Though it may seem like a blast from the past, Flickr is still going strong, especially since its acquisition by pro photo storage service SmugMug. It’s the best service for people who want to be part of a photography community.Flickr is loaded with features that let you organize and share your photo collection. You don’t have to make your photos public when uploading to Flickr, and as with most services here, it can automatically upload any photos shot on your smartphone or added to a folder on your computer. Unlike Instagram, Flickr is all about photos—not memes, selfies, or political ads. It does, however, let you scroll a feed of photographers, groups, and topics that you’ve chosen to follow. Also, unlike Instagram, Flickr lets you view full-size images, and if the photographer allows it, even download them.You can join interest groups, such as bird photography, where you can submit your photos for more views, and people can like or comment on your pictures and even send you direct messages. A longtime favorite feature in Flickr is Explore, where you might have your photo highlighted as one of the top-liked images on the site.You get 1,000 photo uploads for free, but to store a collection of any size, you need a Pro account. Pro gives you unlimited online photo storage at full resolution; no banner ads; the ability to upload NSFW images; more account traffic stats; priority support; photo sale links; and discounts on book printing, SmugMug, Phlearn, and other photo services. Pro costs $72.99 per year or $132.99 for two years. There’s also a $9.49-per-month option, but that doesn’t make much sense if the idea is to store your photo collection over the long term.
