People in Second Life love taking photos. Whether they’re capturing their memories or doing fashion shoots for their blogs or taking photo for artistic reasons, it’s safe to say photography is one of SL’s most popular activities.
There are lots of ways to save your photos in SL. You can save the directly to your inventory or to your hard drive. You can upload them to gyazo or imgur or instagram. But those options are limited, especially for sharing with others on SL.
The Second Life profile feed is an option, but it’s not where most SL photographers post their work–Flickr is. If you’re an SL photographer, whether you’re casual or more serious about your photos, you should be on Flickr. Here are 5 reasons why:
1. The SL community is there
Flickr has a very strong SL community. It’s probably the first place SL residents go to post their photos. Your friends will easily be able to find your photos and you’ll be able to find theirs, too.
2. Flickr keeps your photos organized
The SL feed does a decent job when it works; it’s had a bit of a glitchy past. These days, the SL feed is more reliable, but it doesn’t have any organizing tools. Post a photo, an it’s just added to a scrolling feed.
If you’re looking for a place to just post your photos, the SL profile feed will do. But the photos aren’t organized and finding any image more than a few days old can take a while.
Flickr organizes your photos in an easy to see grid. Even if you have hundreds of photos, you can readily see them and page through them. Flickr also allows you to tag your photos, making it easier to search through your entire collection. You can also put your photos into personal albums if you wish, further organizing your photos.
With Flickr, you can easily organize your photos. Your photos are there for everyone to see, and as long as your images are G-rated (Admittedly, a barrier for some in SL.), people can see your work even if they don’t have a Flickr account. To look at photos of nudes and more adult photos, you’ll need a Flickr account.
The ability to keep and organize your photos, alone, is a good reason to post your work to Flickr.
3. Flickr provides positive feedback on your work
Flickr is a very positive community. The feedback you’ll receive on your photos will be mostly affirming.
Flickr’s review mechanism focuses on creating a positive environment. People show their appreciation of your photos by giving them little stars, and if they really like your work they can give it an award or leave a comment. There’s no down-voting mechanism, so the experience is positive.
That positive experience is very encouraging for people who are just starting out. If you’re just beginning or you’re unsure of your abilities (A live-long affliction for more than a few of us.), nothing will make some of us curl up and give up faster than a few mean and nasty reviews.
For the most part, people on Flickr, especially the SL community, is wonderful and kind and encouraging.
4. Flickr will help you grow as an artist
Almost every Second Life artist is on Flickr. There are some absolutely incredible talents doing amazing works. I can’t possibly use enough superlatives. The remarkable images created by people from Second Life will floor you.
And they’re all there for you to see, peruse, and study.
They will insprie you, give you ideas for your own work. They will make you a better artist.
5. It’s fun
On Flickr you’ll meet new people and make new friends. You’ll share your work with others. This will lead to talk about events, taking photos, the creative process, and life in SL.
Being on Flickr, adds to the wonderful experience of SL and that’s just fun.
Kultivate Magazine 