With the massive (and horrific) redesign to the flickr design/page formatting, the retirement of the Flickr Pro accounts, etc., I am strongly considering moving/migrating to something better.

I'd welcome people's thoughts of alternative photo hosting sites...

-Ryan

I've heard good things about Smugmug, their layout looks clean. I didn't use them before because the flickr pro account was a better deal (at the time).

I've been there about 7 years, but the redesign has me feeling similar,Ryan. It's like having your eyes mugged every time you log in [xx(][xx(]

The redesign is maddening, and horrible. Blargh. No suggestions here, just reiterating the painfully obvious.

I'm not a fan of the banner and I'd like to see a few little things fixed, but I like the redesign overall. I'm more concerned about the fees and account restructuring.

Other photo sites popular with photographers are 500px.com and zenfolio

I have had a Pro account since 2008 and this new design sucks big time. I have a feeling from what I have heard so far that many are very unhappy . The Flicker team is sure to get plenty of feedback on this one. Bet if people start pulling out they will change quickly.
I'm going to wait a few weeks and see what happens.
Sugmug is good and there are a few others like Photobucket pro is one of the top rated.
Webshots stinks. I used it for 2 years and had a number of shots pirated.

I've been using Picasa but Google has slowly (and annoyingly) been moving everything over to Google+. Google+ isn't horrible but there are some reasons why I prefer the Picasa version and it's unclear what will happen in the coming years.

For me, the main advantages of Google are:
- Less noise. Both products (Picasa and Google+) are good at maximizing screen real estate for showing photos.
- Easy to view albums. It's easy to see thumbnails of all the photos and then click through to the ones that interest you.
- Speed. When I made the decision, I found the Google albums to be among the fastest. You can click through photos very quickly.
- There is no feature distinction for "Pro" accounts. You just pay for some extra storage if you need to use it.

The main disadvantage today is the uncertainty regarding the transition to Google+ and what it will mean in the future. Other photo sites are dedicated photo sites - but photos are just one feature that is supported by Google. For example, it may be a PITA for people to view a photo in a Google+ album if they are logged into their gmail account and don't want to upgrade to Google+. I don't know if that will happen or not but it's an example of something that is uncertain. Another example is that you can get a URL to embed photos from Picasa but you can't do that yet in Google+.

I have not been able to access my Flicker page until just now. YUCK.
Going by the feed back section "people are none to happy".
Here is the link if you want to sound off.
http://www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-...57633560387719

My biggest complaints so far:

-my page (and every other page - sets, groups, contacts, etc.)now look like picture diarrhea, all splayed out and mashed together
-I still haven't figured out how to link to /get to my photoset collections. I don't think I can.

If I can find a good alternative, I'm gone. And I've been with them as a paid member since '05.

-Ryan

Edit: finally found where they stuck my Collections. Rest of my points still stand though. Plus, I think what the CEO said about Pro users/photographers was insulting.

Further edit: I will have to play around with SmuggLr, which apparently allows for full migration of flickr photos to SmugMug. If it works and keeps my photosets/classifications, I think I'm sold...

Interesting. I don't use Flickr regularly, first noticed the change yesterday with Marko's TR.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markost...57633553899168

And I liked the layout - all the pics laid out in a grid like that.

Haven't been following all the politics re: pro etc.

FWIW I use and love Zenfolio. http://www.zenfolio.com/ Any time I've had an issue I get a prompt personal response and it suits my needs very well. I use it for personal and organizing some work materials as well. You can have a basic account right up to a full professional photography site with the ability to sell prints etc right thru their system, use your own URL etc. Some photo sites are zenfolio based, it just isn't obvious at that level.

Of note, they regularly add features etc but those changes don't mess up your layout, you get to choose what changes you want to make. Free trial.

http://claytonditzler.zenfolio.com/


My referral code is AVS-T45-6XE which will save you 10% if you sign up. (I also get 10% of your fee too!!) If you'd rather support another user ask them for their referral code.

Now, if its the social media aspect you like, zenfolio isn't the same in that regard.

Next question - has anyone used this migration tool?
http://www.uploadjunction.com/

-Ryan

Edit: or Migratr:
http://www.callingshotgun.net/

?

Anyone use http://500px.com/?

I use the free account and have only uploaded a few photos so far (http://500px.com/markostavric).

I'm quite pleased with the layout and sharing features. My goal is to use it to highlight some of my favorite photos, not upload all my photos. For the latter, a membership would be necessary.

One of the things I like about Flickr is the community. The ability to add to groups, to comment, to have a photo reach Flickr's Explore tab. I find 500px has some of this too. If I were going away from Flickr, I would probably choose 500px.

Marc , I tried 500px but what I didn't like was "anyone" could download your photos. With Flicker your contacts could but not the general public. It may have changed but I pulled my shots from there.

I'm curious, what is your display size on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/account/prefs/res?from=privacy)?

I kept the default of "best display size" -- which ends up allowing up to 2048 x 2048 viewing. Flickr blocks the right click, but this is pretty easy to get around for most proficient computer users.

I thought about lowering it, but I think it would lower the display size for my contacts and for me too.