LensFreak is a Free website. Anyone interested in photography is welcome to register and start posting their photos. There is an upload limit of 2 photos per member per day, mainly because server space costs a lot of money and, no matter how much time you spend (or don't) on this website, Someone is paying for it!!! (in this case, me!)
LensFreak survives in 3 different ways:
1. With the money generated from Google Adsense
(everytime you click on one of the google Ads - like the ones just above this box - LensFreak receives a few cents)
2. With the money generated from the donations some of you have been so kind to make (you can donate HERE)
3. With the money generated from people who wish to upgrade their accounts
and be able to upload 5 photos per day instead of 2.
This is an optional one-time only payment of 10 euros
LensFreak's main goal is to share photos and photographic knowledge. Please take the time to add notes on your photos explaining why, when, where and how you took each picture. This will help people understand your point of view and enables them to add better critiques/comments.
Please also take the time to think about the comments you give to other members. We discourage comments like 'good photos' or 'very nice'. Please explain why you like or don't like each photo and whenever possible, add an opinion or an idea on how the author could improve that same photo.
User Ratings:
Next to each username, you will see 3 little squares like this:
There are four possible colors for each square: White (), Bronze (), Silver () and Gold ().
User Ratings are defined in 3 different ways:
The amount of points a user has, the amount of comments a user has given, and the amount of workshops a user has performed.
The order of the squares is: points, comments, workshops
Points:
Less than 50 = White ()
Between 50 and 100 = Bronze ()
Between 100 and 200 = Silver ()
Over 200 = Gold ()
Comments:
Less than 50 = White ()
Between 50 and 100 = Bronze ()
Between 100 and 200 = Silver ()
Over 200 = Gold ()
(Please remember to give acurate and useful comments)
Workshops:
Less than 5 = White ()
Between 5 and 15 = Bronze ()
Between 15 and 30 = Silver ()
Over 30 = Gold ()
These values are only updated during login
LensFreak Interface Functions - Top Bar
After you login, you will see these buttons appear on the top bar. The Logout button will close all session information and remove any cookies that have been set on your computer. This means the website will not remember who you are the next time you open LensFreak.com, so you'll have to login again. Please use this function if you access LensFreak from a public computer.
The Profile button is where you set your personal information and preferences regarding notifications.
The Intro button will take you to a page where you can white a personal intro about yourself and change your LensFreak display picture.
The Photos button will take you to a special listing of your photos (the same place you're redirected to whenever you upload a photo successfully). In this area, every photo has an 'edit' option so you can change the background color, edit the title, and edit the author's note.
The Comments button is a simple way for you to see all the comments you have received. Organized from most recent to oldest. In this section you will also be ably to reply to any comments you wish.
The Upload button is to be used when you wish to add another phto to your gallery. Please keep in mind that LensFreak has a size restriction. Most similar websites will allow you to upload any size and then use their own software to resize the files. LensFreak has opted not to adopt this technique as automatic scripts will make you photos lose some quality in the process. Maximum size is 800 pixels and 200 Kbytes.
LensFreak Interface Functions - Homepage
The buttons directly over the the photos will take you to listings of the online photos, organized by Most Recent, Random, Most Visited and Most Points.
Clicking on the LensFreak logo will take you back to the homepage, no matter which page you're browsing.
LensFreak Interface Functions - Side Menu
The Side Menu is pretty obvious and requires little explanation. The notable features in this menu are:
The Photos button will reirect you to a page where you can see the last 5 photos for each available category. You can then click on any specific category to see more photos.
The Members button will show you a list of all LensFreak members, arranged from most recent to oldest.
The Comments button will show you every single comment that has ever been posted on LensFreak, also listed bu most recent first.
The Workshops will allow you to see all workshops. Workshops are basically edits of the original photos by other members. This is a good way to explain things and show other points of view.
The Countries button will list all countries participating. If you then click on a specific country, you'll see a list of users. This is a good way to find other members from your own country.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the way this website is organized, or other ideas you would like to see implemented, please user the Comments/Suggestions button.
The others require no explanation.
