How to use Flickr

Good morning! We've had a few questions about how to set up and use a Flickr account. Remember, for the blocks of the month and any challenge that you can't be at the meeting to present, you need to upload photos to Flickr by the Wednesday evening prior to the meeting to get your points.

We chose Flickr for this service for a number of reasons - 1: It's free! 2: It's easy! 3: There is a large quilting community on Flickr that can provide tons of inspiration!

If you don't have one already, the first thing you will need to do is set up a Flickr account. Simply go to www.flickr.com, and provide an email address and set up a password. Flickr will ask you a few questions about yourself (your name - only share what you want the internet to see! You can choose to not share your last name if you'd prefer), where you live, etc. You can have a free account which allows you to upload 200 pictures without charge. If you upload more than that, it will start deleting your previous pictures (just a word of warning!). A Flickr Pro account is $25/year and allows you to upload unlimited pictures.

There are a variety of ways in which you can upload pictures to Flickr. You can email them, upload them from a mobile device, or simply upload them from your computer. Take a look here for all of that information.

I usually upload from my computer - it is super easy if the pictures are already on your computer (you've uploaded them from your camera already) - the 'uploader' function on Flickr will 'look' for them on your computer. You can upload as many or as few at a time as you'd like. Then you can give each photo a name and write a description.

After you've uploaded and named them, you'll need to share them with our group on Flickr. Simply go to our group's page and click the link to join the group (it will ask you if you're sure!).

Then, go back to your photos. Click on the photo  you want to share. At the top it will have a button that says 'actions.' Choose 'share with group.' It will bring up a list of the groups you are a member of, and you just click on our group! That's it! Super easy!

If all of that seems to complicated, there is an even easier way to upload your photos. There is a Flickr app available for smart phones. I recommend setting up your Flickr account first online, then downloading the app. From there, any pictures you take with your phone can be uploaded to your Flickr account. From there, simply go to the groups button within the app, and click the button that looks like a camera with a plus sign. It will bring up your photostream, and you can click the pictures you want to share with the group. Voila!

There is much, much more you can do with Flickr, but this should get you started! There are tons of FAQ's within the website should you have more questions, and I encourage you to search for quilting related groups - there are hundreds!

One last note - when you are uploading your photos, Flickr will ask you if you want your photos to be public or private. In order for them to show up in our group, they must be marked as public.

Happy uploading!