How Stable Is Your FREE Online Photo Storage?

Being a photographer, I tend to back up my photos in multiple locations. I have them on my laptop, a backup USB drive, then another USB drive that is stored in a safe. I sometimes save my best photos online on Flickr since I have about 2 terabytes in storage, as well as my other online portfolio site of 500px.

All of these locations are part of my process to have some piece of mind if in case something goes wrong. Well today I saw in article on WebDesignLedger where they were claiming that Yahoo is downsizing. You can read the full article here. My concern with this feels falls first to my “free” account with Flickr. Yahoo purchased Flickr in 2005, so about 11 years ago. I won’t go into the changes and improvements of Flickr since, but the ability to store 2tb of photos online is great, I am aware that Yahoo’s financial performance has been declining so how they decide to deal with the picture website will be closely watched.

For those of you like me, it may be a good time to take stock of what you have loaded to Flickr, and be sure you have your originals saved somewhere in your library. If you don’t be sure to download your photos and save them as well as connect with your followers on other means like their other social media websites and online groups.

Here are a list of alternatives you may want to consider should you need another online repository:

Google PhotosGoogle Photos – While this offers unlimited “high quality” photo uploads. Uploading RAW files will count agains a 1.5Gb storage quota.

Amazon StorageAmazon Cloud Storage – Offers unlimited cloud storage for about $60.00 a year. There is an inexpensive option for still unlimited photos, but a 5gb limit on video files. This plan is about $12.00 a year.

DropboxDropbox – While you do get up to 5g of free storage, you will then need to pay for an upgraded annual account. $10 a month for up to 1tb, or $15 a month for unlimited storage and managed file and folder permission controls.

Have more questions on this? Or do you have some great other options for online storage? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Wynwood Walls Miami: My First Visit as a Photographer

Wynwood Walls Miami: My First Visit as a Photographer

Last month on the first week of December I made a trip down to Miami for Art Basel. I’ll write a post about my experience with that soon, but what I wanted to show was some of what I shot of the Wynwood Walls area not far from Miami Beach.

During the week of Art Basel, there were a lot of street artists in the area that were painting murals on the sides of buildings for this event. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Miami each year for Art Basel and all the other happenings and let me tell you they didn’t disappoint. If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly encourage it. And also speak to the artists, they are actually really approachable!

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Still Photo Animation: Parallax Effect

Still Photo Animation: Parallax Effect

I have actually seen some of these types of “photo” over the last few years. When I did I thought it was video in either stop-motion or super slow motion clip. Come to find out it’s a process called Still Photo Animation. There are graphic designers and photographers producing this type of work on a commercial and consumer level all around. The video below features Joe Fellows as he shows and describes the software and techniques he uses when creating his animated photos.

This type of technique could be a great option to add to your portfolio as a photographer if you’re looking for a way to stand out from your competition. It does take some time, but could boost sales and prices for signature work by several hundred dollars. As you watch this video think of that comment below on how you’d add this to your photography services.

Photo Friday with Cheryl

Photo Friday with Cheryl

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A close friend of mine has been crushing it with teaching people different forms of Yoga. Her name is Cheryl Snyder. I took a body flow class with her not long ago and I’m looking forward to my first hot yoga class soon.

The photos here were from a shoot we did for her at the beach. My associate photographer that day was Trevor King of KingTMedia. It was a fun shoot capturing different poses of Cheryl as she performed some of her routines as well as some popular and difficult positions for this shoot. Check out the photos and let me know what you think in the comments below.
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What I Learned in Real Estate Photography Shooting My First House

What I Learned in Real Estate Photography Shooting My First House

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This week I shot my first house in terms of real estate photography. This is something slightly new for me because a few months ago I shot a 2b/1.5b condo. This is a new area that I’d like to add to my portfolio as well as list of photography services that I can provide. I was working with a local realtor that I have met a few times around my neighborhood. And in talking to her is how this opportunity came up.

For me lighting is everything when I’m shooting, and I brought along my wife who’s my technical director. She sees the objects, misplaced items, coordination of objects, and so much more so I’d say we’re a good team.

One thing that I wanted to mention is that this house was staged rather nicely. There wasn’t any clutter of objects or things around the floors or counters. It was like a house just done by HGTV.

The Tech Breakdown:

  • Nikon D3200
  • Sigma 17-70 2.8 Lens
  • 3 Speedlights
  • 1 150w Strobe
  • An 11mm super wide lens is the next purchase I’ll be making! 

You’ll be able to see for yourself my results after editing. Your comments are of course welcomed!
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