Photography website

[GrummanFan]

As I take more and more pictures, I am at a loss of what to do with them all. I love practicing the hobby, and perfecting my style and such, but I have also been getting alot of photo requests lately, and I think its about time I put them on the web in a slightly more accessable form, without spending a rediculous amount of money. I want something a little more professional looking than photobucket or flicker. I also want to be able to sell my pics as well, not to make a real business out of it, but there are several people who have said they would love to buy a print or two.

I've noticed a few people here have smugmug accounts, and that seems to be along the lines of what I am looking for. What have been your experiences with them? Are there any other similar suggestions? I've thought about building my own site, but that will take much more time than I currently have.

[moose135]

I can't say enough good things about SmugMug! It was a snap to set up my site, and uploading photos or changing the structure of the pages (adding galleries, moving photos from one to another) is easy. They have a number of different formats/color schemes you can choose from, and they can be easily set.

They also have an active forum at http://www.dgrin.com/ (Digital Grin) - it's not restricted to SM account holders, but they make up the bulk of users. On the forum you will find everything from advice on equipment, people sharing samples of their work, and help with most of your technical questions. I haven't had any reason to contact their tech support, but based on user comments on the forum, they are fast and efficient in dealing with user problems. They are continually looking to improve SM, and make use of user feedback in developing enhancements.

If you decide to go with SmugMug, let me know, I can give you a discount code for your subscription.

[GrummanFan]

It definately seems like this is the place I'm looking for. I can upload all my pics to one place, which serves as both a place to link to for forums, and an easy to navigate album my friends and family can look at. But it looks like the watermarking and sell-to-make-profit features are only available for the pro subscriber...well, I'm sure I can upgrade later. Plus I'm not that good yet, later I'll worry about sales and theft :D

Thanks for the review and discount offer. I'll contact you when I'm ready to set this up, won't be for a while though.

[shamrock838]

I can't say enough good things about SmugMug! It was a snap to set up my site, and uploading photos or changing the structure of the pages (adding galleries, moving photos from one to another) is easy. They have a number of different formats/color schemes you can choose from, and they can be easily set.

They also have an active forum at http://www.dgrin.com/ (Digital Grin) - it's not restricted to SM account holders, but they make up the bulk of users. On the forum you will find everything from advice on equipment, people sharing samples of their work, and help with most of your technical questions. I haven't had any reason to contact their tech support, but based on user comments on the forum, they are fast and efficient in dealing with user problems. They are continually looking to improve SM, and make use of user feedback in developing enhancements.

If you decide to go with SmugMug, let me know, I can give you a discount code for your subscription.

Moose135 ...

I happened across this thread and your message. SnugMug may be just what I'm looking for as I'd like to have a clean/easy way of showcasing my photo offerings to our forums.

I've applied/registered to SmugMug this evening and have been accepted ... though I haven't explored the site to any degree. I hardly know where to start ...

Any suggestions/guidance etc will be most appreciated. Thanks.

Mike (shamrock838)

[Winglets747]

For John (and possibly other SmugMug and similar site users), are you able to break even with the subscriber cost from profit you receive from prints? Or do you mainly have the site as a personal gallery?

[GrummanFan]

I signed up today. Threw some airshow pics up, and will be adding more of my stuff as I get around to it.

http://dfalk.smugmug.com

[moose135]

Hey Dan, checked out your site, looks like you're off to a good start. I look forward to watching you develop it. Your self-portrait gallery is very interesting, and I really like your night work!

Will, I haven't sold anything through SmugMug, for now I just use it for personal use and as my little corner of the web. I know of many people who do make money from their sites, but they tend to me more serious about marketing themselves. Maybe one day...

Mike - did you sign up for a SM site, or just register with the DGrin forums? If you created a site, what is your SM address? If you have anything up, I'd be glad to take a look and offer advice. Take a look at what I've done - I haven't done anything special, but it may give you some ideas about how to organize your galleries. Also, the DGrin forums are invaluable, and make sure you check out some of the sites of the forum members, lots of good ideas for layouts & organization. Good luck!

[GrummanFan]

Hey Dan, checked out your site, looks like you're off to a good start. I look forward to watching you develop it. Your self-portrait gallery is very interesting, and I really like your night work!

Thanks! I've still got a bunch of pics I want to put up, the trick is figuring out how I will organize it all.