photo sharing website

[jdemott]

I've been pretty happy with SmugMug. It's not free (after the introductory trial) but the basic level of service isn't too expensive ( I think it is about $40/year). You can upload and store as many full size photos as you like, you can link to photos at whatever resolution you like, and you can make galleries either public or unlisted, with or without password protection. The various features for uploading, linking, sorting, gallery design, etc., seem to work pretty well. When you need support, they respond very quickly with knowledgeable help. There are also more expensive levels of service designed to appeal to professional and commercial users. I also use Picasa sometimes for a simple, free, service, but it probably isn't realistic to think that a free service can offer everything that a paid service offers without some sort of compromises.

[mcds]

kepPNW - in one of my browsers, your link (nicely) loads a page with a giant image, not a page of your pb account, fwiw.

[Martell]

If you're happy with barebones features, but quick and easy to use, imgur might be worth checking out:
https://imgur.com/register/upgrade

You'd probably be wanting a paid account for long-term archival, but you could at least try a free one.

(people use this site for memes and jokes, not serious photo archives, but it's a decent option...)

[kepPNW]

kepPNW - in one of my browsers, your link (nicely) loads a page with a giant image, not a page of your pb account, fwiw.

Interesting! It did that for me in the browser I was logged into PhotoBucket with, but not in a different browser that I wasn't logged in with. I've been giving them lots of grief over that, and told that "they were listening." Hard to see how it might happen in anything other than an all-or-nothing manner, though. Hmmmm... (Thanks!)

EDIT: Hmmm, indeed! Just played around with it some more, in both Firefox and Chrome. The first time I click that photo-link in either browser, I got the full branding. If I then hit Back and click the photo-link again, I go directly to the full-sized image as intended. I have no idea at all why that may be!

[mcds]

could be that pb is browser sniffing, as in:

https://panopticlick.eff.org/

I'm pretty sure, but will confirm it later, that the special conditions that you mentioned were not in play for me. I'm pretty sure that when my one browser (which does not have a 'private' browsing mode) loaded the giant image directly, I was not logged into pb, and it was the first time in that browser session that i pointed it at something pb.

[kepPNW]

I'm pretty sure, but will confirm it later, that the special conditions that you mentioned were not in play for me. I'm pretty sure that when my one browser (which does not have a 'private' browsing mode) loaded the giant image directly, I was not logged into pb, and it was the first time in that browser session that i pointed it at something pb.

Just repro'd that exact behavior you describe, using Opera (v12.11). IE9 behaves, for me, just like Firefox (v20.0.1) and Chrome (v26.0.1410). Something's changing on their end. I think I'll point them to this thread.

[Guy]

I have used Smugmug for years, it's not free but I think it reasonably priced for what you get, unlimited storage, no adds, spam or branding & they don't mess with the original photo files you upload. I use it as much for storage as hosting, I just checked my account stats & I'm closing in on 100 gigs. You can also store / host videos in your account space.

I pay $60.00 a year for a Power Account which gives me a few more customization options over a regular $40.00 a year basic account.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/photo-sharing-features/

http://guy.smugmug.com

[Koda]

I have used Smugmug for years, it's not free but I think it reasonably priced for what you get

When you look at their "why pay" page the argument to use Smugmug is compelling...

among other things....
No ads or promotions surrounding your photos.
No requirement for your visitors to register.
No reducing resolution of your photos like at free sites.
Ability to view big, clear photos.

[BrianEdwards]

I have used Smugmug for years, it's not free but I think it reasonably priced for what you get

When you look at their "why pay" page the argument to use Smugmug is compelling...

among other things....
No ads or promotions surrounding your photos.
No requirement for your visitors to register.
No reducing resolution of your photos like at free sites.
Ability to view big, clear photos.

I think I will try this one out..

[CraigG]

This is a very informative thread! I had the same issues regarding photo sharing (plastered ads, photo resizing out of my control, banding around photos, broken links, etc). I tried saving photos within Google but I agree it is too hard to share content with others that are not on Google. My conclusion is that you get what you pay for. Upon recommendations within this thread, I ended up going with smugmug.com (PRO subscription at $60/yr) and I am very pleased! Easy to use and it works exactly the way I would expect it to - no more no less.
The $40 subscription would have been good enough, but I wanted to upload videos and have a custom hostname.

In conclusion - thumbs up to Smugmug. I'll pay because I get what I want and the money spent is worth it to avoid the aggravation with free sites.

CraigG