Flickr vs 500px
Which of these two platforms is the one for you?
We take a look at what they offer and help you decide which of the two is best for your photography
What are they?
In basic terms they both offer you the ability to:
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share your images with family and friends
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Share you images with photographers
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Get comments and feedback on your images
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See other peoples work
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Cloud style storage of your images (not the best way of achieving this)
But we need look at how well they do these things and how they differ?
How easy is it to setup an account/profile?
500Px
This could not be easier simply got to the site home page
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Select the "sign up" option
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Select if you want to set up an account via
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Google
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Facebook
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Email
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Add some details
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set a password
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That's it your up and running
Flickr
The process is transitioning away from the Yahoo login system, to a new sign-up process that does not require a Yahoo account. Now you will only need to use an email address/password combination to sign up. Your account will be activated after you confirm an email address and sign in for the first time.
Conclusion
Both are now quite easy to setup
What will it cost?
As we all know there is no such thing as a free lunch!
500Px
Several types of accounts are offered from free accounts with limitation to the comprehensive Pro Adobe account
Which you chose is down to your personal needs and wants:
Flickr
Free Account:
You will be allowed to have 1000 images on the site which is plenty for a casual user
Pro account:
If you need unlimited storage, you'll need to upgrade to Flickr Pro. An annual subscription, which comes with unlimited storage, is currently on sale at $35 (£approximately £26) per year. It is usually priced at $50 (approximately £38)
You do get several discount offers and statistics on you site.
Conclusion
Both have free and paid options
So what does Flickr have to offer
Uploading Images
Very simple just click on the cloud icon in the top right and you can upload your images. Either drag and drop them into the upload box or use the upload box to retrieve them from the file. Add the data you want to add to you image, and it will be uploaded to your page.
Your Home Page
- About
See and edit you profile details - Photostream
See the images you have uploaded - Albums
Create albums/collection of your images - Faves
This is where you will see the images you have recognised as favourites from other peoples galleries, which is achieved by clicking on the heart in the bottom right corner of the image - Galleries
These are collections of other peoples images that you have created - Groups
These are the Flickr groups you have joined - Stats
The statistics for your site - Camera Roll
You uploaded images in chronological order
Strengths of Flickr
Groups
This is the sites greatest asset.
In the search bar or in the groups tap you are able to search for groups that exist
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You can find groups on the following
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Your camera
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a specific lens
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a specific lens on your camera
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a genre of photography "Street photography"
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A location "london"
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or even combine them and get "London Street Photography"
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it endless
The Group site will contain images and discussions so you can see the images and ask questions or give answers. This is great fantastic resource, if your buying a new lens and want an opinion, going to to a new location and want to see what people are shooting or have an issue with your camera and need some help.
This is where Flickr wins hands down and its worth getting the free account for these aspects.
Feedback
You can log you images onto the various groups and get likes and comments or you can go on some groups and ask for comments.
Its "big"
Lots and lots of people which makes the above positives all the stronger. You are able to hook up with friends and see there work as well.
Weaknesses of Flickr
Rubbish
There are a very lot of poor images on the sites and you may think in some areas that your work is better than it is so pick your groups carefully. This can also lead to some questionable comments on you images.
No Measure
When you upload your image and place it on a group you get no indication of how "good" it is.