You have nice photos and you want to see them on the Internet, to share them with your family, your friends, the rest of the world. The choice is yours and… it is difficult. To host them somewhere on a server, you will first have to use a photo hosting service or you will build your own web site. Each one has its own advantages and its drawbacks.
Web full service
- Setting it up is effortless (think about opening an account in Flickr). Everything is ready now.
- This is not your site, this is everybody’s site.
- But, it is so easy to share, exchange, build a group or a network.
- Some of these web sites/services are very thorough but the neighboroud may be covering a range from “I dumped all my old photos out of my Flash memory card” (usually quite uninteresting if you don’t know the kid in the bath), to “I’ll show you only the best of the best” (much better, much more gratifying neighbours like on RedBubble).
- Some of these sites may include a complement of specialized services (e.g. editing, printing, selling; Like on RedBubble).
Web site made out of a photo gallery (like a SimpleViewer Flash script, or similar)
- The web site is naturally more personal (important if you want to look like a pro)
- The web site is to be built. Even with standard/free scripts available, there will be some work to do. But its worth it.
- You will need to find a hosting service (OVH, etc.) but if you already have a blog or web site, this may be only an extension of it.
Personally, I am very found of RedBubble because the community is very active, very participative. Furthermore, there is nearly no effort to start working with them (even if I already published a large number of image on my personal web site).
Even more important, I feel that it is a very good complement in the sense that it allows an easy sale of the work to outsiders. The RedBubble team handles the sales process and delivers the posters, cards, prints, calendars, while protecting my data files and ensuring that I receive my share of the sale price.
You will also notice that the images/photos presented there by others are of the utmost quality and wandering there produces a real aesthetic pleasure.
Some useful sources for additional information:
- How To Put Your Photos On The Web
- 30 Scripts For Galleries, Slideshows and Lightboxes
- Tom’s Guide : partagez vos photos sur Internet (in French).
- Aube Nature gives us les meilleurs scripts de galerie photo (the best photo gallery scripts, in French). In Flash, in PHP, integrated or not. JSGallery, (E)2, Phormer, ZenPhoto, PixelPost.