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As a real estate photographer working with a large collection of photos, your hard drive might be large enough to store all the files over time. The following Flickr vs Smugmug guide can help you choose a photo storage service that meets your file format and portfolio requirements.
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Flickr and Smugmug are photo storage services that allow you to store, organize, and share pictures online in a wide range of formats, such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF. The two services are easy to set up, as you can upload your pictures immediately after signing up.
Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application that allows users to upload, organize, and share their photos and videos with others. It was developed by Ludicorp in 2004, a company founded by Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake.
However, it was later acquired by Yahoo in 2005. Since Yahoo was not using Flickr for commercial purposes, Smugmug acquired Flickr from Yahoo in 2018, and it became a commercial service.
Flickr has various features, such as photo editing tools, tagging options, and group discussions, making it a popular platform for photographers and amateur users to showcase their work and connect with like-minded individuals.
Smugmug is an online photo-sharing and
As a brand, Smugmug acquired Flickr in 2018, the photo hosting service, Zenfolio in the same year, 2018, and the family history website, Ancestry in 2020.
Although Smugmug acquired Flickr, they have since operated as separate entities aimed at different audiences, with Flickr continuing to focus on community-driven photo sharing and Smugmug catering more towards professional photographers and businesses. However, since the two services are under the same brand, they share some similarities.
Although the two photo storage services are developed by different people, they are currently owned by Smugmug and share the following similarities in regard to photo sharing and management.
Even though the two services support common file formats such as PNG and JPEG, they have the following file support, customization, and eCommerce capability differences.
As a real estate photographer, you might want to capture and store your photos in RAW format. This allows you to retain the original data captured by the camera's sensor, giving you more flexibility to adjust things like exposure, white balance, and color even after storing the files on the cloud.
Smugmug allows you to upload and store your images in various formats, including the RAW format. Since the Smugmug plan offers unlimited storage space, you don't have to worry about running out of storage even after uploading RAW images. However, you need to have a reliable internet connection when uploading them.
On the other hand, Flickr only supports video and photo formats of JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Generally, that means you must use a RAW editor like Lightroom to process your RAW files before uploading them on Flickr.
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Smugmug also supports a wide range of verified printers across the world. If you sell the photos for print, they are sent to one of these printers. The only disadvantage is that you can't set up your own print company, and buyers must use the supported printers.
On the other hand, Flickr does not have built-in e-commerce capabilities for selling prints or digital downloads of your photos. Generally, Flickr is primarily a photo-sharing platform and does not offer features to monetize your work. However, you use it to showcase your work and promote your
Customizable templates are pre-designed layouts or frameworks that you can customize to create your unique branding or presentation for your work. By using customizable templates, you can create professional-looking portfolios that help promote and grow your
Smugmug provides a range of website templates you can customize to be user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and best reflect your real estate
However, Flickr provides numerous alternatives to manage and save your pictures, including creating Albums, marking Favorites, creating Galleries, managing your Camera Roll, or adding photos to Groups that feature similar photographs from other photographers.
The major distinguishing factor between Flickr and Smugmug is plans. Flickr provides you with two subscription options, the Pro plan, which you have to pay for, and the free version. If you opt to use the Pro plan option, you can subscribe to either the monthly, annual, or 2-year basis option.
The free plan gives you a storage limitation of up to 1000 files. The Pro plan gives you complete access to their entire range of features, including limitless storage, a desktop uploader, and an ad-free experience. The monthly plan goes for $8.49, which is discounted to $5.99 per month when paid using the 2-year plan.
Smugmug, on the other hand, has a wide range of options in regard to subscriptions as it provides a 14-day free trial version, after which you subscribe to the power, basic, pro, or portfolio plans. The Pro plan goes for $42 every month, while the basic plan goes for $9 every month.
Flickr is the ideal option for beginners who have just started their
Considering that it has various alternatives for managing and saving your images, it is ideal for use if you want to manage your collection of photos with the motive of growing your business and not selling the photos.
Smugmug is the ideal photo storage service if you want to store your real estate images in RAW format. It's also the best option if you are a professional photographer and you want to sell your photos digitally and as prints.
Since Smugmug offers customizable templates and also has built-in e-commerce capabilities, it is the best option as it serves both professional photographers who want to earn by selling their photo prints and beginner photographers who want customizable templates that can help them develop professional portfolios.
Smugmug charges a 15% fee on every sale you make, which caters to customer service, credit card payment fees, and the charges of administering the program. This means that the seller takes 85%, which is the profit from the download sales.
Flickr is generally more popular than Smugmug as it receives around 32.6 million page videos per day, and around 5.5 million visitors per day, compared to the Smugmug average of 5.8 million page views per day and 611000 visitors per day.
Yes, you can move the photos from Smugmug to Flickr by downloading them from Smugmug to your hard drive and then uploading them to Flickr.
The above Flickr vs Smugmug guide reveals the limitations of using the free version of Flickr and how you can create a professional portfolio using the customizable templates of Smugmug. Generally, Flickr is great for storing and managing photos, and Smugmug is great for selling them.
