Shotaddict.com: Addicted to Life

Vellum LLC has launched a new online project at www.shotaddict.com that should be useful if you are eager to test your photo skills in free photo contests or just need free image hosting to privately share them with your friends and relatives.

Average man has a huge variety of hobbies and interests to choose from, but digital photography is becoming popular with every passing day. Reasons? Digital cameras get cheaper, more sophisticated functionally and easier to use for a person (most of us are no-techie type). Digital cameras easily interact with PC’s. If needed, you can print the shots directly from the camera. It does not matter whether you are a professional, amateur or novice, the art of digital photography is captivating and amazing for almost everyone.

Shotaddict.com combines photo blog (photo news, digital camera reviews and comparison, digital photography tips and tricks, etc.); active community of amateur and professional photographers; galleries that serve as free image hosting for the website members; online store of digital cameras and accessories; photo software tips section and free photo contests.

No doubt, photo contests are the hook that should attract new members to join the site community. Contest topics are various: nature, kids, pets, sports. Most contest ideas are member generated. Contests are open to every person on the Earth: skin color, age, location – nothing matters if you own a digital camera and can meet the simple contest rules. The only aspect the website owners are concerned with is the property rights for the images that the members submit to contests.

The idea of the contests is not just to show your images to the public, but help the members to improve their photography skills by means of well grounded critique. Every registered member is enabled to join open contests. Every registered member can rate every picture added to the contest, leave comments to cheer up the photographer or make some remarks.

In addition to that, members that achieve a certain threshold of credibility (membership duration, active participation in the community operation) have the right to initiate their own contests. Any kind of profanity and abuse lead to the member ban from the site services.

In the near future www.shotaddict.com will offer its members photo printing services; ability to sell their digital images online; tagging photos and search by tags (tag cloud); space for free photo blogs to host. Any new ideas that originate from the community are likely to extend the list of the useful services that we will add.