Flickr Alternatives

[kepPNW]

Karl, I'm not sure if what Stephanie says is true or not, but I still have a pro account with unlimited downloads and add free. I did have a free account last year but decided to go pro. Flickr did make a few changes but I opted to stay the same. I pay $29.95 every three months. Smugrug is super too, but I'm waiting till I get a little better at my compositions before I use them.

Okay, made me do a little looking around. Found this article on the differences. What was confusing was I couldn't even find an option for a buying a Pro account anymore! Sure enough, you can't. They do allow you to keep the one you have, though. Hmmm. I can't figure out the thing about ads, either. I can't recall ever seeing one on Flickr. Could that just be a ruse? Do you see ads on my feed, if you're not logged in? Doesn't seem to matter what browser I use. I also found this official FAQ, and it looks like the Pro account directly addresses one of my peeves (replacing a photo). I'd love to have the view count and referrer stats! But it seems they're not for sale anymore. That's just odd...

[Guy]

I pay $29.95 every three months.

Will, $120.00 a year is pretty steep for a photo hosting site!

You could get a basic Smugmug account for $40.00 a year or a Power (what I have) which allows you a lot more customization for $60.00 a year.

I am a bit pissed off with Smugmug at the moment because the just went through a big upgrade that made it more of a point & click setup site (some would say more like Flickr) but took away some of the 100% customization that we had before!

[justpeachy]

Just a couple things that irritate a bit. One thing that's still a PITA is that I can't truly replace one photo with another, without it regenerating new links. Also wish there were a way to keep pics out of the Photostream but still link to them.

With the photo replacement links I think that's always how it's been. I remember a few times replacing photos on flickr and having that break the link to the embedded photo in a PH trip report.

As to the second thing there's sort of a way to do this. You can set a photo to private, which means only you can see it in your photostream and no one else can. But you can still embed it in trip reports and such and you can still provide people the URL for the direct address of the photo, like so: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7299/9695 ... 5b35_o.jpg

Hope that makes sense.

[kepPNW]

Just a couple things that irritate a bit. One thing that's still a PITA is that I can't truly replace one photo with another, without it regenerating new links. Also wish there were a way to keep pics out of the Photostream but still link to them.

With the photo replacement links I think that's always how it's been. I remember a few times replacing photos on flickr and having that break the link to the embedded photo in a PH trip report.

They need to use a word other than Replace. That was really frustrating, the first time I encountered it. On Photobucket, replacing a photo really does do just that. All the same links still work just fine. (Probably because they don't rename photos when you upload them!)

As to the second thing there's sort of a way to do this. You can set a photo to private, which means only you can see it in your photostream and no one else can. But you can still embed it in trip reports and such and you can still provide people the URL for the direct address of the photo

Really? Wow, thought I'd tried that, but must've been too hasty. Will give it another shot.

Thanks much!

[Stefrobrts]

Karl, I'm not sure if what Stephanie says is true or not, but I still have a pro account with unlimited downloads and add free. I did have a free account last year but decided to go pro. Flickr did make a few changes but I opted to stay the same. I pay $29.95 every three months. Smugrug is super too, but I'm waiting till I get a little better at my compositions before I use them.

I don't know what the levels of accounts were, but I was only paying something like $25 a year for unlimited storage. I'd done it the past three years, then they switched to the new overhaul and said all accounts were now free and unlimited. Don't know about the ads, I've never seen ads on Flickr myself.

I'm hoping to start a professional photography business in the future, and I'm comparing Smugmug and Zenfolio for that, haven't decided which to go with yet.

[forestkeeper]

I kind of want to do the same thing, as a second income. I know it takes a long time to build a reputation and I really feel belittled by sooo many photographers out there. I guess there will always be another photographer that can shoot better but it's nothing like the 60's and 70's. Nowadays, everyone have cameras, especially the most expensive full frame DSLRs. I feel like I'm just a speck of sand on a seashore of photographers.

I did have a Canon EOS Rebel T3i, but after a few months, realized that I can't afford the glass for a Canon or Nikon, especially for wildlife photography where 400mm to 600mm lenses can start at $12,000.00. As I love to shoot film, I found out that I can use the same lenses that I use for my Minolta Maxxum XT si and ST si on Sony Alpha dslrs, so I bought a Sony a500 with the APS-C sensor that is slightly larger than the Canon T3i.

After I get experienced enough and know where each button is on my Sony,without looking, maybe by then I can afford a full frame. But I have a lot of Flickr friends that shoot excellent compositions with APS-C sensor cameras.
I think Peachy, as well as others, has something good going on. She is an excellent photographer, has a Flickr account (maybe others) and her own website. I think the key to having your own photography business would to have your own website that you can continually build and show your portfolio.

[TJ_T]

For online photography websites, I heard Photoshelter is another good one to look into. I'm fine with Smugmug for now. I keep it up to date, but I have a website overhaul on the to-do list and may end up switching.