Portfolios FAQ

NatureScapes.net Portfolios is a place for paid members to display their nature photographs and also serves as a resource for people interested in finding nature photos. All content on NatureScapes.net is copyrighted and permission must be obtained from the author before using photographs in any way. For more information please see our terms of use.

Displaying Your Photos

Becoming a Paid Member

Paid members are allowed a fifty-image portfolio and are also offered other benefits such as the image upload service for posting images in our Galleries. Space for additional images is available in 100-image increments at $40 each.

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Create Your Portfolio

Once you are a paid member and registered through the NatureScapes.net forums or portfolios, sign into your account and click on the Portfolios tab in the main navigation bar under the website header.

  1. Under the navigation bar click on the link that says Edit Portfolio.
  2. On the Edit Portfolio page fill out the form to include your name, website, contact information, meta tags (simple keywords for search engines), and your photo subcategories, as well as your personal biography. When complete, click the Update Portfolio button at the bottom of the page. Subcategories are used as an easy way to organize your photographs on your profile. Read more about subcategories below.
  3. To add images to your portfolio, click the Add Images link below the main navigation bar. From this screen you may upload up to 10 images at a time from your computer's hard drive. You may also enter the website URLs to any of your images that are already hosted on another website. Once complete click the Continue button at the bottom of the page.
  4. After adding an image to your portfolio the screen that appears afterwards will give you the opportunity to add additional details about your image (classification, format, medium, location, subcategory, image title, description, and keywords). When you are finished adding your information click the Continue button at the bottom.
  5. To edit images in your portfolio, click on the My Portfolio link under the main navigation header. On your main portfolio page, click the Edit Portfolio link under the main navigation header. From the Update Portfolio page click the Edit Images button in the top left corner.
  6. To delete an image from the Photographers Index screen click on its thumbnail and then click the Delete this Image button on the new screen that opens. When deleting an image all comments if there are any will also be removed.
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Subcategories

Subcategories help divide your work into sections that you define, allowing you to personalize the presentation of your work. Assigning subcategories will group your images on your personal all images page, plus icons will appear at the bottom of your portfolio allowing a viewer to open images of a single subcategory.

If a subcategories title is assigned, it will appear at the bottom of your bio page over your subcategory thumbnails. If this field is left blank, no title will appear.

Click the text Click to Edit Subcategories to edit. Enter a title for each subcategory and its description. You can select a thumbnail from your existing images or, if none is selected, the most recently uploaded photo within that subcategory will be used.

Once the subcategories are created the order can be modified using the arrows. Editing can be accomplished by clicking on the E icon to the right of the subcategory.

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Personal Information

Please use your real, full name for your portfolio. Your personal URL is then assigned based on your name entered in these fields: (example “firstlast.naturescapes.net”).

Enter contact information that you wish to share, such as your nature photography website URL, email address, physical address, phone number, etc. Even if you do not enter contact information, each portfolio has a secure contact form that viewers can fill out to send a message to your email address on record. Viewers will not get your email address during this process. Senders receive a copy of the correspondence they send at the address they entered. Members can prepare a biography of up to 1,500 characters.

Meta tag keywords may be helpful in people finding your portfolio during various searches. Feel free to leave this line blank, or enter single words representative of your work and vision in photography.

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Portfolio Thumbnail

A portfolio thumbnail can be selected once you have added photos. The thumbnail will represent your gallery during various searches on the site. Review your changes and select Update Portfolio when completed. Back to Top

Adding Images

You can add images to your portfolio after its creation by selecting the Add Images link at the top section of the portfolios. Existing images in your portfolio can be edited by clicking onthe Edit Images button at the top of the screen.

From the Add Images page you may upload up to ten images at a time from either your computer or that are hosted elsewhere on the internet by entering the locations. You may wish to select only a few during your first upload to evaluate the time it takes for the files to upload with your connection speed.

Please note the image files should not exceed 200kb in size, nor should they exceed 750 pixels on the longest side except for panoramas, which may be 850 pixels on the longest side, no greater than 450 pixels on the shortest.

Once you have selected the images to upload click on the Continue button. You will be notified of a successful upload and can click Continue to proceed to assigning image information.

Our member portfolios is dedicated to the display of nature photographs. Portfolios of non-nature photographs are best represented elsewhere. NatureScapes.net reserves the right to remove any offensive or inappropriate photographs without notice.

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Classify Your Image

Indicate which category your image best falls under. The options are Birds, Wildlife, Marine, Landscapes, Flora, Macro, Elements of Humankind, Digital Art, and Astrophotography. This will help sort your image among the photos by all photographers.

Birds All avian subjects
Wildlife All creatures except birds, marine, microscopic, and domestic
Marine Underwater creatures and scenes, even when photographed from above the water
Landscapes All landscapes and scenics with no evidence of humankind
Flora Plant life
Macro Close up photos
Elements of Humankind Images that include people and/or human-made structures; domestic animals in a natural setting
Digital Art Images with content that has been manipulated post-shutter to create the end result
Astrophotography Images of the sky and stellar objects

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Format

Select 35mm, medium format, large format, or undefined.

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Medium

Select digital capture, print film, slide film, or undefined.

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Location

Feel free to indicate the location where the image was taken. This information is reviewed by the search engine.

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Subcategory

If you have defined subcategories you may select one for the image or select none to keep it from being grouped within your subcategories.

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Image Title

The image title is the most visible text you will assign to your photo. Try to keep it short but accurate and relevant to what the subject is. Since this field is heavily reviewed by the search feature, it is suggested you avoid abbreviations and acronyms unless you feel they are more likely to be used during searches. For captive subjects it is recommended a (c) be placed after the subject title text.

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Image Description

This field allows you to elaborate more on the image. If you don't want to add a description you may leave it blank.

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Keywords

Keywords are searched by the portfolios search facility. Feel free to leave this line blank, or enter single words representative of the image.

Click Continue once your entries are complete. You should be taken back to your portfolio where you can review your additions.

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Image Upload Service

The image upload service is where images can be easily uploaded to the NatureScapes.net server for hosting to display in the image critique forums. To read more on the steps to posting an image in our galleries please view our tutorial.

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Searching for Photos

Search for a Photographer

On the left side of the index page an alphabet is provided. You can select the first letter of the photographer's last name to search, or select All to view all portfolios in alphabetical order by last name. Or use the search function with even a partial first or last name.

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Search for a Nature Photograph

Visit the displays by category to peruse an assortment of photos: Birds, Wildlife, Marine, Landscapes, Flora, Macro, Elements of Humankind, Digital Art, and Astrophotography. Thumbnails in these individual categories can be sorted in ascending or descending order by title or date.

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Narrowing Your Search

For detailed searches, use advanced search with the Search Portfolios icon towards the upper right corner of each page. Photos can be entered into the database with titles, descriptions, location and keywords, so narrow searches can often result in finding exact photos.

Refine your search based on format, medium, photographer, location, or with filters in the search fields.

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Viewing All Image Details

To view all image details, click on the Image Information link below a full-sized image. The information pane will open up below, but you may have to scroll down to see the details.

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Contact a Photographer

Photographers may list phone, email, and other contact information on their Portfolio page. All photographers with portfolios have a secure contact form that will email your message to their email address on record. You will receive a copy of your correspondence by email at the address you indicated. Contact Photographer form links have been placed on all individual photo pages and on photographers' Portfolio pages, making it easy and convenient to contact them.

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Keeping Track of Your Favorites

Marking images as favorites can help immensely in keeping track of images you have visited and like. You can use the favorites feature to mark images you are interested in purchasing for a particular project so they are easy to find again later. Click on the Image Information link below a full-sized image and select Add to Favorites to bookmark the image. It can easily be referenced later via the My Favorites icon towards the upper right corner.

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Portfolio Maintenance

Modify Your Personal Information

Your bio and personal information can be modified at any time. While signed into the Portfolios, simply click on the Edit Portfolio icon at the top area of the page.

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Edit/Delete Images

Information for uploaded images can be edited at any time, or the entry can be deleted altogether. From the Edit Portfolio screen, click the Edit Images button within the top area of the page.

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