Images and galleries are a vital part of WordPress blogging. If you’ve used the native WordPress galleries then you may have run into some limitations from time to time when trying to change how your images are displayed.

I’d like to introduce you to the Photonic Flickr+Picasa+500px Gallery plugin. It’s a long name for a plugin that delivers heaps more functionality to the native WordPress galleries as well as the ability to pull in photos from 3rd parties.

Let’s have a look at an example. Say you just uploaded a bunch of pictures to Google+, which uses Picasa to store them. Now you want to post a blog using those images. Once you have Photonic activated, click on the Photonic tab where you can select Picasa.

Input your Google+ or Picasa ID, make your selections to customize your gallery, and then insert the shortcode into your post. The output will be something like this:

So easy, right?

Photonic Enhancements to the Native WordPress Galleries:

Photonic also gives you tons of diverse presentation methods for your regular WordPress galleries. Choose from dozens of options and effects to craft a truly unique gallery that best represents your content to your viewers. You can display a thumbnail strip above or below the slideshow, choose from a long list of transition effects and control the speed of the slideshow.

Here’s an example:

In the future, the plugin’s developer plans to add support for the “Gallery” object in Flickr (currently supports Photosets and Collections). He also plans to add other sharing platforms such as SmugMug and ZenPhoto to the list.

The Photonic Flickr+Picasa+500px Gallery plugin is available for free from the WordPress repository. I’ve tested it and it works just as advertised. Install it to day to revolutionize your experience with WordPress galleries.