This week I needed to upload a lot of photos for some client websites with the end result that the clients can update the photo galleries themselves.
I first started with Flickr. It is easy to set up an account but the monthly limit is 100Mb, and the program does not automatically resize the photos so after uploading one set of photos the client gave me, I was at 50% capacity. I still had 12 sets to upload. I uploaded 3 more and was then informed that the ‘free’ account only allows 3 sets. If you don’t need any more than 100Mb and no more than 3 different sets of photos, then Flickr is for you. There is no software to download onto your desktop, you just upload. Then Flickr gives you several options for sharing or you can embed the slideshow into your html page.
When I realized Flickr would not work for these clients, I switched to Picasa. I had to first set up a Google account for the client. I then logged in and once I clicked on the Picasa link, it became obvious that I had to download the Picasa software as the upload feature only allows a few photos to be uploaded at a time. I then ran the automate feature in Photoshop to resize the hundreds of photos, by sets, imported them into the Picasa program, they are easily uploaded to the website. In addition, the free version allows 1GB of photos and up to 250 sets.
The embed code was a bit screwy, so I found a great tool that changes the embed feature. You can view your album, then click on the rss feed button to the right. Cut and paste this into the appropriate box on the website and it will give you the code you need. http://www.tools4noobs.com/picasa/.