Tips for Using Flickr

Digital photo sharing Web sites are a great way to provide backups for the photos stored on your hard drive, to share photos with others through the Web, and to organize your photos. One of the most popular Web sites for digital photos is Flickr, from Yahoo. Here are some tips for making the most of using Flickr.

• Be sure to flag your photos appropriately on the Flickr Web site as you upload them. Uploading mature content to Flickr and mislabeling it as "safe" is probably the quickest way to be kicked off the site. Photos can be labeled as "safe," "moderate," or "restricted."

• One of the best areas for managing your Flickr account and content is to use the Recent Activity feature. You can see any requests you've received, as well as other messages.

• If you find the need to edit a photo after you've uploaded it to Flickr, the Web site includes a built-in editing program, called Picnik. Click the Edit Photo button when looking at a photo to begin the process. However, keep in mind that if you have a free Flickr account, copies of any photos you edit are treated like newly uploaded photos, which will eat your available bandwidth.

• If you want to share some of your photos on Flickr with others who may not have a Flickr account, you can simply click the Share This button that accompanies each photo window, allowing you to send the photos in e-mail or link to them.

• Do not "borrow" and use photos that others have posted to Flickr without permission from the photographer. Flickr makes contacting others through the Web site pretty easy with one click, but keep in mind that the photographers might not respond immediately. You can't control the speed with which others respond to your requests.

• When making a request to use someone else's photo, you'll probably have more success in receiving permission if you include as many details as possible in how you'll be using the photo. If you're vague about your intentions, your request will be more likely to be rejected.

• Finally, if you ever find that the free version of Flickr just isn't meeting your needs, you can upgrade to Flickr Pro for about $25 per year. You'll receive unlimited uploads and storage, as well as advertising-free browsing and sharing. You'll also have access to various statistics about who's viewing your photos.