Where does Blogger usually store pictures
For example, the picture at the start of this article was uploaded from my desktop, and so is stored in a folder in the Picasa-web-albums associated with my Google account.
I can see it here in the album:
Alternatives to Picasa-web-albums:
There are many other on-line photo storage and sharing options, eg Photobucket, flickr - and you can even use Google Docs which can now store files of all types.
To insert it into the post, I:
- Copied the URL of the picture in flickr
- Used the standard Picture icon on Post Editor toolbar in Blogger, and chose the "from URL" option, and pasted in the URL
But because the photo is hosted elsewhere (in this case in flickR), it is not put into Picasa-web-albums.
Instead the code for it points to the location in flickR where it's found:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hosting photographs elsewhere is one way to work around the size restrictions which Google has placed on Picasa-web-albums accounts. (Another is to link you blog to your Google + account).
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3291223203_acbcce9483_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3291223203_acbcce9483_m.jpg" /></a></div>
You do need to make sure that the security options for the account and/or album that they're placed are set up so that at least anyone with the link is able to read the files.
Be aware that a photo that is stored outside of Picasa-web-albums cannot be used as the thumbnail for your post: if all the illustrations in a post are stored elsewhere, then the post simply will not have a thumbnail.
Risks and Issues:
Disappearing Photos:
When you don't control the files that pictures are in, there is a risk that the pictures might "disappear" if whoever is hosting them (flickR in the above example) decides to move them or even just change the structure of their URLs.
There is, of course, the same risk with PWA, but since you need to be signed in to put a file into Picasa, Google knows that it's yours and can email you and let you know about upcoming changes. flickR, on the other hand, has no record my setting up an URL to the photo, so cannot give me any warning.
Integration:
Picasa/Google have various tools for showing slideshows in blogs. The specific features that any photo-sharing tool has change from time to time, but by using the tools from Google there is more chance that the will definitely work well with other Google tools, like Blogger.
Related Articles:
Applying copyright protection to your blog
Putting HTML from a 3rd party into your blog
Putting a slideshow into a Blogger post
Picasa - a basic introduction
Understanding post.thumbnail, the picture used to summarise a post
Creating a button that links to your blog.
