What is Flickr?

Flickr is one of the largest photo hosting and sharing sites on the web, with more than 5 billion images uploaded to its servers.

Registration is free, but there are limits to the file size and number of photos and videos you can upload. A pro membership can be purchased that includes unlimited uploads and file size.

Why should I use Flickr?

If your CSU organization or department has photos that you want to host online to share, Flickr could be your answer. You can link photos from your Flickr albums to other web sites that may not have server space for all your photo uploads.

Upload, share and organize your photos and browse the billions of photos other Flickr users have uploaded.

How do I use Flickr?

Start by creating a Flickr account here.

Sign in with a Yahoo! account or create one now and agree to the Yahoo! and Flickr Terms of Use.

By agreeing to Flickr's Terms of Use, you must:

• Comply with all applicable laws
• Provide accurate information and update as necessary
• Review and comply with Yahoo's policies including their Spam Policy and Privacy Policy
• Maintain the confidentiality of your password and account
• Use the services in a professional manner

You must not:

• Post content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable
• Impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Yahoo! official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity
• Disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster than other users of the Yahoo! Services are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges

Start uploading photos

Tag photos. Tags are like keywords or labels that you add to a photo to make it easier to find in searches. Be sure to include "CSU" and "Colorado State University" as tags.

Provide a title and description for every image posted to Flickr. Image titles and descriptions are used as search criteria.

Copyright. Indicate posted photos to be copyright protected "© Colorado State University."

Create sets and collections. Consider creating Flickr collections and sets with your posted images. A set contains photos. A collection contains sets. Collections are only available for pro accounts. Collections and sets can be searched allowing users to find a specific collection or set of images that interests them. This keeps users from finding and viewing only one image and then moving on to someone else's site.

Encourage users to add tags, notes, and comments to pictures.

To download or not to download. Decide whether or not to allow downloads of your photos.

Set default to no downloads allowed.

Or allow downloads to only images that do not include identifiable students.

Or allow downloads and select the option to maintain "All Rights Reserved."

Consider allowing the use of images by allowing and tagging images with the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons license. This license allows the download and use of your image provided the images are attributed to you, but it does not allow the commercial use of the image or allow the image to be used in or as part of an illustration.

Facebook it. Flickr has the capacity to work in conjunction with Facebook through an application. Connect your Flickr stream to your CSU Facebook page.

Capture events. Take photos at events and let guests know to check out your Flickr account to see photos from the event.

Additional resources

Take the Flickr Tour.

Upgrade to a Flickr Pro account. The cost is $24.95 per year.

Check out other resources and templates for photographers.