Flickr

I have just completed the task of setting up a Flickr account and have to say it was extremely frustrating. I found the whole site incredibly difficult to use. I have spent literally hours trying to change my background photo, upload photos, create an album, check to see if it is private....it is extremely difficult to even crop a photo! I had to open separate windows to get a guide from Google on how to do certain tasks. I understand that it is a great website to store lots of pictures but I found myself feeling nervous as to whether or not my page was private or was public. I therefore didn't upload any pictures of myself, just of inspiring quotes I love. I also disliked how I had to set up a Yahoo account....I already have an aol account and 2 gmail accounts so it seemed like just another thing! I love photography and make a huge effort to back up my pictures from my Canon camera onto an external hard drive. I prefer this to storing them online as I know for a fact only I have access. I love Instagram and also Pinterest. I find Facebook easy to upload to as well. I understand that Flickr would be great if you were a performer as you could upload dance shots and professional images from productions. It would be a great way to promote yourself. However, I am struggling to see how as a teacher I would use it for my professional work. I can't upload pictures of my students therefore all the photos would just either be inspirational quotes and pictures (which I have on my Pinterest accountant and also Instagram) or pictures of myself (which I already have backed up on an external hard drive and Facebook)....
I decided to Google reviews and opinions on Flickr as felt like I was missing something. I can see that you can hold a mass amount of photos on there which is a major advantage. Also photographers seem to love that they can share their work on this free site. Maybe I'm just being slightly old fashioned and skeptical about photos being shared online on a site I don't really understand. Interestingly I Googled 'Lucy Calvert Flickr' (to try and get the link to copy and paste on here) and a picture came up of me from YEARS ago when I did a showcase with the Actors Studio. I definitely didn't put this picture up. It was my headshot along with everyone else's who was in the show with me. There was no option for me to remove it as it said Copyright Reserved. Since starting this course I have become SO much more aware of my online status....more aware of the pictures I post, the sites I use and how much control I have over those pictures. It's something I never really thought about before....
I understand how effective posting photos onto sites can be. "A picture is worth a thousand words" as they say! Pictures allow you to be creative, tell stories, flex your imagination. In today's social media world it is key....I know I'd rather watch a video or flick through an album of pictures than read an email account of someone's latest production or holiday. Visual effects bring something to life. You gain a deeper understanding of what it was really like. A more truthful understanding. Things seem clearer to me in pictures. You can get a strong message across with just one image. It can be incredibly powerful.

The link to my Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/136812190@N07/albums