social photography

I am guest posting for  Social Media Monday over on *kids in the capital* today.

I am by no means a social media maven...but I do love my flickr:). Many of my friends have been bitten by the photography bug, both in the real world ( Sue Phippen, I *am* talking to you!! ) and online, that I am happy to share the place where I have learned so much over the last three and a half years.

Flickr is many things, but for me it has been a learning experience. And a place where I have met some of the most interesting people in my life...kind of cool. You can click on my photos above to get to the flickr stream attached to my blog.

So follow a long and if you have any questions, just ask me:)

And check out *kids in the capital* - a wonderful blog for parents and families living in the Ottawa area. You can follow them on twitter @kidsincapital.

Here you go...

So, it is Monday and you have some lovely photos from your wonderful weekend family foray...

...that you would like to share with your family

...that you can't wait to blog

...that you would like to crop and convert to black and white...and fix that red eye your son is suffering from;)

...that you would like some input on, to find out why your night shots are so shaky

Which photo sharing site can you join where  you can find all this and so much more?
Even a group dedicated to *kids in the capital* readers and contributors?

Flickr of course.

Flickr.com is a photo sharing website, acquired by Yahoo, that offers sharing and storage services. Last year it was purported to have had  5 billion images uploaded to the site.

A menu of basic services are available with a Free account ( 300MB of photo uploads, 2 video uploads and participation in 10 groups ).

A Pro account can be had for 24.95 a year, providing unlimited online photo and video storage, tools to keep your photos organized, a choice of privacy levels, photo editing capability through picnik, online print services from snapfish and the ability to upload your photos directly from your Flickr stream to your blog or twitter. And more.

What Flickr also offers is a community. From beginner to specialized pro, there is a group for everyone...and everything. Regional groups are popular, like Positively Ottawa and Canon EOS Digital Ontario, as are theme or inspiration groups like Bench Monday, Face Down Tuesdays, Six Word Story or a number of groups dedicated to 365 projects ( a photo a day for a full year ).

There are also groups available specifically to women photographers, teen photographers, film shooters, Polaroid enthusiasts...any arena that a photographer could hope for. Some groups exist to showcase work only while others allow and encourage you to interact with fellow members. The Flickr Central group is a good place to start for general information.


Uploading to Twitter or posting a public photo your blog is as easy as clicking a tab above your photo, once you set up your profile. The embedded photo then links right back to your Flickr stream, where you can introduce your readers to more of your work.

Social media with a photographic twist. How awesome is that?

There is flickrmail, tagging and commenting available on photos.
You can also link your Flickr to your Facebook and get creative with  photo mosaics and so much more through * bighugelabs*.
The potential for fun with your photos on flickr is huge.

There are also several apps available for the iPad to make your Flickr experience that much more enjoyable.

And with thousands of photos being uploaded from across the world every minute...yes, thousands a minute...there is inspiration to be found at every turn.

Our own *kids in the capital* blog has had a Flickr group for a while now.
In it's original form, it provided a place to share photos taken for photo challenges designed to inspire our photo taking, introduced on the blog in the Spring of 2009.

Now, for 2011, we are expanding the scope of the group. We are inviting all *kids in the capital* readers and contributors to join our Flickr group. The group is family friendly and welcomes photos of your families enjoying Ottawa area activities, celebrating holidays or just hanging around the house:). Looking to improve your photo taking skills? Ask questions in the group - there are several experienced photographers already in the group, happy to share tips and ideas.

The *kids in the capital* flickr group will be linked to the original blog, allowing the group photos to be showcased in the sidebar. We have a great gang of writing contributors that share with the blog, and now the group has a place for it's photographers:). 

Signing  up with Flickr only takes only a minute or two and is a fabulous option for anyone looking to connect and learn and socialize, all around the the photographs you make.

See you in the group!