Photohosting websites (enhthusiastic amateur) ?

[landyvlad]

I currently use Photobucket to upload images to various forums. It's adequate but not pretty.
It seems that flickr is the most popular and good looking hosting website out there and I note quite a few people here are using it.
I was thinking of retaining Photobucket but also opening a flickr account to put on my 'best' images (both of them LOL )

Any feedback re flickr please?


Another thing I have read is that one hosting website (Picasa I think it was) actually had hidden in the T&C that by posting on there they had a non-expiring right to use those photos in perpetuity for promotional purposes....
Not happy with that concept at all (well, not for decent photos anyway).

[nimrodisease]

I use both Photobucket and Flickr, but neither religiously or for any social media aspect. I have photobucket from eons ago when it was just a handy place to dump images for friends' websites etc, and I still use it sometimes if I have images that are either not mine (if I've done a CC edit on here for example), or for other random things. I will use Flickr more for posting what I feel is my better work, but it's still really just a hosting service so that I can post the images on this forum. I don't use it for anything else.

So, in short, I think I probably use them in a similar manner to what you were thinking..

[geoffsta]

I'm the same as nimrod. I have had a flickr account for 3 or more years. Mainly use it to post images on here, or be easily show friends on my phone.
I don't sell images, so there is no need for anything fancy in the way of web presence.

[landyvlad]

Well flickr looks good so I might open an account there purely for 'better' photos, and keep pbucket for the 'snapshots'.

Now to sift through the flickr fine print.....

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Hmm Yahoo (and thereby FLickr) T's & C's -


9. CONTENT SUBMITTED OR MADE AVAILABLE FOR INCLUSION ON THE YAHOO SERVICES

Yahoo does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Yahoo Services. However, with respect to Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo Services, you grant Yahoo the following worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license(s), as applicable:

a. With respect to Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of Yahoo Groups, the license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the Yahoo Services solely for the purposes of providing and promoting the specific Yahoo Group to which such Content was submitted or made available. This license exists only for as long as you elect to continue to include such Content on the Yahoo Services and will terminate at the time you remove or Yahoo removes such Content from the Yahoo Services.

b. With respect to photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo Services other than Yahoo Groups, the license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the Yahoo Services solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available. This license exists only for as long as you elect to continue to include such Content on the Yahoo Services and will terminate at the time you remove or Yahoo removes such Content from the Yahoo Services.

c. With respect to Content other than photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo Services other than Yahoo Groups, the perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed.

"Publicly accessible" areas of the Yahoo Services are those areas of the Yahoo network of properties that are intended by Yahoo to be available to the general public. By way of example, publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo Services would include Yahoo Message Boards and portions of Yahoo Groups and Flickr that are open to both members and visitors. However, publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo Services would not include portions of Yahoo Groups that are limited to members, Yahoo services intended for private communication such as Yahoo Mail or Yahoo Messenger, or areas off of the Yahoo network of properties such as portions of World Wide Web sites that are accessible via hypertext or other links but are not hosted or served by Yahoo.


So there you go.... I will have to do some more investigating....

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Admitedly some of that covers them actually making it available to others, and is understandable BUT words like 'modify' and 'adapt' are cause for concern.

[Mark L]

...
Admitedly some of that covers them actually making it available to others, and is understandable BUT words like 'modify' and 'adapt' are cause for concern.

With all the images they host, do you think they'd have time to 'modify' and 'adapt' anything much? Probably related to making it available to others.
They're not taking copyright or using peoples photos, there'd be a huge brewhaha if they were.
I can't create an account with them, as I don't have a mobile phone and don't want to lie and submit false info on the w.w.w..:D

[bobt]

You could always make your own site, and make up your own rules.

I'm about to do that - I got a domain name and a web host all for $57 for two years - i.e. less than $29 per year, and I can make my own website with my domain name and no need to be restricted by whatever Flickr or anyone wants to do. Building a website isn't that hard these days, and I plan on uploading my photos exactly the way I want and accessible by only those I want.

[fess67]

I have been thinking about Flickr simply because of the popularity. I currently use Smugmug but they have recently changed their interface and I have not been able to spend the time to get used to it so my site looks crap.

[MissionMan]

Been using smugmug for a while and it meets my needs for now. Wix offers free photography sites for anyone who wants to go down that approach.

[landyvlad]

Photobucket:



When you make your Content public, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to copy, distribute, stream, post publicly display (e.g. post it elsewhere), reproduce and create derivative works from it (meaning things based on it), anywhere, whether in print or any kind of electronic version that exists now or is later developed, for any purpose, including a commercial purpose.​



That's COMPLETELY useless ! they can use i commercially as is or derivative works etc etc etc. Buggers.

[MissionMan]

From what I understand, the reason they have these clauses are to protect themselves. I.e. If you make something public and someone links to the picture on their page (like Ausphotography), it's to prevent you having the capacity to sue Photobucket. The distribute part comes into play with them using your images to advertise their services which could also be displayed in a google ad for Photobucket on another website. Unfortunately, most sites are forced to protect themselves from the US litigation market and are open to the fact that this is the intended purpose of the clause.

Not saying it's right, but that is my understanding of it.

[landyvlad]

Yes that is no doubt a factr but comparing the two, teh flikr one looks more like what you need to address those legal concerns, and teh photobucket one seems to go much further in allowing more latitude to themselves....

[MissionMan]

Facebook had similar issues and until people raise the issue with them, they don't really release any official statements or rework their legal terminology until people bitch and complain. Most of the time, there is nothing sinister, but if you have concerns about a particular site, I'd recommend raising it with them or checking the FAQ to see if it is there.

[Mark L]

If all these clauses are a worry, just upload your photos directly to AP and leave any third party out of it?:confused013

[ricktas]

If all these clauses are a worry, just upload your photos directly to AP and leave any third party out of it?:confused013

Or setup your own website and host them on it.

[bobt]

Or setup your own website and host them on it.

Yup .... that's why I just registered a domain and got myself a server! No need to worry about anyone else's rules - just make up your own! I'm confident that the site operator (me) will be very amenable to my preferences! :D

I'm amazed at how cheap and easy it was (just like me) ...... the only catch being the need to have sufficient skills to write and upload the content, but that's not that hard (if I can then anyone can!).

[geoffsta]

Thanks Bob.. I have 2 domains, but wouldn't know where to start in creating one. Tried "Wordpress" and a few others. But they look like crap.
So any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

[ricktas]

Give Serif's Web plus a try. It is a UK company and the software is not that expensive and it is basically a WYSYWYG website design package. You can buy specific photography templates etc for it, for quite cheap prices. It lets you setup both flash or java based galleries etc. It has good video tutorials and for the $$ I reckon it is a great package, and does it's job really well.

http://www.serif.com/int/au/WebPlus/?x-source=googlep&MC=isppcwp&gclid=COjy5MnT8r0CFYHwpAodRjIA1Q

[bobt]

Thanks Bob.. I have 2 domains, but wouldn't know where to start in creating one. Tried "Wordpress" and a few others. But they look like crap.
So any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

I've just completed a new website for our club, and it covers a lot of pages, thousands of words, images etc etc - you can see it at www.esps.org.au

The program I use is WYSIWYG Web Builder. It really is WYSIWYG, and essentially you just open up a blank page and plonk bits wherever you want them - so no coding is necessary. Of course it helps to know a little bit of coding occasionally, but essentially you just place your text and other stuff wherever you like via drag and drop. The software includes the ability to upload it all to the web, but I prefer to use a FTP program because I have more control.

I only started using this software in February, and it did take me a little while to feel relatively comfortable with it - same with most packages you can use. My original intent was to use Wordpress, because so many other use it, but I didn't find it all that user friendly, and WYSIWYG Web Builder was much easier (for me at least). It is a paid program and costs $50 Australian to buy. I only paid for it last night actually, as I've been working with a "trial" version. I think there is a similarly named package they produce which is different so look for WYSIWYG Web BUILDER - it's at www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/‎

Have a look at our club site and you can see what can be achieved by a new user of the software - there are probably far more advanced sites out there, and you can uses templates if you don't want to start from scratch. You can also try the software before you buy, and have a play with it.

[geoffsta]

Thanks Bob and Rick. Will certainly check these out. I like the site too Bob. Simplistic, easy on the eye, but to the point. Certainly gets the message across. Nice. :th3:

[MissionMan]

Wix do free websites and they have a number of good looking photography templates

[AngusG]

Thanks Bob.. I have 2 domains, but wouldn't know where to start in creating one. Tried "Wordpress" and a few others. But they look like crap.
So any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

Wordpress is good, powerful and flexible, but you need to know what you're doing with it. I've seen some great Wordpress sites, but I'm not a web page designer and wouldn't know where to start with customising it.

I am a bit of a fan of Squarespace, and I think Squarespace is a better way of getting something up that looks great quickly when you don't really know what you're doing. (Also if you host Wordpress yourself the security updates are a pain).

Currently, I share my photos directly from iCloud with iCloud's Shared Photostreams. This works well as my mother and brother have an iPad and iPhone respectively, so when I share them, the photos just automatically show up on their devices.

I'm still new to photography, but when I get to a point where I'm happy with showing off to the general public, I'll reevaluate my options then.