What do I now have with a free Flickr account?

Starting on 5/20/2013, members with free accounts on Flickr will have:

1 Terabyte of space
Upload and download in full original quality. Up to 200MB per image
Ability to create “Collections”
Ability to replace photos
Post any of your photos or videos in up to 60 group pools

As of May 20, 2013, we are no longer offering Flickr Pro subscriptions to the majority of our members. Some things to be aware of (with more details below):

13 Traits That Make a Photographer “Professional”

• Andrew Fingerman · May 22, 2013

This appears to be a big week for Yahoo! with their $1 billion Tumblr acquisition announcement followed by a number of changes to their Flickr service. Exciting stuff in the tech world. However, amid the Yahoo! hoopla, CEO Marissa Mayer managed to insult the entire professional photography community with her comments, being widely interpreted as “there’s no such thing as professional photographers” anymore.

Oops. Now, we’ve all been in a position where an off-the-cuff comment doesn’t come out as intended, fair enough. But this one continues to sit poorly with me. Here’s the actual quote, in context:OK, so we are all now “photographers” thanks to the fact that a camera is always with us. Sure, I buy that. I’ve taken more than a handful of good photos with help from my inexpensive DSLR and a few good lenses. And, I’m as guilty as everyone else when it comes to Instagramming my kids and my dinner (only the stuff I cook, mind you).

We can all apply lovely filters and share our images via websites, social networks, contests, and even on any number of corporate “communities” where brands may showcase user generated photos. But let’s be very clear… NONE of these tools makes us anything close to “professional” and the role of the real professional photographer is very much alive and in demand.
I’ve had the good fortune of surrounding myself with professional photographers for several years. And from them, I’ve learned that there are more than a handful of traits that define a professional photographer. So, for Marissa Mayer and anyone else who may feel that there’s “no such thing” as a professional photographer anymore, I submit the following list.
A professional photographer…

1. Approaches a project in a manner that shows respect for both the subject and the client’s goal.
2. Works with a client to achieve that goal under specific budget constraints.
3. Delivers the end result, as agreed upon, on time and in a manner that shows the client’s most critical needs are understood.
4. Finds ways to make a client’s life easier from the beginning of a project to the end, including saving them time and making them look like a hero.
5. Is prepared to face any problem with a creative solution, from the most dire to the off-the-wall.
6. Takes criticism and adjusts (quickly) in order to get the job done.
7. Can completely pivot among all kinds of changing circumstances.
8. Presents, negotiates, agrees, executes, invoices, and follows up with consistency and personal pride.
9. Knows how to pitch and market oneself with accuracy so the promised service is what’s delivered.
10. Researches the subject of a story and contributes insights and vision that make the end result better.
11. Builds rapport with a subject in a way that gains unique access, makes them more comfortable, or exposes their personality.
12. Keeps one’s composure while dodging bombs, borders, and mobs, linebackers and foul balls, sharks, elephants, horses, and bees, roadies, divas, tornadoes, and brides and any other incoming threats or obstacles, and still gets the job done.

And to the final one (#13) I’ll add – there’s nobody I’ve met on this planet who can tell stories like a professional photographer can. Period.
Filters, “likes”, and terabytes of storage don’t make any of us any more “professional”. Being a professional is about how photographers conduct themselves while carrying out their projects and serving their clients. These are skills that are learned and honed, and those who excel at it deserve our respect.
Please don’t hesitate to add to this list, I’m sure I’ve missed more than a few.
<hr> P.S. As of this afternoon, Marissa Mayer has issued a clarification via Twitter. And, I continue to stand by items 1-13, above.
<hr> About the author: Andrew Fingerman is the CEO of PhotoShelter. This article originally appeared here.

Marissa Mayer Sorry for “Misstatement” on Professional Photographers

• Eric Calouro · May 22, 2013

Bad, bad panda!
Come on. We want photos.
We’re aware of the problem and are fixing it.
Thanks for your patience.

I never would've compared the old Flickr to a gallery space but I think now it's an apt analogy.

Ever see walls of a gallery completely filled with images? No - they have their own space and breathing room. This is Google Images. Did the developers develop a case of horror vacui?

And you realize the justified photostream randomly and arbitrarily resizes and emphasizes your photographs. I had three square photos from the same camera on the same day and they come out on three rows in three different sizes. What could the point of that possibly be?

Ever see a gallery where you have to ask to read descriptions, or rollover a spot to make them appear? No, they're there, right next to the piece.

Ever see a gallery with black walls? Why the obsession with black backgrounds?? Most photography is presented on white walls with white mats. Black was never the default until photo sharing sites decided they looked better on smartphones.