PhotoShelter adds Flickr import tool
PhotoShelter has added an import and export tool so its customers can move images to and from a Flickr account.
Barely a week goes by when I don't see a story about someone's photo being stolen from Flickr. I guess I'm not the only one, because PhotoShelter today announced that they've added a tool to their customers' Personal Archive accounts that lets them import images from, or export images to, a Flickr Pro-level account. Ultimately, it's a pretty slick way for the company to capitalize on the fact that PhotoShelter's Personal Archive provides a more secure environment for photographers, since it doesn't allow unauthorized viewing or downloads, though photographers can set selected galleries as public if they want to allow non-password-protected viewing. Plus, PhotoShelter's system includes an e-commerce engine, so you can set prices and sell your images.
The new tool also preserves any keywords or descriptions previously added in Flickr, and since PhotoShelter's system automatically recognizes EXIF data, you shouldn't lose anything in the transfer, except the possibility of your image becoming the unwitting star of an international ad campaign without proper compensation. The tool also lets you transfer images from a Personal Archive account to a Flickr account in case you want to take advantage of that service's photo sharing capabilities. If you use both services, this new tool gives you a nifty way to add watermarks to your Flickr photos, since PhotoShelter's system has a tool to do just that. Isn't it great when two photo sharing services find a way to play nicely together?