Photo platforms, databases & alternatives

Airliners.net: history, upload criteria and screening explained

Airliners.net is one of the oldest aircraft photo databases. Here you learn how the platform came about, which principles the screeners follow and how to prepare your first upload so that it gets accepted.

Build your own spotter website: options, structure and legal notice requirements

From a portfolio of 50 pictures to an archive of thousands of registrations: which technical routes exist for your own spotter website, how to structure it sensibly and what the legal notice and privacy rules require in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Labeling photos correctly: registration, type, location and date for platforms

Four details decide whether a photo passes on a platform and stays findable in the archive: registration, type, location and date. How to determine each one cleanly, verify it and write it into the metadata.

Flickr for aircraft photographers: groups, licenses and archive features

No screening, full resolution, groups for every niche and a huge historic archive: how to use Flickr as a spotter, which license suits you and where the limits of the free account lie.

Fleet databases overview: Airfleets, Planespotters.net, RZJets and more

From Planespotters.net and Airfleets to RZJets and on to accident, military and government data: the map of fleet databases for spotters – sorted by purpose instead of by name.

Common rejection reasons in photo screening: sharpness, tilt, noise, composition

Four families of flaws account for most rejections at JetPhotos, Airliners.net and others: sharpness, tilt, noise and composition. How to spot them before uploading, find the cause and decide whether a rescue is worth it.

Selling aircraft photos through stock agencies: requirements and restrictions

Stock agencies accept aircraft photos – but rarely the way spotters are used to. What editorial and commercial mean, which technical and metadata requirements apply and why airline logos restrict sales.

Photo contests for aviation photographers: formats, terms of entry and rights

From the photo of the week to an airport’s calendar contest: which contest formats exist for aircraft photos, how to read the terms of entry and which rights clauses are a red flag.

Instagram for plane spotters: profile, formats, hashtags and image rights

Aircraft photos are landscape, Instagram loves portrait. How to build a spotter profile, which formats work, how to use hashtags sensibly and what the law says.

Uploading photos to JetPhotos: requirements, screening and tips

From the account through registration, ICAO code and categories to screening, Hot Photo and appeals: here is how an upload to JetPhotos works – and how your photo ends up on Flightradar24 too.

Planespotters.net explained: fleet database and photo platform at a glance

Planespotters.net is a fleet database, photo archive, livery news ticker and flight tracker in one. Who is behind it, how the areas connect, what happens to your rights when you upload a photo and where the limits lie.

Scramble: database and community for military aviation spotters

For decades Scramble has been the go-to place for military spotters: databases of serial numbers and units, orbats, airfield guides, show dates and a big forum. What is free, what the subscription unlocks and how to put the platform to good use.

Spotterguide.net and other spotting guides: researching spots worldwide

For many, Spotterguide.net is the first port of call before a spotting trip. How the guides are built, what the star rating, focal length and time entries mean, where the limits lie and which other spotting guides and tools to use alongside it.

Plane spotting on TikTok: formats that work and legal pitfalls

TikTok thrives on sound, pace and reactions. Which short-video formats work for plane spotters – and where music rights, ATC radio, personality rights, ad disclosure and AI labels become traps.

Aircraft photos on Wikimedia Commons: licenses, upload and reuse

Wikimedia Commons is the image archive behind Wikipedia – and for spotters storage, reference and image source in one. Licenses, upload routine, registration categories and the rules for reuse at a glance.

Starting a plane spotting YouTube channel: content, tech and music rights

The platform side of a spotting channel: which YouTube features you have to unlock first, which settings get your aircraft videos across cleanly and how to tell Content ID claims from copyright strikes.