Modern Vespa

This request is way off any scooter topic but I hoped some of you would have some experience and insight related to using the various Web photo services out there lick flickr and smugmug. There may be others.

I recently posted VESPA PHOTOGRAPHS on my blog in a post. The dozens of images just scroll down and long page and if I keep adding pictures the page will just get longer and longer. And there doesn't seem to be a way in blogger to organize them differently. Just seems like a very tedious approach.

So I have been looking at some of the commercial services but am not sure what I would be getting into or what the advantages or disadvantages would be of one over the other. I could also just create Web galleries from photoshop and post them on a server. If anyone has any insight they would like to share please let me know.

Thanks for your help!

I have been using Smugmug for over a year, it caters to professional photographers (which I am far from one). The reason I chose it is the customization you can have with how your photos are displayed, organized and reported on. There is an added cost though. Check it out: www.2scooters.com

If you are looking for just linking pictures to your blog and nothing else something cheap like Flickr may be your best bet.

I use Photobucket Pro and have been happy with it.

We also use Smug Mug. It's easy and we like the features. Here are our albums:

http://jamosc.smugmug.com/

Janine

I've recently been experimenting with Google Picasa. Good tagging and organizing tools. Not such a fancy GUI however.

I really like Google Picasa too. It's the only thing I use for my web photo albums.

I like SmugMug. Nice setup and great gallery views. It's pretty customizable, too. $30/year and you get unlimited storage. Nice photo tools there as well. Very popular with professionals and amateurs.

One of the best things about Smugmug and PBase is that you don't have to resize images. I just upload the full original size image, and then the viewer gets the choice as to what size they want to see. Also linking to forums is easy using one of five sizes that Smugmug reduces for you without loss of image quality.











http://smorris.smugmug.com/photos/24715244-O.jpg (which I'll link, but not display inline due to size.)

Also, someone has probably already PMed you the details, but if not you can save $5 on a smugmug subscription and earn $10 for me! It's simple: you enter my email address ( smorris@morrisgarage.com ) or my personal coupon ( xdE0683z1pPFY ) in the 'Referred by' field on the signup form.

Oh, and there are no adverts on Smugmug or PBase, which is a big plus in my book, and you can test either out for free for a month.

My gallery

I use and like PBase: caters to photographers, like SmugMug. Has a nice slide-show option, infinite ways to easily organize galleries & subgalleries. I believe it, too, does auto-resizing, tho because I PP & resize myself, that wasn't relevant. Good technical help forums, other forums. 20$ a year, and worth it.

I also use Statcounter to track visits from all over the world--a real blast to see each day which strange countries people find their way from to your galleries; and PBase can auto enter Statcounter code onto each gallery page.

Karen

+1 for Smugmug. Smorris got me hooked a year ago.

Avoid Sony Imagestation. They will be closing the site in February 2008.

Janine

I use smugmug and picasa. i like the picasa email feature, but smugmug is best IMO. Picasa lost 4000 of my sons Alaskan pictures so u might want to copy pics on cd if you decide on picasa.

flickr has served me well, and if you belong to any yahoo groups, or have a yahoo account of any kind, it's super easy to set-up and you can use your same account and passwords.

I've been using Photobucket (free) with mostly good results. Currently uploading the pix from today's Plastico Fantastico rally.

Yahoo's been sending me all kinds of funny e-mails about shutting down. I don't know if it's just shutting down my photo albums or totally shutting down it's picture hosting.

I'm on Flickr now. I like it except for it loaded all my stuff backwards!!!! Not much editing once loaded either.

Yahoo Photos is shutting down completely. Yahoo is going to concentrate their resources on Flickr, so if you've already moved your photos, you're good to go.

I like Photobucket. It's free, doesn't require anyone to register to look at your pics (like Kodak's "EasyShare"), and they just overhauled it to make uploading and managing photos easier.



Mel

Whichever one lets my wife and I print photo's at Target since we live across the street from one.

That's the one we use

in Photoshop you can go to File> Automate> and go to (Web Photo Gallery)
it will batch your photos and build you a webpage with thumb nails. then just upload the code to your webpage

Wow! So many good ideas and suggestions. I will have to go through them carefully over the next couple days and check everything out. I really appreciate everyone sharing their experience and ideas on this. Hopefully I will be able to handle my images better and make viewing them easier for everyone.

Thanks!

Did you try out any of the services, Steve? Just this week, Smugmug changed their tools for sharing photos, making it even easier and allowing more sizes.

Instead of the five reduced sizes and "original" they now offer eight sizes plus "original", slideshow, and gallery links. Plus buttons for each to quickly copy the link to the clipboard.

CAUTION: BIG PICS AHEAD!


















http://smorris.smugmug.com/photos/209581873-O.jpg Just a link for the 3 MB original

Gallery http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/800565/1/35595557

Slideshow http://smorris.smugmug.com/photos/sspopup.mg?AlbumID=800565

Remember, there is a free trial, and if you chose Smugmug, you can get a discount using the code in my previous post (as well as giving me a credit. )

Steve are you taking photos of yourself in the bathroom again I just introduced to smugmug. looks like a great place.

Yep. Only big mirror we have. Ya like the wallpaper? (I was modelling the new T-shirt for Keys over on Modern Buddy.)

Although not free, you can't beat Apple's Web Gallery in terms of user interface.

Here is a sample (not mine, I don't want to post mine haha. )
http://gallery.mac.com/emily_parker

Steve, you need to shave your neck....

FYI, Picasa can't "lose" pictures, it just indexes them from your hard drive and the ones you upload to the photo album are just copies.

Go to Tools > Folder Manager and make sure all of your folders with photos in them are checked. And make sure 'Scan Always' radio button is selected.

If you do that, I'll bet those 'lost' photos magically reappear!

As for others:
I use flicker(pro) for photos I want the world to see, and photobucket for the images I just want to link to.

Given the number of rec's, I will definitely check out smugmug which I had never heard of.

I noticed that, and did shortly after I posted those.

(although the gray is my goatee thingy. That's about as much hair as I can grow any more.)

We just joined Smugmug about a month ago and love it so far. We chose Smugmug after our experience with friends albums on smugmug and a couple others and just liked smugmug the best.

No, I haven't procrastinated long enough. It is on my list of things to do. On that list is to make a few prints of my daughter with her prom date. I shot those pictures in 1997. *groan*

Seriously though, SMUGMUG looks great. I just need to get up out of this chair....................

I've used Pbase and Smugmug, and I think the UI on Smugmug is way better.

That said, I also like Flickr, as they have a nice tool to let you upload photos to the site. Plus you can make nifty cards from your Flickr photos with Moo.com. I love those little cards...

dang...now I feel bad...Keys is in my scooter club and is <100 miles away and I haven't ordered my shirt yet