Instagram is a popular place to showcase your latest photos, but if you’re a true photography enthusiast, that might not be enough. You might want a better-looking portfolio—not to mention feedback and advice from other photographers. One way to achieve this is to showcase your work on a website dedicated to visual arts.
Next up are websites that provide a space for amateur and/or professional photographers to display their images, solicit opinions, discuss and maybe even sell some of their work. In other words, a community – one that offers criticism, support, and good conversation.
Instagram is included here because how could it not be? This famous social network focuses on visuals, both static and video, of the accounts you follow. Its focus is more on social networking than photography, but you can search for the photos and videos you want to see, each of which includes information from the photographer and comments from his followers. If you take the time to search, you can find some gems.
As its name suggests, Pixelfed is part of the Federation universe that has become widely known over the past few years through social networks such as Mastodon. The open-source tool promotes itself as an ad-free “fresh way to share photos,” with a chronological feed and a privacy-friendly look. Like Mastodon, if you’re not familiar with its format or that of similar apps, you may need some education to get started. First, you select one of the various Pixelfed servers; if you are already a Mastodon member, you can log in through your existing server.
Once you get your server issues out of the way, though, Pixelfed offers a very simple interface with some lively dialogue. Especially if you’re already part of the Federation universe, this could be a fun Instagram alternative.
Flickr has been around for a long time, with a range of members (from family photographers to professional photographers) and a variety of features, including a comments section and metadata about photos and cameras. If the photo owner allows downloading, you can choose from a number of different sizes and dimensions.
Free accounts are limited to uploading a maximum of 1,000 items and can’t post what Flickr calls “moderate and restricted content.” (In other words, partial and complete nudity and other sexual taboos). Additionally, free accounts do not allow more than 50 non-public photos and have ads.
If you want no ads, unlimited uploads, unlimited non-public photos, and fewer restrictions on what you upload, the cost is $9.49 per month, $72.99 for a year, or $132.99 for two years (plus tax).
If you’re looking for a place to display your cat photos, this isn’t your best choice – unless they are real Good cat photos. 500px gives photographers a place to store, showcase and license their work, and get some helpful reviews from fans and knowledgeable professionals.
The free ad-supported plan gives you 21 uploads per week. Otherwise, you can try the Awesome plan, which offers unlimited uploads, priority support, no ads, a history of “liked” photos, a gallery slideshow, and profile badges for $59.88 per year or $6.49 per month. The Pro plan adds a way to create a customizable portfolio and costs $119.88 per year or $12.99 per month. (Discounts are available for the first year: Awesome is $47.90 annually, Pro is $95.90.) There’s also a 30-day free trial.
Like 500px, DeviantArt is geared more towards professional photographers than casual photo takers, although anyone can join for free. It offers visitors a variety of galleries to visit, each divided into different categories such as traditional, animation, and illustration. The focus here is on creating a community of artists, so not only are there comments, there’s also a chat feature. There’s also an AI app called DreamUp that can help you create new art; a free membership gives you four prompts per month.
The free membership also has no limit on the number of public photos you can upload. If you want to sell your photography, you can do so, but the maximum selling price is $100. If you want to charge more, a $6.67-per-month Core Plus membership lets you sell your art with a 12% to 15% sales fee, up to a maximum price of $1,000 per digital item. You also get 50GB of private storage, 200 AI tips per month, and other features. If you need more space or a higher selling price, you can choose other grades.
VSCO is an online space for professional photographers to store, edit, share and sell their work; a feature called VSCO Spaces allows members to create shared galleries “around a specific theme, photography style, event or location.” With the free version, you can use a limited number of editing tools, create public spaces to showcase your photos, and browse community discussions. Plus membership, which gives you access to more powerful features such as video editing and the ability to participate in discussions, costs $7.99 per month or $29.99 per year, while Pro membership lets you create galleries of your work as well as full content. $12.99 monthly, $59.99 annually.
Glass gives photographers their own community—a place to create and share portfolios and post and receive comments. There’s basically no free version; you can set up a profile and follow up to three members if you want to look around, but you can’t upload photos of yourself or comment on others. Photography enthusiasts can use categories to search for member photos (you can drill down to specifics like “Silent Protest” or “Water Flying”). You can also see specific members’ work, curated highlights, and even photos taken with a specific camera or lens.
Full access to Glass costs $6.99 per month or $39.99 per year; you can also become a Patron for $129.99 per year. There is a 14-day free trial.
Vero hopes to be a gathering place for creators of all kinds, including photographers. The focus here is on social networking and not just on posting photos. You can create posts using photos, website links, or audio files. You can search and follow featured users, or try the Discover section to find your favorite artists.
Vero currently has no ads and is said to have no algorithms; the FAQ page explains exactly what data it collects and when. The app is currently free for “founding members”, but new members may be charged an annual fee in the future. The site’s homepage announces that it’s looking for a “co-owner,” which probably doesn’t bode well for its continued existence. Still, it looks like a friendly place to show off your stuff.
