Yahoo Photos has changed...

December 2 2003

Anyone else noticed that Yahoo has modified their photos service?  My photos site looks pretty different today.
The Good:

  • The banner ads are gone!!!  
  • I like the single thumbnail "cover" for each album.  I wonder how Yahoo chose the defaults (not that you can see them, I just went in and chose my own for all of them).
  • They show all thumbnails in an album at once, instead of 16 at a time (fewer clicks, finally).
  • The slideshow is a bit nicer.
The Bad:
  • The UI needs refinement.  On albums where I've disabled the ability to order prints (most of them), there is still a checkbox on every photo.  I have no idea why.
  • The full size prints are no longer available to anyone but me, it seems.  At least, when I signed out of Yahoo and came in anonymously, I only could see the "sharing size" photo.  Also, to the point above, Yahoo reports to any viewer what the "download size"  of the picture is -- even though you can't download (or even access) the full size version.
As I've discussed in other threads the last few days, I'm still not sure I'm wedded to going further with Yahoo photos.  The new UI addresses a few of my issues, but the fact that the photos are just "sharing size" now is a big minus.  I'd be interested in links to other photo sharing sites that people are using/recommending.  Guidelines -- I don't mind paying, but for a reasonable fee; it doesn't have to be Domino (in fact, I don't think I'd impose on PSC to host my photos, and I'm not about to run my own Domino server); I should have some control over who can see or order photos.

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Blogging  Add/View Comments [28]

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  1. 1  HDF  | 12/18/2003 5:25:45 AM

    Wait!!!

    The full-size photos are COMPLETELY gone it seems, even to the owner. This is a scandal, because it means they have basically made anyone foolish enough to store images there lose them.

    I would recommend that as many people as possible write to photos-feedback@yahoo-inc.com to complain about this.

    The fact that they have effectively junked our full size pics WITHOUT ANY WARNING is pretty amazing.

    Below is their answer to me:

    Hello,

    Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Photos.

    We apologize the inconvenience this may cause you. Only customers of

    SBC Yahoo! and BT Yahoo! can download full resolution versions of their

    photos from their Yahoo! Photos accounts, via the download button on

    the

    photo detail page.

    SBC Yahoo! offers DSL and Dial-Up connection services along with your

    favorite Yahoo! Premium Services such as Yahoo! Mail (25 MB), up to 760

    MB of Yahoo! Photos and Yahoo! Briefcase storage, and Parental

    Controls.

    To sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial-Up services, please visit:

    http://files.member.yahoo.com/regisp/d/sbc/dlk/dial/dial_intro.html

    To see if you qualify for SBC Yahoo! DSL services, please visit:

    http://access.yahoo.com/dsl/front_page

    Enter in your telephone number in the High Speed Access box, and

    select click here.

    Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

    Regards,

    Yahoo! Customer Care

  1. 2  Joe Barnhart  | 4/7/2004 3:29:15 PM

    I've been very happy with http://www.pbase.com. Their site is oriented towards displaying photos, not printing them. They don't offer (or link to) a printing service. But their galleries offer a lot of customization and their system allows large photos to be stored and downsized for display -- useful if you want to post larger file sizes and let people download and print them on their own.

  1. 3  Yury Kats  | 12/2/2003 2:32:48 PM

    Actually, Yahoo was offering small size photos for everybody but the author in any public album for quite some time now. This hasn't changed just now.

  1. 4  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/3/2003 4:53:33 AM

    By the way, anyone who is viewing my photos, feel free to comment on them! Yahoo doesn't provide any counter, so I don't know how many of you are trying to feed my ego :)

  1. 5  Kathleen McGivney  | 12/3/2003 6:46:46 PM

    Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com) is very good. I originally started using them just to order prints, but their sharing functionality is great, so now I use it for slideshows & sharing photos with friends and family. Ofoto is ok, too, but I like Shutterfly's UI stuff better.

  1. 6  Ray J. Bilyk http://bilykspride.servehttp.com | 12/5/2003 9:04:14 AM

    Shutterfly is good, but I don't think their software works on Linux.

  1. 7  jimdays  | 11/24/2004 9:17:24 PM

    I am no computer wiz, but someone showed me a simple way to access your full resolution photos at Yahoo photos. I will try to explain the best I can. First,at the top of Internet Explorere browser, go to the tools- internet options and click "delete files" under the temporary internet files. You don't need to tick the box "delete all offline contect". The purpose of deleting temporary internet files is that it will make the search for your full resolution photo file easier. It should not hurt your computer to delete these files. Next. click on the Yahoo photo thumbnail that you want to recover the full resolution. Then hit Print and then Print at Home. Then click Get Started.

    Then you can choose choose the photos size. I recommend that you click the 8x10 size but you could also click the (2)4x6 size. If you click the 8x10 size, the picture will probably come out rotated sideways, which you could later correct with some other program that allows you to rotate a picture 90 degrees. If you click the (2) 4x6 the picture will probably be oriented correct, but for some reason, the file size will be a little larger. Anyway, after you choose your photo size, click print. At this point, your print dialog box should come up. Do not click anything on the print dialog box because you don't want to actually print the picture. Next, click the start buttom on the lower left of your computer screen and then click search. Then click "all files and folders" and then type in the words "temporary internet files" in the top search box ALL OR PART OF FILE NAME.. (Don't type the quotaion marks.) On my computer it automatically searches in the C drive where is says "look in". Then click the "search" button. Wait for the computer to finish searching for the files. Several folders will appear. On my computer, I click the first folder that appears. I click on the words "temporary internet files". However, you may have to experiment with this because on your computer you may need to click on one of the other folders. After I click on the folder, a large list of files will apper. There is some way to order these files as to list them starting from the most recent. If you can do this, it will make your search much easier. Assuming you have ordered the files to show the most recent first, then look at the first several files and choose one that has a pretty large file size. This file size corresponds to your original photo. Put the cursor on the file name and then right click drag the file to the decktop and choose "copy here". Then you can double click on your file to see your picture. If you upload your picture to Yahoo Briefcase, you can keep the full res file. Do not upload to Yahoo photos or you will lose you full resoltion file. The only reason to upload to Yahoo Photos is to buy prints from Yahoo. These are the procedure on my computer. Maybe your computer will be a little different but the basic idea is the same, ie search for the temporary internet file that Yahoo loads onto your computer.

  1. 8  james  | 1/8/2005 9:24:08 AM

    I did the above and the pictures are still the same resolution as you view them on yahoo.?

  1. 9  james  | 1/8/2005 6:37:09 PM

    Wanted to see if anyone had luck with yahoo photos and gettingtheir high res photos they took away from us. Here is an email stream from them:

    EMAIL I SENT TO YAHOO

    > Type your feedback here:

    > I have used yahoo photos for several

    > years, I think some of my photos were

    > uploaded 2001.

    >

    > I thought at one time I could download

    > my full resolution images and now see a

    > note that sayd only SBC Yahoo! or BT Yahoo!

    >

    >

    > I think this is unfair. I still will use

    > your service but need the full

    > resolutions to place in slide shows on

    > another program.

    >

    > Can you please allow me access to my

    > full resolution photos???

    >

    > Up to now happy user

    ---------------------------------

    REPLY I GOT FROM YAHOO

    Yahoo! Photos <photos-feedback@cc.yahoo-inc.com> wrote:

    > Hello,

    >

    > Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Photos.

    >

    > We apologize for the inconvenience the changes in Yahoo! Photos may

    > have

    > caused you. The good news is that Yahoo! Photos now offers unlimited

    > storage, so you can upload, share and store as many photos as you'd

    > like. However, we no longer offer the ability to view or download the

    >

    > original, high-resolution versions of your online photos. Please note

    >

    > that if you order prints or other photo merchandise online, we will

    > use

    > the high resolution version of your photo to fulfill your order.

    > Please

    > see the Yahoo! Photos Terms of Service for more information:

    >

    > { Link }

    >

    > Subscribers of SBC Yahoo!, BT Yahoo! or Yahoo! Plus services may

    > still

    > access Yahoo! Photos online in full resolution. You can visit

    > { Link }

    > for more information about Yahoo! Plus, { Link } for more

    >

    > information about SBC Yahoo! and { Link } for more

    > information about BT Yahoo (UK only)!

    >

    > Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

    >

    > Regards,

    >

    > Lloyd

    >

    > Yahoo! Customer Care

    >

    > For assistance with all Yahoo! services, please visit:

    >

    > { Link }

    >

    ------------------------------------

    EMAIL I SENT TO THEIR REPLY

    I understand the change and feel it is a lack of customor focus. I feel exsisting users who had that capability should have been either notified so they could save their high resolutions in a timely manner and/or grandfather them in to allow them to have ccess to high resolutions.

    Please pass this along, I am sure it may not make a difference but overlooking this was a major flaw in someones plan.

    So though I have sole rights and responsibility for my photos, because you changed your service with no announcement I have lost ownership of my photos with no notice. They are hostage on your servers and the only way to get my photos back is to pay a ransom of buying online intenet service (dial up i do not need and dsl is not offered in my are). Thats a nice ploy specially without notice to your customers. I do not care if you did not have to notify me. It is what is right and just.

    Can you please provide me access ot my high res photos for a short period of time?

  1. 10    | 1/11/2005 10:19:18 PM

    The procedure outlined by jimdays above works! Thanks

  1. 11  Molgar  | 3/22/2005 5:38:05 AM

    It does work, thanks jimdays.

    The only thing I had to do that wasn't on your instructions is to select to be showed all the info as if I was in the US, otherwise the print buttons would not show up. It seems it's not availabe in every country.

  1. 12  Abhishek  | 4/19/2005 2:57:57 AM

    Thanks the idea works.

  1. 13  A VERY IRRITATED Yahoo User N/A | 5/22/2005 1:05:32 AM

    I also had the HORROR of finding that all my full size photos are pirated by Yahoo!

    This company CANNOT be trusted anymore as they have already shown that the management is willing to create blackmail its users to the extreme.

    It started with Yahoo! Mail, when they stopped allowing POP downloads and Forwarding, which was still fine, simply because your emails are intact.

    But when they start fooling around with MY photos, which are MY properties (or perhaps in their fcuked up "terms and conditions" they have already declared all picture ownerships to have been transferred to them upon uploading??), Yahoo! has gone just too far.

    As it stands, it is time to move all your briefcase, bookmarks, YahooGroups, Yahoo! Mail and whatever else to alternative service providers, because you never know what other cruel acts Yahoo! is capable of doing.

    This company no longer deserves the trust of many who trusted it, and the CEO is all to blame.

    The very least they could have done is to allow users to remove their full-sized photos, if our sizes are clogging up their wonderfully expensive servers. (sarcasm here)

  1. 14  Chris  | 6/15/2005 1:38:46 AM

    I thought there was something fishy with the "print at home" feature... I should've thought to check my temp files.

    Thanks!

  1. 15  Robin  | 6/19/2005 8:11:56 PM

    "The only thing I had to do that wasn't on your instructions is to select to be showed all the info as if I was in the US, otherwise the print buttons would not show up. It seems it's not availabe in every country."

    Could you explain how to do this please as I can't seem to find how to do this. Many Thanks.

  1. 16  Xmen  | 9/12/2005 8:15:48 AM

    The print to home feature seems only available if the album is placed in usa server but not if place in Asia (for e.g. URL that begins hk.pg.photos.yahoo.com.. or Chinese.pg.photos.yahoo.. ). The print feature is simply not present in the page. Did anyone had any idea to get through this?

  1. 17  bithive http://bithive.net/ypr/ | 10/11/2005 8:33:22 PM

    I have created a tool that allows you to download your original photos from a Yahoo! Photos album. The prototype is at { Link }

    It does not work on albums that require a login. Simply open the album on Yahoo! and copy the URL into my tool. You should get thumbnails linked to the original images.

  1. 18  Xmen  | 10/17/2005 8:35:36 AM

    It works great!!! Thanks a lot!

  1. 19  John Kain  | 1/2/2006 12:58:23 PM

    I am trying to use Yahoo.com pictures from Target.

    I want to add or at least look at the borders that they claim are available.

    Under the Help area it gives some of the following information.

    1. After you've uploaded yhour photo to your account, navigate to the large photo view page and open the Edit Menu.

    2. Select "Enhance Photo" from the menu, and your photo will be opened in the photo editing tools.

    3. Click the "Borders" button on the right side of the edit tool palette, and click on the effect you'd like to use from the list of available borders that pops up.

    4. When you'rd done, click "Save" to save the changes to this photo. To keep the original photo as is but save the changes to a new file, click "Save As..." instead and name the new version of the photo.

    I uploaded my photos and clicked on one of them and left clicked on the edit name and looked for "Enhance Photo" and that is not listed.

    Any Help?????????

    John Kain

    JKain63725@aol.com

    Missoula MT

  1. 20  Luke Wood  | 1/5/2006 10:52:49 AM

    I have spent a whole day trying to gain access to some photos on Yahoo. I am based in Malaysia and I cannot access the ■beehive■ tool. I suspect Malaysian IP addresses have been blocked.

    My girlfriend took these photos at her brother■s wedding. They are the only copies she has. If anyone could make any suggestions it would really be appreciated.

    Regards,

    Luke

  1. 21  Leslie  | 5/15/2006 4:36:35 PM

    I can't get to my pix on Yahoo Photos! Has anyone seen this error:

    Error

    YPH_ERR_YMDB_COLLECTION_NOT_FOUND

    I've been getting that for the last few weeks. I want my pictures back! I can't find anywhere to email, call, or whine about this. I have many many albums on their site (of which I don't have backup).

    Any ideas?

  1. 22  Madhu  | 5/16/2006 2:56:45 PM

    Hi,

    I just want to know how much MB's of photos can be stored in the yahoo's phot link(initial stage without any services/offers)

    Regards,

    Madhu

  1. 23  Vamsi  | 6/10/2006 11:56:18 PM

    I am having the same problem as Leslie.. getting the error YPH_ERR_YMDB_COLLECTION_NOT_FOUND whenever I am trying to access my pix on yahoo photos...Could anyone help me know what exactly the problem is..

    thanks,

    Vamsi

  1. 24  varma  | 7/12/2006 11:34:34 AM

    Thanks "jimdays" . yourthing actually works. Stupid Yahoo!.

    Didn't even know, they changed my photo sizes till recently.

    Thanks.

  1. 25  Spirit Walker  | 10/28/2006 2:14:10 PM

    I went into Yahoo Photomail Help and asked the following question....Does the Yahoo Photomail program permanently remove the thumbnails from my My Pictures folder on my computer and they did not respond but indicated that I should use Yahoo Search...which did bring me to this site. Does anyone know if the Hotmail Photo program does the same thing? Thanks....

  1. 26  okcbuddy  | 1/17/2007 11:30:47 AM

    Usually, after I view a slideshow, all the pictures appear in my temporary internet files (at 'shared size'). But sometimes only a few appear there, even though all the slide show pictures displayed. For example, I viewed an album of 180 picutres, but only 30 new jpgs appeared in my temporary internet file. Does anyone know where to find all of the pictures reliably? I would like a reliable way to capture photo albums now that Yahoo photo album downloader is no longer supported or working. Thanks!!!!

  1. 27  Ev Correa  | 2/21/2007 6:53:54 PM

    Could anyone tell me how I may delete ALL my photos on Yahoo?

    Thanks in advance.

  1. 28  RICHARD PREVOST  | 6/5/2007 1:32:36 PM

    I am no longer able to use PHOTO EMAIL, where you can

    click and drag pictures to the e-mail...

    How can I get this service returned.?..I would be happy

    to pay a fee for the service...Please advise..thank you..

    Richard Prevost