Share digital photos with family and friends

Location, location
Flickr users can also put their pictures on the map. This feature is called Geotagging and enables you to mark on a map where an image was created. To do this, click the link labelled ‘Place this photo on a map’ in the list of options on the right-hand side of any image. This will take you to a separate page with a world map.

On first using this feature you’ll be presented with a pop-up warning that pictures placed on the map can be seen by the public. Have a think about what you’d be comfortable with and use the form available to choose a default level of privacy. If you decide you want to make one snap available to your family and another to the public, this can also be done.

Once you’ve done this, you can add your picture to a location. Zoom in as much as possible to ensure your photo ends up in the right place by using the zoom tool on the right-hand side. The picture you want to locate will be at the bottom of the map. Click on it and drag it to the country you wish to place it on. To add more photos to the map, click on the scroll down bar at the bottom of the map and select All your content. This will display all your photos, which can be dragged and dropped onto the map in the same way.

After placing the pictures firmly on the map, it’s time to make yourself known to others. This can be done by creating a group. To do this, go to the main page and select the Groups feature on the top menu bar. Groups can either be public, public by invitation only or completely private.

Every group has a pool for photos and a discussion board for talking. To start a new one, click the Home link at the top of the window, then click Groups, then ‘Create your own group’. This will take you to a page asking which sort of group you wish to make. For the purpose of this guide, we selected the private group, so only friends and family that have been invited can join. Name the group and add a description of what people who join will expect to see (such as images of family gatherings). After this, pick the group safety level, which can be used to warn of groups unsuitable for children.

Click next and go on to name the administrators and moderators. Although these can changed, leave them as they are here so people won’t get confused. You can choose specific titles for your members. Click All Done to get the group up and running. Groups allow you to control the flow of discussions on your photos and manage your members, but it can be hard to keep up to date with these.

For those with sensitive information, use the Filtering tool to choose the safety level of content to filter offensive material: Safe describes content suitable for a public audience; Moderate can be used if you’re not sure whether your content is suitable for everyone; Restricted is for content deemed as unsuitable for children. To choose whether the photos you see should be filtered, select the You option found in the top menu bar and select Your account from the dropdown menu. On the profile page, choose Privacy and Permissions. Scroll down to the Content filters option and click Edit.

Another advantage of using Flickr is uploading images to a blog. Again, click on the photo you wish to upload and select the ‘Blog This’ button above it. If you haven’t listed a blog address, you’ll be prompted to do so here, and the photo will be published.

Printing galore
With all the fancy things people now do with their photos, it’s sometimes hard to forget traditional processes such as printing. Flickr offers the opportunity to print your snaps through companies such as Qoop, but annoyingly many of these services are restricted to the US. Fortunately, you don’t have to use Flickr or its partners, as there are many independent sites that sell photo prints, including Truprint, Bonusprint and Colorama.

Go to our workshop to find out how to create sets in Flickr.