Feature photo by muha. Photo above by stefan linecker

With most of our photos in digital format these days, photo sharing websites are competing for our attention by offering free accounts with a wide array of features.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SIX of the most popular, and all have something to offer. Read on to find the one that works for you.

Flickr

Out of all the photo sharing websites, Flickr‘s community is the best. Most photos are public, and it is tempting to spend hours exploring the groups and reading discussions about photos .

The user interface is excellent, with drag and drop organizing, online photo editing, and easy linking. You can even plot your whole trip by dragging your photos onto a map.

Flickr limits you to 100 MB of uploads each calendar month. That can be frustrating if you want to upload your entire back catalog, but it allows steady portfolio growth. However, only the 200 most recent images will be displayed on your Flickr page.

Don’t expect to clear up your memory card by uploading on the road, unless you are satisfied with lower image sizes. You cannot download your photos in their original sizes. If you upload a large photo (10MB limit), the largest downloadable file is still less than 1 megapixel.

Photo by Lin Pernille

Picasa

Picasa has a simple interface with no ads cluttering the screen. Embedding slideshows and linking to photos is painless. Albums are organized by drag and drop. The only thing missing is the ability to edit photos online.

You get 1GB storage. A 20MB image size limit leaves plenty of room for most users. Unlike many other sites, you can download large photos at their original sizes.

Some of the newer features include uploading videos (100MB maximum file size) and mapping the location of a photo. If you use Blogger, your Picasa account is tied to it, giving you easy access to every photo ever posted on your blog.

Picasa allows you to browse and comment on public photos, but the sharing community isn’t as vibrant as Flickr’s.

Shutterfly

Unlimited storage, easy drag and drop organizing, and editing tools make Shutterfly a good choice. However, the actual photo sharing is frustrating. The community section allows you to browse slideshows, but not individual photos. You can only comment on the entire slideshow.

Even though there is no limit to the photo size that you can upload, it will be reduced and you will not be able to access the original file size.

Finally, Shutterfly has no features for creating links to a picture from another website.

Photo by kainet

Read full article on MatadorU

A great way to start sharing your photos is to join the Matador Travel or the Brave New Traveler Flickr groups.

About The Author

Theodore Scott

Theodore Scott is an engineer who lives in Boise, Idaho. He recently quit his job to travel around South America with his fiancee. Theodore tried, unsuccessfully, to marry her in every country they visited. His website is at www.theodorescott.com.

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  • http://www.comboost.com/ Leisha

    Thanks for the info, I think there is this website http://www.comboost.com/, to go to.
    There are features such as photo sharing, slideshows supporting different formats.
    You can share them with family and friends and add them to your website and blog.
    The upload is fast and easy to use, especially when you travel and you don’t want to spend too much time in a cyber café!!!
    Go and check out…

  • http://hartanta.com hartanta

    thanks for info
    make me clear to making decision.

  • sheila

    I think bubbleshare is the best, but now they are shut down. :(

  • http://www.eslgateway.com Ed

    I personally use Zenfolio which doesn’t have as large a community as flickr, but has much better customization options as well as display options. if you are a pro you can also sell your pictures for a bit of profit. It’s worth checking out as there are subscription levels for everyone.

    They are currently having a $5 off any account special, just use this referral code:
    9MS-YYH-CBP

  • pustefisk

    I find http://www.mejuba.com to be the best – by far! It’s free and there are no limits on video or picture size (or maby it’s 1GB per file).

  • http://pixi.me/ steve caturan

    you might want to consider also http://pixi.me/ because we use the Gallery 2 publishing platform as our baseline.

  • Peter Thomsen

    I just signed up with http://www.mejuba.com. Unlimited storage for both videos and pictures and it’s completly free. No monthly limits or qoutas.
    Photos and videos are stored in their original formats and sizes and are kept unmodified for backup.
    I also like that you can geo-tag your stuff so it shows up on a map. And you can search for stuff on the map – that’s cool!.
    As the only site i know of it uses a Windows Explorer like navigation with folders – super eacy to use – even has drag and drop!.
    I can highly recommend it.

  • mark

    I recommend
    http://www.ditoname.com/pictures/
    no registration required
    no file size limit and downloadable actual picture size
    unlimited bandwidth

  • Photo Sharing

    Photo Funia is nice . But let me introduce you guyz a new photo sharing site i.e photodekho.com having fantastic features, easy to use.You may find it much better than many other photosharing websites on the web.

  • John

    Hi,
    I use http://www.isphotobomb.com , its very easy and cool.

  • Helena Rellane

    Great article, I like it, thanks. I use http://www.monille.com, nice design, easy navigation, unlimited storage and totally free

  • http://www.willjennings.net Will Jennings

    http://www.photoswarm.com is another good one too.

  • Stacy

    My family and I use http://www.WikiAlbums.com and we really love
    it.  It is really easy to use, free,
    offers unlimited space and is built only to share pictures and even
    videos.  One of the things that I
    personally very much like is that the pictures, albums and groups are very much
    secure and no one (even Google) can search for any of them neither from inside
    nor from outside of the website.  Well
    the only problem that I have with this website is that I have to convert my
    videos to FLV or flash before uploading them.

  • Anonymous

    I simply love Mejuba the best. From what I know Mejuba (mejuba.com) is THE only site that offers free and unrestricted uploads of videos and pictures without ANY restrictions on file size, video length or monthly traffic. And uploads your originals. No monthly limits or quotas. You can upload 1GB per upload. Pictures and videos are stored in their original formats and are kept unmodified for backup. I also like that you can geo-tag your stuff so it shows up on a map. And you can search for stuff on the map – that’s cool! Even Google Street View is now implemented – eat that Youtube, Vimeo etc!!! As the only site I know of it uses a Windows Explorer like navigation with folders – super easy to use – even has drag and drop! It’s free, fast, nice design as SO much better than the other video sites. Still missing a few features – but I am sure they will be added later.

  • Winston

    I don’t even care about videos… well not that much… but having my pictures somewhere that Google cannot index them and be able to share them with only those few ones that I care rather than the whole world really matters to me. This website that you are suggesting is almost what I was looking for in past few years. Thanks a lot Stacy for sharing!

  • Winston

    I don’t even care about videos… well not that much… but having my pictures somewhere that Google cannot index them and be able to share them with only those few ones that I care rather than the whole world really matters to me. This website that you are suggesting is almost what I was looking for in past few years. Thanks a lot Stacy for sharing!

  • Winston

    I don’t even care about videos… well not that much… but having my pictures somewhere that Google cannot index them and be able to share them with only those few ones that I care rather than the whole world really matters to me. This website that you are suggesting is almost what I was looking for in past few years. Thanks a lot Stacy for sharing!

  • Tommy B

    I like picasa the best but this site seems to work really well for those that are not computer savvy. Over all a good one and good know about it. Thank you.

  • matt6matt

    I use a new site called http://inmyphotofolder.com – Their custom App(PhotoSync) for Windows and Mac takes care of uploading  pictures and folders that you want to publish. Its the only way for managing a large online photo collection. Site keeps originals. Unlimited number of photos and folders.

  • matt6matt

    I use a new site called http://inmyphotofolder.com – Their custom App(PhotoSync) for Windows and Mac takes care of uploading  pictures and folders that you want to publish. Its the only way for managing a large online photo collection. Site keeps originals. Unlimited number of photos and folders.

  • matt6matt

    I use a new site called http://inmyphotofolder.com – Their custom App(PhotoSync) for Windows and Mac takes care of uploading  pictures and folders that you want to publish. Its the only way for managing a large online photo collection. Site keeps originals. Unlimited number of photos and folders.

  • Haranoapon

    Online Storage & Online Backup by MiMedia. Not just another online storage solution, MiMedia brings you a totally new approach to backup, protect, access, enjoy & share your digital life.

     www.mimedia.com/

  • Haranoapon

    Online Storage & Online Backup by MiMedia. Not just another online storage solution, MiMedia brings you a totally new approach to backup, protect, access, enjoy & share your digital life.

     www.mimedia.com/

  • Sumit Singh

    I love to share my stuff on these type of sites.  
    My favorite is Flickr. It is very easy to use. I love to share step by step guide for a particular tech problem for computer in these sites.

    http://www.igennie.net/ 

  • Sumit Singh

    I love to share my stuff on these type of sites.  
    My favorite is Flickr. It is very easy to use. I love to share step by step guide for a particular tech problem for computer in these sites.

    http://www.igennie.net/ 

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