Title: Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others Author: Sayontan Sinha Published: September 2, 2011 Last modified: April 13, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/photonic/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=1972449) ![](https://ps.w.org/photonic/assets/icon.svg?rev=1972449) # Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others By [Sayontan Sinha](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sayontan/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/photonic.3.31.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/) ## Description Photonic takes the WordPress gallery and super-charges it with a lot of added functionality. It adds support for several new sources and parameters to enhance the content and look-and-feel of your galleries. It supports [Flickr](https://flickr.com) photos, Albums (Photosets), Galleries and Collections, along with [SmugMug](https://smugmug.com) folders, albums and images, and [Zenfolio](https://zenfolio.com) photos, Photosets and Groups. You can also set up authentication so that visitors can see private and protected photos from each provider. When used without the Gutenberg editor Photonic by default overrides the `gallery` shortcode. In case you happen to be using a theme or plugin that already overrides the `gallery` shortcode, Photonic provides you with the option to use your own shortcode for Photonic galleries. This lets your plugins coexist. Bear in mind that if you deactivate Photonic you will have to remove all instances of this custom shortcode, something that is not required if you stick to the `gallery` shortcode. When used with Gutenberg Photonic creates no shortcodes, rather it creates blocks. If some of your posts were written with Gutenberg and some without, Photonic supports both scenarios. ### Lightboxes Of all plugins free or paid, Photonic has support built in for the highest number of lightbox scripts. This includes scripts that run on pure JavaScript without relying on external libraries, or those that require jQuery. #### Pure JS Libraries * [BaguetteBox](https://feimosi.github.io/baguetteBox.js/) * [BigPicture](https://henrygd.me/bigpicture/) * [“Gie” Lightbox (GLightbox)](https://biati-digital.github.io/glightbox/) * [LightGallery](https://www.lightgalleryjs.com/) * [PhotoSwipe v4](https://github.com/dimsemenov/PhotoSwipe/tree/v4.1.3) * [PhotoSwipe v5](https://photoswipe.com/) * [Spotlight](https://nextapps-de.github.io/spotlight/) * [VenoBox](https://veno.es/venobox/) #### jQuery Based Libraries * [Colorbox](https://jacklmoore.com/colorbox/) * [Fancybox2](https://fancyapps.com/fancybox/) – not GPL, so the script is not included with the plugin. See the [Lightboxes](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/third-party-lightboxes/) page for details * [Fancybox3](https://fancyapps.com/fancybox/3/) * [Featherlight](https://noelboss.github.io/featherlight/) * [Image Lightbox](https://osvaldas.info/image-lightbox-responsive-touch-friendly) * [Lightcase](https://cornel.bopp-art.com/lightcase/) * [Strip](http://www.stripjs.com) * [Swipebox](https://brutaldesign.github.io/swipebox/) * Thickbox #### Obsolete Libraries * [Fancybox 1](http://fancybox.net/) – no update since November 2010 * [Magnific Popup](http://dimsemenov.com/plugins/magnific-popup/) – no update since February 2016 * [PrettyPhoto](http://www.no-margin-for-errors.com/projects/prettyphoto-jquery-lightbox-clone/)– no update since May 2015 For the non-GPL alternatives like [Fancybox2](https://fancyapps.com/fancybox/) and the obsolete libraries, Photonic has code to work with them, but you have to install the scripts yourself or rely on them from your theme or another plugin. With the exception of Thickbox the lightboxes have been adapted to become touch and gesture-friendly. See the [Lightboxes](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/third-party-lightboxes/) page for details. ### Support for Multiple Platforms #### Flickr The following Flickr concepts are supported in Photonic: * [Photos](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/flickr-photos/) * [PhotoSets (Albums)](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/flickr-photosets/) * [Galleries](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/flickr-galleries/) * [Collections](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/flickr-collections/) * [Single Photo](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/flickr-photo/) * [Authentication](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/flickr-authentication/) For demos of Flickr support visit the [Flickr page](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/flickr/). #### Google Photos Google API Change:** With effect from 31st March 2025, Google’s Photos API is discontinued( see [here for Google’s official announcement](https://developers.google.com/photos/support/updates)). Consequently, Photonic will stop working for Google Photos**. For more details, see [this thread](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/potential-shutdown-of-google-photos-support-from-march-2025/). Note that while Google’s official announcement says otherwise, as of 20th April 2025 the API is still working, so older versions of Photonic will seem to work. However, there is no guarantee about when Google will truly shut it off. #### SmugMug The following SmugMug concepts are supported in Photonic: * [User Tree](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/smugmug/smugmug-tree/) * [Photos](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/smugmug/smugmug-photos/) * [Albums](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/smugmug/smugmug-albums/) * [Folders](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/smugmug/folders/) For demos of SmugMug support visit the [SmugMug page](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/smugmug/). #### Zenfolio The following Zenfolio concepts are supported in Photonic: * [Photos](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/zenfolio/photos/) * [PhotoSets (Galleries and Collections)](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/zenfolio/photosets/) * [Groups](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/zenfolio/groups/) * [Group Hierarchies](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/zenfolio/group-hierarchy/) For demos of Zenfolio support visit the [Zenfolio page](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/zenfolio/). #### Instagram In mid-September 2022 Meta / Facebook / Instagram changed its rules to disallow individual developers (i.e. developers not operating as a business) from meaningfully using its API. As a result, Photonic no longer works for Instagram photos. The code is still in place though, and can be used by someone with a business wishing to adopt it. #### Native WordPress Galleries Your existing galleries are left intact. However you can add a `style` parameter to a native gallery to open it up to Photonic. The `style` parameter can take any of the values documented on the [Layouts](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/layouts/) page. ### Other Photonic Goodies #### Gallery Wizard The WordPress Classic editor shows up with a button that says “Add / Edit Photonic Gallery”. Clicking on it launches a wizard that helps you interactively build out a gallery with just a few clicks. #### Gutenberg Support The Gallery Wizard can be accessed via Gutenberg / the Block Editor as well. While creating a block, just look for Photonic. Please refer to the [documentation](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/gutenberg-support/). #### Video Support Photonic provides gallery and lightbox support for [videos as well](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/videos/). Videos of the following sorts are supported: * External videos from YouTube or Vimeo can be opened in any of the lightboxes apart from Image Lightbox, Thickbox or BaguetteBox * Self-hosted or external videos in MP4 formats can be opened in any of the lightboxes apart from Image Lightbox, PrettyPhoto, Strip or Thickbox * Videos hosted by external service providers (Flickr, SmugMug etc.) can be opened as a part of a gallery in any of the lightboxes apart from Image Lightbox, PrettyPhoto, Strip or Thickbox. Some lightboxes have issues with specific features. Please refer to the [Lightboxes](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/third-party-lightboxes/) documentation for more. #### Deep-Linking and Social Sharing Photonic provides deep-linking support for non-WP images, and by extension, supports social sharing to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. #### Beautiful Layouts Photonic displays your galleries in multiple forms: * A grid of square thumbnails (the default) * A grid of circular thumbnails (like Jetpack) * A neat justified grid * A masonry layout * A “horizontal” masonry layout, for those who prefer having their masonry layouts sorted horizontally * A tiled, random mosaic (a much improved variant of the Jetpack Tiled Gallery layout) * A slideshow, using the [Splide](https://splidejs.com) script See the [Layouts](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/layouts/) documentation page for details and examples. ### Obsessively Comprehensive Documentation (OCD) Photonic’s [documentation](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/photonic-documentation/) is comprehensive to the point of obsession. And yet, if you find something missing, please feel free to get in touch via the support forum. ## Screenshots * [[ * If you are using Gutenberg look for the “Photonic” block * [[ * If you are not using Gutenberg, build the shortcode for Photonic through the Media Uploader by clicking on “Add / Edit Photonic Gallery”. * [[ * Clicking on the Gutenberg block, or on “Add / Edit Photonic Gallery” shows a wizard for you to build out your gallery. * [[ * The wizard shows you the options available and helps construct the gallery easily. * [[ * If you click on “Add Media” you will see a new tab for “Photonic”. This is not available for Gutenberg. * [[ * Clicking on the “Photonic” tab will show you new tabs, one for each type of gallery. Fill out what you need and click “Insert into post”. * [[ * The gallery placeholder shows up in the “Visual Editor” or in the Gutenberg editor. Each provider’s placeholder is designated by its logo. * [[ * Clicking on the placeholder lets you edit the attributes of the shortcode if Gutenberg is not being used and the interactive workflow is disabled. * [[ * An example of the “Random Justified Gallery” layout. ## Blocks This plugin provides 1 block. * Photonic Gallery ## Installation You can install the plugin through the WordPress installer under **Plugins → Add New** by searching for “Photonic”, or by uploading the file downloaded from here. Alternatively you can download the file from here, unzip it and move the unzipped contents to the `wp-content/plugins` folder of your WordPress installation. You will then be able to activate the plugin. Once you have activated the plugin, refer to _Photonic → Getting Started_ for a list of capabilities and documentation. ## FAQ ### If I disable the plugin what happens to the galleries? Obviously, your galleries will not show. If you are using Gutenberg you don’t have to worry about anything. If you are not using Gutenberg and you are using the native` gallery` shortcode, you will not see any empty shortcode tags on your site. But if you are not using Gutenberg and you are using a custom shortcode that shortcode tag will now show up. ### When I click on a gallery in the Visual Editor nothing happens. Is the plugin working? Yes, the plugin is working. Unfortunately the integration of Photonic with the visual editor is complex, and there is a likelihood of conflicts with other TinyMCE-specific plugins. If you come across such a conflict, please report it on the support forum. In the meanwhile you can disable the visual editing capability of Photonic (_Photonic → Settings → Generic Options → Generic Settings → Disable shortcode editing in Visual Editor_) and you should still be able to edit the gallery shortcode directly through the text editor. ### My gallery layout seems to get messed up with random text showing up at various places. Are you sure the plugin is working? Yes, the plugin is working. The issue you are facing is that you have another plugin( typically some sort of a lightbox plugin) that is modifying the markup generated by Photonic. Of course, it would be easiest if you were to disable that plugin. If a lightbox is all you need, Photonic’s lightbox can be used to display regular photos as well, from your admin dashboard under _Photonic → Settings → Generic Options → Generic Settings → Photonic Lightbox for non-Photonic Images_. This will ensure consistency across Photonic and non-Photonic images. However, if you really wanted to keep that plugin, Photonic offers a way out there too! For each provider (e.g. Flickr, SmugMug etc.) go to the Settings page, e.g. _Photonic → Settings → SmugMug → SmugMug Settings → Disable lightbox linking_ and set that option. ### What about other photo-sharing platforms? Suggestions are welcome for other photo-sharing platforms. ### What about other JS lightbox libraries? You mean apart from the 17 that Photonic currently supports?? If you have specific suggestions please feel free to contact the plugin author, but only pure JS, GPL- compatible lightbox scripts will be supported. Note that there have been slight modifications have been made to some of the lightboxes to make them play well with newer code. ### Are there any known issues? The TinyMCE integration for the plugin is complex, predominantly since Photonic doesn’t rely on a separate shortcode. This can cause potential conflicts with other plugins. If such a situation arises, please report it in the [Support Forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/), and disable the visual editor capability for the shortcode by specific post-types( _Photonic → Settings → Generic Options → Generic Settings → Disable Visual Editing for specific post types_). If that doesn’t work, you can go thermonuclear on Photonic’s visual editing (_Photonic → Settings → Generic Options → Generic Settings → Disable shortcode editing in Visual Editor_) – you will still be able to edit the shortcode using the Text Editor in WordPress. The “Mosaic” layout may sometimes show 1px wide gaps between images if you set the padding between images to 0. This happens due to rounding errors in the height and width calculations. To avoid this, it is recommended that you use a padding > 0 between images for this layout. Apart from these, while the plugin can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it, Lubarsky’s Law of Cybernetic Entomology states: > There is always one more bug. Bug reports are welcome, and handled enthusiastically. ### Are translations supported? Yes, but only for the plugin front-end and the wizard. The Settings pages are not translated at this point. Also note that any strings included in the third-party JS scripts are not translated. ## Reviews ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c75f576107c7f66e55c97db85e494bc417175fe800aeb4e63a564622abc7afe0? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Outstanding Gallery Plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/outstanding-gallery-plugin-3/)󠁿 [calmfort5842](https://profiles.wordpress.org/calmfort5842/) March 5, 2026 This is the absolute best gallery plugin for WordPress. And I tried many of them! Killer feature is that it can create galleries from images hosted in other Web sites such as SumugMug. Absolutely fantastic plugin – it’s essential for many of our Web sites. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/98ef514b908494c07f169c9c3798ed8d7a4dfd332c0e997a99c28b4d423fe4a3? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[muy buen trabajo](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/muy-buen-trabajo-17/)󠁿 [Javier Burgos Arratibel](https://profiles.wordpress.org/javiburg2/) March 7, 2025 muy buen trabajo ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d8acb63df375e8431e2b4b1ed37ae8b73c3d5870bfb3a0c1ddb34fbb71b22593? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Simply stunning](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/simply-stunning-7/)󠁿 [panfren](https://profiles.wordpress.org/panfren/) November 28, 2024 A gallery plugin/block which simply does it all, works with the old and new Wordpress environment, and has a very low impact on site performance (provided that you feed it with optimized images, of course). What more one should expect from a gallery plugin? Oh yes… the price. And here we have some more great news. It is free of any charge. It is one of the very first plugins I install in any new WP site that I am building. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/59782af36f33316654f7235973ecc58013a87b3cdcbb7cf3a3a328e910e2e995? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Great plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-plugin-39687/)󠁿 [marcomassimo](https://profiles.wordpress.org/marcomassimo/) October 29, 2024 The best free plugin for Flickr galleries ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0636e95fee511e910a2fbeed4f06a66ac911496c21dfee01a5243b734ea0d486? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Thank you for you great plugin!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/thank-you-for-you-great-plugin/)󠁿 [back2music](https://profiles.wordpress.org/back2music/) October 19, 2024 Great gallery with lots of valuable settings and nice look! ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8202efec14a57b1a48fadb322f99e6c553071aeaaa9df7d7227d2ebda59efdc7? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Excellent transition from Google Photos to Flickr](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/excellent-transition-from-google-photos-to-flickr/)󠁿 [jnviani](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jnviani/) October 11, 2024 Google Photos has inexplicably made API decisions that will ultimately crash the photo delivery system on my WP site. Enter Photonic (with helpful and prompt online support) and my photos will be aptly served by Flickr. [ Read all 191 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/) ## Contributors & Developers “Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Sayontan Sinha ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sayontan/) “Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others” has been translated into 2 locales. Thank you to [the translators](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/photonic/contributors) for their contributions. [Translate “Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/photonic) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/photonic/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/photonic/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/photonic/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/photonic/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 3.31 * Fixed: Bug that was preventing the wizard sources from showing up in some undefined scenarios ## Meta * Version **3.31** * Last updated **1 day ago** * Active installations **10,000+** * WordPress version ** 6.2 or higher ** * Tested up to **6.9.4** * PHP version ** 7.3 or higher ** * Languages * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/), [Spanish (Chile)](https://cl.wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/), and [Spanish (Spain)](https://es.wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/). * [Translate into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/photonic) * Tags * [flickr](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/flickr/)[gallery](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/gallery/) [lightbox](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/lightbox/)[SmugMug](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/smugmug/) [Zenfolio](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/zenfolio/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/photonic/advanced/) ## Ratings 4.8 out of 5 stars. * [ 174 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/?filter=5) * [ 8 4-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/?filter=4) * [ 2 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/?filter=3) * [ 1 2-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/?filter=2) * [ 6 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/?filter=1) [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Sayontan Sinha ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sayontan/) ## Support Issues resolved in last two months: 7 out of 11 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/photonic/) ## Donate Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin? [ Donate to this plugin ](https://aquoid.com/plugins/photonic/)