Best Photo Sharing Sites

Instagram is a social media site that was released in 2010 as an app for iPhone users. Instagram has since been purchased by Facebook and is now also compatible with Android phones. Instagram grew by 23% in 2013 and it still growing in popularity. The idea behind Instagram is to allow people to share interesting photos, in an easy format, and without the need for an expensive camera. On Instagram you can take (or upload) pictures in a square shape similar to a Polaroid, and then edit your picture with a simple filter to share with friends and family.

Facebook is a social media site that was started in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook is mainly used for social networking; however, they have recently added quite a few photo sharing and storage features which makes Facebook a popular option for photo storage since they already have over 1.44 billion active users. Facebook's mission is to "give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." On Facebook, users can create a personal profile where they can share photos with their different social circles. The privacy on each post can be adjusted so the each user has control over who can see their posts. In each Facebook post you can add a picture, video, GIF, or comment and tag your friends.

Shutterfly.com is an online photo sharing and printing service based in Redwood City, CA. Best known for its line of customizable photo books, Shutterfly was created in 1999 and went public in 2006. They company's customer base is heavily skewed toward women, who made up 80% of its users in 2013. In August of 2014, Shutterfly had 2.6 million customers with 4.2 million orders generated.

Shutterfly has several sister companies, which include Tinyprints, Wedding Paper Divas, Treat, Borrowlenses and This Life.

Picasa is an image organizing website that was started in 2002. Google offers Picasa as free photography software that supports Google's photo sharing capabilities online. Essentially, Picasa allows users to organize, view, and edit their photos on their personal computer. The user also has the option to backup their photos online in Web Picasa for online storage and convenient sharing to social media sites. Picasa is available for both Windows and Mac users. Picasa will also automatically sync with iPhoto or similar competing software to ensure users a smooth transition into Picasa.

Photobucket is a photo sharing site that was founded in 2003 and is based in Denver, CO. Photobucket hosts more than 100 billion images from 100 million registered members.

Launched in 1999, Snapfish is an online photo sharing and printing service that is owned by Hewlett-Packard. Snapfish is based out of San Francisco, CA.

Snapfish members are given free accounts with unlimited photo storage capacity. All members can share photo albums, individual photos, animated slideshows and Snapfish products.

500px (pronounced five hundred pixels) is an online photography community that enables users to discover, share, buy and sell inspiring photography. The site is designed for use primarily by amateur and professional photographers.

The Toronto-based site was launched in 2009 and serves users worldwide. By late 2012, 500px had more than 1,500,000 users and was named one of the best blogs of 2012 by Time Magazine.

ImageShack is an image hosting service that was launched in November 2003. It wasn't until 2014 that ImageShack removed their free image hosting, removed their advertisements, and became a subscription-only webpage. Once ImageShack transitioned to a subscription site, they focused on features such as increased file size, automatic syncing, copyright protection, and more. ImageShack wants to become the top image hosting website for high-resolution photos. Not only is ImageShack a place to store your high-resolution images, but ImageShack also offers a social factor by allowing users to follow other users and potentially become featured on the ImageShack blog.

SlickPic was launched in September of 2010. The site allows users to store, showcase and share photos. The presentation of photos is enhanced with features like portfolio and gallery templates and users are encouraged to find their own style to share their work in unique ways. Thousands of photographers currently host millions of photos on SlickPic.

Zenfolio was started in 2005 by four photographer friends who wanted to create an online outlet for photographers. Zenfolio became their all-in-one web solution for both amateur and professional photographers. It allows photographers to organize, display and sell images.

Zenfolio is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA, and is part of the Art.com family of brands.