Pollen (c) author, 2008
Ok, so now the image is on your first page when You is clicked. Actually click the image and you will be sent to the page that only the single image is on. Like this:
If you run your mouse/cursor over the title above the image a beige ‘bar’ will come up. If you click the ‘bar’ you can change and save the new title right there. (marked by a red ‘one’ in the image above). If you dont change the title Flickr assumes it will just be called whatever you titled it on your computer and leave it as such.
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The red ‘Two’ on the image is the photo’s personal toolbar.
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The ‘Three’ is a link to your own personal photostream.
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‘Four’ is a link to where ever else you have the image stored within Flickr.
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‘Five’ is much the same as four but it shows what ‘Group Pools’ the image has been sent to. (more about these functions later).
Underneith the photo the image the ^above^ can be seen. The first red marker near the top is the description of the image. If you scroll your mouse cursor near the bottom of your photograph another ‘beige bar’ appears. Click in here to add your description. It could be about the image, or what you were trying to achieve or nothing, it is entirely up to you. Then: save.
Across to the right ^^ above^^ you can see the Add a Tag link. Push this, and you will be prompted to add ‘tags’ to the image, via a pop up box. The tags need to be separated by commas or if the tag is multiple words then enclose them in quotation marks. Ie (on the tag list above) I would have typed : Sx70, 600, Polaroid, Jetty, Bollard, Warrnambool, “‘Roid Week 08” in a single line, not indvidually. The tags will be picked up by search engines like Google Image Search, so if you would not like that occurring, don’t tag the image.
Under the Tag link there is the Photo Stats which tells you a lot about what activity has been happening on your page. For example: The ‘Jetty’ image has been ‘favorited’ by three people, and It has been viewed individually by various individuals 31 times. These viewers are not listed, only the people who add it as a favorite or those who leave a comment are. If you click the listing that tells you how many people have favorited your picture, a new page opens up telling you who they are.
Under Photo Stats there is the Edit / Replace link that allows you to upload a better version of the image without losing all of the information, comments and statistics. This option is very useful especially if you are handy with Adobe Photoshop. It also allows you to edit all of the title, tags, and description information while you are uploading the new improved version.
Now we get to my favorite part, Comments and Contacts. If you look ^^above^^ there is four comments, one is from a contact friend of mine in Singapore. Mela de Gypsie would have seen my images pop up in her Contacts photo page. The Contacts link is found on the toolbar directly below the Flickr logo on any of your pages. If you click this link it takes you to a page where thumbnail images of your Contacts (or friends) photos can be found. Click any of these and it takes you directly to the image displayed, within their photostream.
How I add a contact to my list? Once you have clicked the Contacts link to the thumbnail page, you will see your avatar, (all Flickr members have a simple avatar as a default, this can be changed later in your profile) with a list of contact related options available, including ‘Invite’ and ‘Find your friends’. Flickr allows you to group your contacts into three main areas, Friends and Family, Friends, and Contacts, (there is also a Block List link). Click the Find your Friends link. Which will open this page:
You have two options: Use an existing address book, which in this case is Yahoo, Gmail or Windows Live Hotmail. Or try and find people who are already on Flickr. The latter option only works if you know their username. The former checks your Yahoo, Gmail or Live Hotmail address book for email addresses of friends who may be Flickr users. Follow the easy links with either option. Flickr will send them notification (via Flickrmail) that you have added them as a contact and gives them the option to add you to their contact list as well. If you find someone within a group that you might want to add as a contact, simply roll your curser over their avatar. The thumbnail will appear larger with an arrow (drop box) beside it, click the arrow and a series of options will drop down including ‘add …….. as a contact’, click and follow the links. If you click the avatar itself it will take you directly to the persons photostream.
OK, this is getting to be a massive blog entry (sorry) but we have one more little thing to cover before I log off tonight, Groups.
Click Groups on the toolbar below the Flickr logo. You will be taken to a page similar to this:
Now as a Flickr newbie you will have no groups under your avatar. Click the Search for a Group link (as underlined). Or if you prefer the Find a Group search bar on the right. Find a Group uses a keyword search and will show you all the groups that have that word in their title or description. For example: if I wish to find a group that showcase images of dogs I would type: Dogs into the bar and click search. There is currently 14,738 groups about dogs on Flickr! Including Dog Days, Dog Expressions, Hot Dogs, LOL Dogs, and Dog Tired, just to name a few.
My point here is that no matter what you have photographed, there will be a group on Flickr that would love to have your image(s) added to their group pool. But you have to join a group to be able to place your images in the pool. I’m going to use ‘Dog Expressions’ as my group example.
Notice the Group has an Avatar, and a Group Photo Pool, where all its members post their images. To join simply click the Join this group? link. Dog Expressions opens a new page that outlines the rules of the group, what sort of images they allow and so forth. At the bottom of the rules large pink type clearly states “If you agree to these rules, you can join this group” under that statement there is a button that says ‘OK JOIN’ or a link that says “No thanks, take me back to the Dog Expressions homepage.” I agreed with the rules so I clicked the button. I was again taken to the Group Homepage, but this time there was no ‘Join this group?’ link. I am now a member and I can post the photos of my dogs little face to the group. There is no limit to the number of groups you can join.
Ok now, to add your image to a Group Pool we have to go back to our album. Click You on the toolbar directly below the Flickr logo. This will go directly to your photostream. Now click on the image that you wish to add to a group pool. This will go directly to the image’s own page.
Under the title there is a group of buttons for different functions, all to do with the image displayed. Click the second button from the left Send to Group. This will cause a drop box list of all the groups you are a member of to open up. It displays only their avatars and names. Simply click the Group you wish to send the image to. The following will appear:
Click OK, and the group will show up under the; This photo also belongs to: list.
Next blog will cover: Leaving coments on photos and in forums, and basic organising.