hassle but you have total control.

[Abstract]

they'll probably rename it MS pictureshare or whatever creative name their marketing team comes up with, make it somehow communicate with Messenger via live updates or something....i dunno, i don't really see them axing flickr because it's hugely popular and quite a success.

Yep. Flickr has brand recognition. MS-whatchamacallit doesn't. They're better off sticking to the name Flickr and not altering it at all. However, MS makes some pretty dumb moves sometimes, so we'd have to see.

[QuarterSwede]

This is going to sound like complete spam... but I'm a devoted and zealous customer.

SmugMug!

For two reasons: great customer service and unlim storage/bandwith.

Their customer service usually respond in MINUTES.

In addition, a few months ago it was late (10pm CST) Thursday and I needed photos for a grieving family by Saturday morning. Smugmug not only pushed my order to the top of the pile at their printing facility, but upgraded the shipping to overnight/sat. AM free of charge. I got the photos 6pm Friday and was able to hand deliver them Saturday morning.

Who else would have done this, let alone free of charge? They're truly compassionate and devoted people.

Save me $10, you $5 with the referral code: AD2YtsjXceosE
I'm a devoted Smugmugger myself. They continually update the site with new features that are useful (video uploads in almost any format) and provide pretty powerful layout options. Love the unlimited bandwidth, multiple privacy options, uploads are fast (DSL) and the price is relatively dirt cheap for what you get.

[Over Achiever]

I'm a devoted Smugmugger myself. They continually update the site with new features that are useful (video uploads in almost any format) and provide pretty powerful layout options. Love the unlimited bandwidth, multiple privacy options, uploads are fast (DSL) and the price is relatively dirt cheap for what you get.

I'm also a devoted Smugmugger, I pretty much agree with everything above. They updated the video uploads? Need to check that out =)

[sushi]

Have you read the terms and conditions of Picassa? You lose all right to your work if you upload it on there. Google state they own it and any 3rd party who works with Google may use it for whatever purpose they deem fit.
That's definitely not good.

[Island Dog]

Flickr Pro is the best imo.

[Westside guy]

It's funny... even on non-photo boards, when people bring up Microsoft's attempt to take over Yahoo the one thing that always comes up is "please don't mess with Flickr!"

Unfortunately, since Microsoft recently purchased iView I have no doubt "messing with Flickr" will happen sooner rather than later. People will have to live with it. Heck, I wasn't particularly happy when Yahoo forced me to create a Yahoo ID just to continue using Flickr. I had bought a 2-year membership early on, and they gave me an extra 2 years on top of that so there's some lock in (due to inertia) for me - so I didn't want to hassle with switching to SmugMug or wherever. :D

[Edge100]

+1 for Smugmug

If you look around the web, you should be able to find 20% off coupons, so your yearly fee comes to around $30, which is pretty good.

I used to host my pics on my personal web space, but this got cumbersome for someone of limited web hosting knowledge (like me).

[phiberglass]

My own server.

[scotty96LSC]

Fetch to my ftp account or save in my public folder of a .mac account.

[pna]

I'm a devoted Smugmugger myself. They continually update the site with new features that are useful (video uploads in almost any format) and provide pretty powerful layout options. Love the unlimited bandwidth, multiple privacy options, uploads are fast (DSL) and the price is relatively dirt cheap for what you get.

The video uploads are only for pro users, and are somewhat limited in length, aren't they? I remember looking and feeling like I was going to need to drop some $85 a year for a full pro account, and would even then be limited to videos < 5 minutes or something. Half of the reason I'm interested in a photo sharing site is to be able to share both the pictures and the silly little videos that you take with your camera. Those are often more than 2 minutes long.

Phanfare looks to be a better deal for sharing videos. but the galleries definitely don't look as professional. And the videos are playable as flash rather than h.264, though the h.264 / avi / original format is available for download.

Basically, I'm still looking for a smugmug like site, for about 50 bucks a year, that lets me upload high-res videos up to 5 minutes long, and they actually keep a backup of the original upload rather than converting it and ditching the original.

[termina3]

The video uploads are only for pro users, and are somewhat limited in length, aren't they? I remember looking and feeling like I was going to need to drop some $85 a year for a full pro account, and would even then be limited to videos < 5 minutes or something. Half of the reason I'm interested in a photo sharing site is to be able to share both the pictures and the silly little videos that you take with your camera. Those are often more than 2 minutes long.

I can't refute any of the technical aspects you've just listed (i.e. length limitations, pro-only), however the pro account is $150/yr. Perhaps you're thinking of a power user account?

[yeroen]

For now, I use Pbase. $23/year gives me 500MB of storage. I also like the camera and lens search feature.

As for flickr, I find the interface horrible and the photos are just too small to be of any use.

[phiberglass]

I pay 60 a year and get 350gb of disk space, and 7,000GB or bandwidth.

Of course, this is not for a web album type deal, but I use it for a couple sites, my portfolio, and weekly pictures from a car event. But I use it to backup many of my personal items, photos, videos, application installers etc. But you can set up very clean galleries for you images.

[gkarris]

Adobe Photoshop Express just opened up.

Seems pretty cool...

http://express.photoshop.com

[iTeen]

Adobe Photoshop Express just opened up.

Seems pretty cool...

http://express.photoshop.com

yea i really like this, discovered this the day it came out.
i am uploading as we speak...
and i got the ultimate name because i registered soon enough...
jakeb.photoshop.com
hehe...

[termina3]

Adobe Photoshop Express just opened up.

Seems pretty cool...

http://express.photoshop.com

…except you yield your exclusive rights to the photos. Not cool

Please note that when you share Your Content, your User Name and Personal URL is made public, and recipients may in the future be able to share Your Content with others, add Your Content to their own accounts, and make photographic prints of Your Content. See it here (https://www.photoshop.com/express/pxterms.html).

[eddx]

Flickr is the most popular and cost effective way, but read the terms of service first, it is something that always put me off using Flickr but that's just a person thing.

The way I do it is using a Dreamhost for my web hosting and use Wordpress as a photoblog system, I like to document what my photographs mean to me and why they were taken, I feel it is very important to give a back story to each image and that certainly helps with the SEO.

Depends how serious of a photographer you are / aspire to be and how much control over what system you use. I personally have complete control over my website, it comes at a price but you tell me which you prefer?

[John.B]

they'll probably rename it MS pictureshare or whatever creative name their marketing team comes up with, make it somehow communicate with Messenger via live updates or something....i dunno, i don't really see them axing flickr because it's hugely popular and quite a success.
Probably more like:

Microsoft Live PictureShare Pro for Windows designed for Vista, powered by Silverlight™.

;)