If you want to learn something, the web is the most suitable place to start. This also counts for shooting the best photos. Many people come together on dozens of websites to discuss about compositions, colors, depth of field, lenses and more. The only downside is the large number of different sites to choose from. We will discuss a few of the sites we feel are better than most. This is by no means a definitive list so please add to the discussion and let us know what sites you find helpful.
Probably the biggest online photo-sharing site that is not only used for feedback, but also for sharing photos with a selected group of people. You have an upload limit of 100MB and all your photos are stored in various formats and for those who have a flickr pro account the size of the photos is unlimited. This is the reason why flickr is regularly used as an image storage location.
Positive Aspects
– huge photos
– large community
– lots of features
– clean design
Negative Aspects
– barely feedback only positive feedback
– too many features
– site not targeted to photographers
Focussion is a fairly new website and it is based on an unique concept. People can only participate with new photos if they provide photos with helpful feedback.
Posting a photo will cost you tokens and you’ll earn new tokens by writing feedback on photos of other photographers. If someone in the community find it useful, you’ll earn some bonus tokens.
Positive Aspects
– helpful feedback
– easy to use
– clean and modern design
– audience consists of photographers only
Negative Aspects
– new and small community
– no features like a forum
With about one million members another huge photography community. This website covers almost anything that has something to do with photography. Photo.net strives to be the best educational community for people who wish to become better photographers.
Positive Aspects
– large community
– helpful feedback
Negative Aspects
– lack of focus
– too many features
– somewhat outdated design
Another relative small community with about 16.000 members where you can connect with other digital photographers.
Positive Aspects
– clear focus on photos
Negative Aspects
– somewhat outdated design
– small community
This vibrant community uses a forum based website to share and discuss photography. With over 500.000 subscribers, this community is a major player in the world of photography. All discussions take place in a forum which makes it a little more difficult to post your photos.
Positive Aspects
– active community
– clean layout
Negative Aspects
– not specially designed to upload/feedback photos
– complicated photo upload system
Conclusion
There is no winner. It just is a matter of taste and desires. If you are looking for a place to store your photos, Flickr is the place to be. None of the above sites will give you as much space as Flickr does. If you want to learn more about photography and want to know the opinion of other photographers, you will probably like Focussion the most. Looking for articles and knowledge about photography, then you should go visit Photo.net or Digital Photography School.
What are some of your favorite sites?