The Web is absolutely awash with images. Of all kinds. They’re everywhere, forming a major part of the majority of websites, or at least ones which want to treat visitors to some eye candy to complement the wall of text that may accompany them.
Pinterest has shown just how important images are to most Web users. Millions of people have signed up to share images they love with others. For nothing other than the joy of sharing. What is it about sharing photos, both our own and other people’s, that we find so addictive? What are the best methods for getting photos on to the Web and in front of the eyes of other people?
This Week’s Question…
What Is Your Preferred Method For Sharing Photos Online?
We recently asked you to name the best alternative mobile photo-sharing apps you use (or could use if the recent Facebook acquisition goes badly) instead of Instagram. There are many, as Yaara’s article proves. But sharing photos online via a dedicated app isn’t the only way.
There are numerous websites offering the chance to upload and display photos, such as Flickr and Picasa. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter also offer the space and tools needed to share photos on the Web with a wide audience. The right Tumblr theme can make your personal blog resemble a professional portfolio. That’s just a small number of the many options we have open to us when sharing photos online.
We want to know what your preferred method is? Which app, site, or social network do you turn to when you have a photograph you feel other people need to see? We Ask You… now You Tell Us. All comments will be digested to form conclusions in a follow-up post next week.
‘We Ask [You] Tell Us‘ is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf Readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you.
Image Credit: Paul Reynolds
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My preferred ways of sharing photos online is through my website and Flickr.
What determines which they go on? Personal vs. Public?
For Public photos I use both my website and Flickr and for personal photos, I use Facebook.
I use my own website and Flickr. For private photos, I’ll use Facebook.
I can see Facebook getting a lot of love here. Thanks for commenting.
For my personal photos, I use Picasa.
Facebook and flickr.
Storage: Dropbox (short term), my FTP (long term)
Sharing: Facebook
I use picasa to store and the easiest way to share with the most people is Facebook. I use gmail to share personal photos.
My favorite way to take pictures and share them is Instagram. I can share them to facebook, flickr, and twitter all in one click. definitely my fave. Oh and I share privately on facebook.
Do you have favorite filters on Instagram?
Oh yes! x-PRO II is my all time fave.
Good choice :)
Facebook and flickr
Flickr – Where I started, where I stay. but I DO like being able to share MY OWN photos from Flickr to Pinterest now without any fiddly work-arounds. Thanks, Flickr!
I’m also on Flickr, although the push to get me to sign up for a premium account is putting me off somewhat.
I use Picasa, Gmail, G+ and my website
I usually use facebook to share pictures of public events,festivals, and religious functions that take place in my home town….I upload then freely to the public on facebook so that others who missed those events don’t get left out and they can eventually have a clear picture of the whole event.
I also use Imgur.com for purposes like sharing my screenshot photos. for example: In makeuseof answers, when i am answering a question and that requires the help of a screenshot. At such situations I use imgur.com to upload my screenshots
I also use Picasa to store my old photos(also share), I usually do that, so that I can transfer these old photos to picasa and then I can delete them from my hard disk..that would give me extra valuable space for incoming new photos of mine..
So the above three were my method for sharing photos online
Thanks for a great response, Karkala. Do you trust Picasa to keep your photos safe online without having a backup on your computer?
Well, The photos that I upload to Picasa are usually old..and I wouldn’t mind even if they get lost in the cyberspace or get deleted. However I do not upload photos that may be old but are still excellent or that may have preserved some amount of good old memories….In other words..I would be saying ” I upload photos to picasa that are no longer in interest either to me nor to anyone.” :)
By person.
So not online then…
I just started using http://views.fm + dropbox combo. It makes it easy to add photos and update the gallery. Its as easy as adding a photo to a folder on your computer because its actually just Dropbox. For example: http://sqzd.me/KzTtBB
Thanks for the recommendation. I hadn’t previously heard of views.fm.
Google+
I really like Panoramio.com. It’s really cool to be able to upload a photo you took somewhere and within a few days see it pop up in Google Earth! You can get a lot of views, comments and publicity this way (which is always good, right?). The community is friendly, but there isn’t much in the way of privacy. It’s more for sharing cool sights and places with the world, rather than a place to put your birthday photos and share them with grandma. It’s a niche website, but this niche is pretty popular.
Wow, great website, thanks for sharing :) There are some fantastic photographs on there.
G+ , Picasa and Dropbox
I primarily use Flickr. For sharing quick snaps of friends and events I sometimes use Facebook.
Also, I’m noticing on Ovi’s site that they’re discontinuing service on May 30.
Oh, you’re correct. There will be a lot of people searching for an alternative then :)
Definitely blipfoto (www.blipfoto.com), only one photo a day/taken on the day but there’s a real sense of community……the rest go on Flickr
Thanks for the recommendation. After just a brief look I can see there are some awesome photos on there.
I’ve tried them all on android and found them to be mere little kids toys. But that may be because I’m a professional photographer (never said I’m any good at it, but the photo apps just suck really bad: taking pictures with a pro DSLR is really the only way for me to take “serious” pictures.)
But, we still have to take pictures on the phone, and share them, don’t we?
I’ve found that Path is all I need. It can be very private, it can share to Facebook, it can post pictures of a place in Foursquare, it can tweet it.
It also has those stupid Fisher Price filters that all the apps do, but I ignore them completely.
So, Path for my personal/not serious photos and my company’s site / facebook page for my professional work.
I’m guessing apps were never developed with professionals in mind. But smartphones have helped make photographers of us all in some small way. Thanks for recommending Path :)
I’m all for sharing through Google Services so for me G+ is the best option. The person doesn’t even need to have a G+ account since it will email the pics (or whatever else I share) to them. I got rid of my FB account a long time ago due to the better features of G+