Check out this example of the new Kodak Gallery. Lightboxes have been done and done and done again, but for some reason, people keep improving (thankfully) on the technique. This example really impressed me. Some details:
- Nice mirror effect under the image to make it look like it’s on glass.
- Small thumbnails of the next and previous image afford easy clicking.
- I wish the keyboard shortcuts (arrows, spacebar) worked to move it. Seems easy to add in. Also, clicking directly on the current image should either zoom or go to the next slide. Right now, it does nothing.
- The animation to next/previous slide is pretty smooth
- I would probably suggest using a slight easing. (easeOutBack might work)
- Click the comments button under the image. I love the 180 rotation effect. Brilliant.
- The slide-show controls at the top are pretty rich.
- No full screen mode, even though this whole thing is in Flash. Why is this in Flash? You could do all of this in jQuery. I was fooled at first. However, this is a good use of Flash. It allowed me to forget it’s Flash and focus on the experience.
- Changing the background color to white is cool, and the mirror underneath still works.
- I might be greedy, but why just black and white. Why not a color chooser?
Overall, I was very impressed and enjoyed using it from the first click. My suggestions would be incremental improvements. I just love how creative people can be about these photos.
Also, I think there is an opportunity to make this in jQuery to make it easier to whip op on your own site.
Whatya think?