Flickr is a popular photo sharing site that anyone who has an interest in photography should be on. It is one of Yahoo’s few successful ventures and an extremely valuable resource for photographers. It can be used as an online gallery so prospective clients can view your work or it can be used as a medium to get critiques. I have been using it for years and thought it would be worth sharing some tips I have learnt while using it.

Alway title your work

When people are looking at your Flickr page and an image is called DCS009 it tells them that you don’t take care in the work you do. A title should always be unique and capture what the image is portraying. Try to avoid duplicate names and be as unique and imaginative as you can, often a title can help people understand what you were trying to do.

Always add a description

A title can tell you what you were trying to do but a description is a place to say how you did it and to ask if it worked. Adding a description makes your work personal and makes it more interesting for the viewer. Tell them the story behind the picture how, where and why you took it.

Never upload more than 5 at a time

Uploading 50 images of the same thing can be boring and repetative for a viewer. The more images the less likely someone is going to see your best ones. People are not going to spend 20 minutes looking though all 50 images you just uploaded. The number 5 comes from the original Flickr users home page were you saw 5 of your contacts most recent uploads. The current page shows 10 but in my opinion that is just to many. By spacing out uploads it gives people time to look at each individual image and comment, rather than being rush to see all 50 and not commenting on any.

Never upload too many of the same in a row

If your Flickr page is covered in images that from a distance look similar you are doing it wrong! There is only so much a person can say about 5 images of the exact same thing. If you have 5 good images of a similar thing spread them out by putting images of a different subject in between.

Sort them out

The worst thing when looking at someone’s Flickr page is discovering that they have not bothered to organise there images in to any kind of sets. If someone wants to see all your HDR’s put them into a set. Rather than spending hours scrolling through all your photos they can see what they are looking for in just a view clicks.

Be selective

Spend time choosing the images you want to put up. Put only your best up, no one wants to have to wade through thousands of disappointing shots to find a few goodens.

Be social

Flickr is a social networking site, so network! Add your photos to groups, find contacts you like and comment. By being social your viewing counts will grow and you never know you might learn something about photography you never knew before by looking at others work.

Go Pro

I am by no means a great photographer but I know what I like in an image. One of the best things that happened for my photography was to receive the gift of a Flickr Pro account (thanks to Chris Leigh). I would recommend to anyone who has tried out Flickr and loves it to get a pro account.