I received an email from daily reader Lauren in Fremont, California, wondering if I might consider posting a mini tutorial/FAQ on sfgirlbybay on how to go about best using Flickr as an inspirational design tool. Lauren wondered how I go about trying to find some of the most inspiring photos on Flickr? What tags or groups should you be searching for? Perhaps like Lauren, you love perusing photos of other people’s beautiful homes and can’t get enough of house tours. Here’s a bit about how you might go about finding these kinds of images on Flickr.

First off, there are several groups which focus primarily on interior design. Flickr has groups you can join for just about everything – do a search of Flickr groups for whatever type of design you might like, and I think you’ll find it. From Mid-Century Modern, to vintage-inspired, type in what you seek, check out those groups’ photos and if you like what you see, join the group.

I’m a member of many of these, like the old Domino Magazine group, (still full of inspiration and going strong), to Modern Living, Eclectic Interiors, Corners of My Home, and Jeu de Paume, Fresh New Spaces, and even a group for Inspiration Boards. All of these will certainly inspire you in one way or another. Also, if you see a photo you like, check to see which groups it may have been added to, and click on that group to visit it – another fun way to find like-minded Flickr photographers and interiors you might get great ideas from.

Once you join these groups, you’ll find other Flickr members who post photos that really inspire you, and you can add them as a contact. Once they are in your contacts, you can set your Flickr settings to show you a stream of your contacts’ latest uploads, and that way you won’t miss anything new. You can also add them as friends, should you become good Flickr buddies, and set your Flickr settings to send you an email when they upload new photos (note: this can really fill up your inbox, so set this preference with some careful forethought – but you can also always change it if your inbox gets inundated).

As far as searching by tags (tags are identifying words Flickr members add to their photos to help people find their images), search by simple words like: chair, crafts, mid-century, white, yellow, kitchen, beds, garden etc., or a combination of these words, like ‘modern bench’ – it’s pretty self-explanatory. I find looking at and searching these photos using the Thumbnail option (see below) makes searching quite a bit quicker.

I create my Flickr Curator sets by adding images as favorites, which you do by clicking on the ’star’ icon on each photo. As you add favorites, Flickr automatically creates a mosaic of them on your favorites page and if you want to save a set, you can take a screen grab of it and save it to your desktop (on a Mac, you do this by pressing ‘Command, Shift, 4′ simultaneously and it will save a screen grab to your desktop). You can also create mosaics of your own images with Big Huge Labs. They offer an assortment of fun Flickr gadgets and you can create Mosaics (and whole other selection of fun tools) from your own images using their Mosaic Maker software at many different sizes. It’s really easy!

I hope if you aren’t previously familiar with Flickr, you’ll find this quick tutorial helpful. If I haven’t covered something else you were wondering about, please add your comment and I’ll do my best to answer your questions. And one important point of etiquette – should you use some one’s image on your blog or web page, be sure and check their copyright terms. Most images are public, but it’s always important to link back and credit the original Flickr page (just as I have done below). Photographers work hard to create their images, and they enjoy sharing them, but it’s only common courtesy to credit their work. Flickr is a great resource, and a wonderful place to meet new people, store your photos and get feedback about your own photo skills! Have fun!

*Photo credits: Sculpture from eclectica miami; Bedroom photo from blinkonmynose; Living Room from estherdh; and mid-century bureau from A Black Key.