Getting feedback For most of us, photography is just a hobby, so the only people who see our photos are family and friends. Since you have a close relationship with these people, they’ll likely give you polite feedback on your photos, which isn’t always helpful.
With Flickr, you can expose all your photos to complete strangers, and although a lot of them will also be polite and only leave you “hey, great photo!” comments, a few will actually point out things they liked or didn’t like about a photo, sometimes even suggesting how you could have done it better (especially if you ask them to in your photo’s description!).
The key to getting a lot of good feedback on your photos is to join groups that you’re interested in. After joining, submit a few photos, comment on other photos in the group, and continue to interact with the group. The members will reward you with comments (and, sometimes very helpful ones).
Scouting out locations This one probably only applies to nature photographers, but Flickr is also a great tool for scouting out locations before you visit them. Sometimes you may only get to spend one day at a particular national park or wilderness area, so it helps to know as much about an area as you can before getting there.
In the beginning, I would scout an area just by looking at photos people took of that area, but soon I realized how much other information I can gather. Here are a few things you can figure out with Flickr’s “advanced search” tool:
A few months ago I used Flickr to help me scout out waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, of Oregon. The area has over twenty different waterfalls, but unfortunately I had just one day to spend there! So, I logged on to Flickr and searched for “Columbia River Gorge waterfalls” and restricted my search to photos taken in January (when I was there). The search results allowed me to pick two or three waterfalls I thought looked most interesting at that time of the year. One of the waterfalls I chose is pictured at the right (Metlako Falls).
How to get started Are you ready to start using Flickr to help you become a better photographer? Great!! Here’s how to get started:
1.) Signup for a free account at www.flickr.com
2.) Upload your favorite photos (make sure you add tags, titles, and descriptions!)
3.) Search for groups that target your interested subject (i.e. portraits, street, nature, cityscapes, food, wildflowers, landscapes, etc). Join them, add photos, and comment on others.
4.) Search for interesting photos and follow the photographer’s photostream by adding them as a contact. Here are 5 great Flickr photostreams to get you started:
To get the most out of Flickr though, you’ll have to explore and interact with other users. So, don’t just upload your photos and leave. Stay a little while. Look around, and find new photographers. You’ll definitely learn a thing or two.
With Flickr, you can expose all your photos to complete strangers, and although a lot of them will also be polite and only leave you “hey, great photo!” comments, a few will actually point out things they liked or didn’t like about a photo, sometimes even suggesting how you could have done it better (especially if you ask them to in your photo’s description!).
The key to getting a lot of good feedback on your photos is to join groups that you’re interested in. After joining, submit a few photos, comment on other photos in the group, and continue to interact with the group. The members will reward you with comments (and, sometimes very helpful ones).
Scouting out locations This one probably only applies to nature photographers, but Flickr is also a great tool for scouting out locations before you visit them. Sometimes you may only get to spend one day at a particular national park or wilderness area, so it helps to know as much about an area as you can before getting there.
In the beginning, I would scout an area just by looking at photos people took of that area, but soon I realized how much other information I can gather. Here are a few things you can figure out with Flickr’s “advanced search” tool:
- What a scene looks like at a particular time of the year (i.e. when do the leaves start to change color?)
- If a particular mountain peak is snow capped at a certain time of year
- How strong a waterfall is flowing throughout the different seasons
- If the sun shines on a certain geological formation at sunrise/sunset (and at what time of year)
A few months ago I used Flickr to help me scout out waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, of Oregon. The area has over twenty different waterfalls, but unfortunately I had just one day to spend there! So, I logged on to Flickr and searched for “Columbia River Gorge waterfalls” and restricted my search to photos taken in January (when I was there). The search results allowed me to pick two or three waterfalls I thought looked most interesting at that time of the year. One of the waterfalls I chose is pictured at the right (Metlako Falls).
How to get started Are you ready to start using Flickr to help you become a better photographer? Great!! Here’s how to get started:
1.) Signup for a free account at www.flickr.com
2.) Upload your favorite photos (make sure you add tags, titles, and descriptions!)
3.) Search for groups that target your interested subject (i.e. portraits, street, nature, cityscapes, food, wildflowers, landscapes, etc). Join them, add photos, and comment on others.
4.) Search for interesting photos and follow the photographer’s photostream by adding them as a contact. Here are 5 great Flickr photostreams to get you started:
- Kevin McNeal (nature, landscapes) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmcneal/
- Davide Cherubini (cityscapes and bicycles) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/d_cherubini/
- Lord V (amazing macro photos) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
- Heather Evans Smith (just check it out) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/hsmithphotography/
- Gretchen Burkhart (portraits) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/gretchenburkhart/
To get the most out of Flickr though, you’ll have to explore and interact with other users. So, don’t just upload your photos and leave. Stay a little while. Look around, and find new photographers. You’ll definitely learn a thing or two.
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