Digital Photography Lesson 5: How to Share Your Photos on Flickr
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- Introduction
- Creating a Flickr Account
- Setting Your Privacy Settings
- Uploading Photos
- Sharing Your Photos
- Important!
- Interesting Tidbit
- Vocabulary and Glossary
- More Information
Introduction
Flickr is a photo sharing site on the web that allows you to place your photos where others can see them. You might want to do this to make it easier for friends and relatives to see your photos, since they will not need to know how to open attachments in email, and they won't need to have as fast an Internet connection or as much hard drive space. Your photos are stored on a server owned by Flickr, and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This makes it handy for travelers who wish to free up space on their cameras. You will learn how to sign up (which is free) and how to upload photos. We will discuss privacy settings and you can set the level of privacy to your comfort.
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Creating a Flickr Account
To create a flickr account, go to the flickr website: www.flickr.com
Click on "Create Your Account":
Because Flickr is attached to Yahoo, if you have a Yahoo email account your account information for Yahoo will be the account information for Flickr.
If you have a Yahoo email account, just fill in your Yahoo ID and password:
If you don't have a Yahoo account, there's a place to sign up for one below the login blanks.
Choose what you wish to be called in Flickr and enter it in the box. Then click Create New Account.
Click on Number 1: Personalize Your Profile.
You will then see another menu. Click on Number 1, Create your buddy icon.
You can leave the icon as it is, upload a new one, find one on your computer to use or skip this step. We are going to skip this step since we are not working on our own computers. Optionally, you can do this later, by finding or taking a picture that represents you and uploading it to Flickr.
You are asked to choose a custom Flickr URL (web address). This URL is the address you would hand out or send to friends and family so they can look at your photos. Many people choose their first and last name as one word or with a period between them. Be sure it is one that you want them to see. Once you pick one, it can't be changed.
Click on step 3, Personalize your profile. Fill in as much or as little as you like, then click Next.
Setting Your Privacy Settings
We will set you up your privacy settings before uploading photos. Next to the YOU on the tabs at the top of the page, you will see a gray arrow. When you move the cursor over it, it will highlight it. Click on it.
On the pull down menu, click Your Account.
You will then click on Privacy and Permissions.
At this point, you will need to decide what information you want available to the world at large and to your friends and family. You should go through each listing and edit your account until you are satisfied with the privacy that you have allowed. Click on edit next to each listing and decide the level you are comfortable with.
When you are finished with privacy settings, you should click on each of the other tabs (Personal Information, Email, and Extending Flickr) to set your comfort level. It may seem cumbersome to do this now, but once they are set, you can forget about it and share your photos knowing you have things the way YOU want them. Just click edit next to each item you wish to change.
Uploading Photos
To upload photos, return to your home page by clicking Home at the top of the page.
Click on Upload Photos and Video.
Click on Choose photos and videos.
A browser window will open. Choose where your pictures are located and decide on which photo to select. Then click Open. This will place the photo on the list in Flickr.
To select more than one photo, click on Add More and repeat the process.
Remember to set privacy settings each time. When you have uploaded all the photos you wish to upload, click on Upload Photos and Videos.
It may take a few minutes for the photos to load. You will then see a screen that allows you to add a description. If you wish, click add a description.
You will see an Add tags box, a box to Title the photo , a place to Add descriptions, and box to Add the photo to a set of photos. Remember, tags can help you find your photos later. When you are finished, Click Save at the bottom of the screen. You will then see your photostream. A photostream is all the pictures you have uploaded to Flickr. At this point you can edit information or delete. Double clicking on a photo will give you a screen that will allow you to do this.
You will find tabs for everything you might want to do at the top of the photo.
Sharing Your Photos
Once you have your photos just the way you want them, it's time to share! At the top of the page, click on the arrow next to Contacts. A pull down menu will give you options. Choose Invite your friends.
Fill out the addresses for those you wish to share with and Flickr does the rest!
Important!
Caution should rule the day when it comes to sharing information on the web. Be aware that because it is a photo SHARING site, they will recommend you allow anyone to view them. But do you really want the world to have that picture of your house, grandbaby, dog, etc...? You have control of these settings, and you can use Flickr as a private photo sharing site for people you know.
Another important thing to consider is making a backup of your photographs. If they are stored on your computer, a separate hard drive or CD or DVD, and online, you will be safer than if they are only stored in one place.
Interesting Tidbit
The camera on the Apple iPhone recently became the most popular camera for uploading photos to Flickr.
Vocabulary and Glossary
- Tag
- A keyword that helps you stay organized and find photos.
- Photostream
- All the photos that you have uploaded to Flickr.
- Group
- On Flickr, either a public or private bunch of people who are interested in the same topic. You can join or create your own group.
- Batch Organize
- The ability to organize a bunch of photos at once.
- Sets
- Photos that have been grouped together by your own standards.
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More Information
Newbie's Guide to Flickr:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9703620-2.html
Photosharing sites: No place to backup your photos:
http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2009/03/photosharing-sites-no-place-to-backup-your-photos.html
Reviews of photosharing websites:
http://socialtimes.com/top-best-free-photo-sharing-sites-2012_b113680
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