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Showing posts 76 - 100 of 110, (reverse)
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05/31/2012 02:23:44 PM · #76
Thanks, Eric. How easy is that :) Here's the link to my Zenfolio site:
Nikki McDonald Photography
08/31/2012 09:43:31 PM · #77
Originally posted by Neil:

Originally posted by karmat:

Okay, Smugmug now has it set so that you can create a "price list" (ie- One price grouping for sports, one for weddings, etc.).

However, in doing it, they have changed a couple of other things that are making me bang my head against the wall.

I have been a staunch supporter of SM for several years, and have resisted every effort to be "recruited" to another "site." I have defended them, promoted them, and sang their praises, but I am so frustrated right now, I'm about to pull my hair out.

One thing, and one thing alone, keeps me from pulling the smugmug plug and taking my toys elsewhere -- I have over 15,000 pictures there in several hundred galleries. I have customers that visit me yearly/bi-yearly and buy their kids pictures in one sitting -- I *have* to move them all.

How hard is it to move them, or will I have to upload them all again. That is many hours of uploading. <shudder>


Karma, there's a third party program that moved EVERYTHING over for me. It took 3-4 days to do it, but it worked. And it preserved galleries, etc.

You can sign up for the trial, and let it transfer, check it out, see what you like better, and then stay with the best.

I'll find the utility link for you later tonight. (But it's also not hard to find...)


Smugmug just drew the straw that broke the camel's back. I will probably begin the exodus sometime in the next couple of months. It's not that I mind changing providers, per se, just the aggravation of the actual move!

Message edited by author 2012-08-31 21:55:16.
08/31/2012 11:07:09 PM · #78
Ha! I got the same notice about a price hike at Smugmug for Pro Accounts too. No price raise for seven years- okay. Then suddenly a price hike of 66% if you want to continue to sell images (which they make a percentage of)- not okay.
I guess I am lucky in that my yearly renewal happens two weeks before the price hike. But if they don't make these yet described improvements they say are going to be possible with the rate hikes by the next time I have to renew, I'm outta' there.
08/31/2012 11:28:42 PM · #79
What I make in on-line sales is little compared to the big dogs. However, I do have several customers that prefer to buy their pictures that way, and for the one or two weddings I do each year, it is convenient. Basically, though, if my numbers remain consistent, half of what I make (not counting their standard "cut") would go back to them. Financially, it just does not make sense.

What I might do is contact the clients of some of my older galleries, ask them if they want to purchase a flash drive of all of their pictures for a certain price, put them on an external harddrive some where and just not migrate some of them.
08/31/2012 11:51:56 PM · #80
Wow, I saw the news about Smugmug's increase and it made me glad that I switched over to Zenfolio. I sell very little and there's no way I could deal with the new prices.
09/18/2012 11:51:56 PM · #81
I'm very happy with my transistion from SmugMug to Zenfolio. The transfer of roughly 1,500 images took less then 2 hours, and was much more simple that I could ever imagine.

I'm slowly using more and more Zenfolio features. I just recently moved most of my falleries to private 'client' galleries that are password protected, and available for self-fulfilled purchase. I also have some 'portfolio' type galleries for the public to view that are not for purchase.

My wife has also been using the blog feature for most of our photoshoots.

I intend on renewing once my time comes up...as much as I'd love to have a full website of my own...I just don't have the time to do that right now, so Zenfolio is perfect!

TheBaumPhotos
TheBaumPhotos Blog
09/23/2012 11:28:16 AM · #82
I"m considering moving over to Zenfolio from my current provider of Exposuremanager due to concerns I'm having with their new printing service and owners. Would someone that has previously used EM and is now using Zenfolio care to help me compare the two?

Main concerns are how easy is it to add galleries for sale, both public and password protected. How easy is it to setup the initial website? What sort of turn around time do they have? How easy do they make the Branding and removing the Zenfolio branding.

What are their prices for prints compared to others.

Thanks

Matt
09/23/2012 11:47:20 AM · #83
Interested too about zenfolio vs exposure manager.

09/23/2012 11:55:35 AM · #84
Originally posted by MattO:

Main concerns are how easy is it to add galleries for sale, both public and password protected. How easy is it to setup the initial website? What sort of turn around time do they have? How easy do they make the Branding and removing the Zenfolio branding.

I've never used Exposuremanager, but I can answer these questions.

1 - Really easy. I used Aperture as my library manager. There's an ExportToZenfolio plugin, and it's simply a matter of clicking that and exporting the selected photos. Once the photos are uploaded, you just have to select the pricing model you want. You can customize as many as you would like. You may want to apply it gallery wide, or on an individual photo basis (when every photo isn't the same resolution it's what I do). It's a fairly quick process.

2 - To password protect it's a five second process. Select the gallery and apply the setting.

3 - I found the website a joke to setup. The only reason I chose Zenfolio over Smugmug is because I'm a programmer. With infinite possibility at Smugmug, I'd be tinkering away non-stop. Zenfolio is a little more cookie cutter, but there's enough there to differentiate you from everyone else. You can see from the link most homepages are different enough you wouldn't know it's the same engine running behind.

4 - All orders people have made from my site have shipped in under 36 hours. I've found when people have chosen the metallic finish on prints, it tends to take longer. Regular prints are usually under 24 hours.

5 - I paid for their premium membership, and all zenfolio branding is removed. That was it.

Hopefully that helps.

09/23/2012 11:58:59 AM · #85
Originally posted by Venser:

Originally posted by MattO:

Main concerns are how easy is it to add galleries for sale, both public and password protected. How easy is it to setup the initial website? What sort of turn around time do they have? How easy do they make the Branding and removing the Zenfolio branding.

I've never used Exposuremanager, but I can answer these questions.

1 - Really easy. I used Aperture as my library manager. There's an ExportToZenfolio plugin, and it's simply a matter of clicking that and exporting the selected photos. Once the photos are uploaded, you just have to select the pricing model you want. You can customize as many as you would like. You may want to apply it gallery wide, or on an individual photo basis (when every photo isn't the same resolution it's what I do). It's a fairly quick process.

2 - To password protect it's a five second process. Select the gallery and apply the setting.

3 - I found the website a joke to setup. The only reason I chose Zenfolio over Smugmug is because I'm a programmer. With infinite possibility at Smugmug, I'd be tinkering away non-stop. Zenfolio is a little more cookie cutter, but there's enough there to differentiate you from everyone else. You can see from the link most homepages are different enough you wouldn't know it's the same engine running behind.

4 - All orders people have made from my site have shipped in under 36 hours. I've found when people have chosen the metallic finish on prints, it tends to take longer. Regular prints are usually under 24 hours.

5 - I paid for their premium membership, and all zenfolio branding is removed. That was it.

Hopefully that helps.


Can you put up low resolution images only as proofs and then when an order is made they inform you so you can upload properly edited and cropped images? Do they allow your client to preview what different crop ratios would look like?
09/23/2012 12:22:30 PM · #86
Originally posted by MattO:

Can you put up low resolution images only as proofs and then when an order is made they inform you so you can upload properly edited and cropped images?
You can upload full resolution images, and in the gallery restrict the size the public would see. Then you don't have to do things twice. Here are the sizes you can choose for the public viewings. Most of my images underneath are 4200x2800. I try to compose my images so in post I do minimal cropping.
XX-Large (1550 x 960)
X-Large (1100 x 850)
Large (800 x 630)
Medium (580 x 450)
Small (400 x 400)

Originally posted by MattO:

Do they allow your client to preview what different crop ratios would look like?
Yes. You can also restrict the crop ratios potential clients can see. So if you have a square image, and are adamant it must stay square, you can set that up.


Message edited by author 2012-09-23 12:24:27.
09/23/2012 12:55:32 PM · #87
Thanks do they have tutorials on how to set everything up? I've started a free trial just to get a feel for it, and it doesn't seem too intuitive right off the bat. I did play with the crop tool, however if I don't upload high res photos it won't allow me to purchase anything larger.

I don't want to final edit every photo that I upload until a print is bought. So I don't want anything sold off an unedited photo. I want the order to be placed and then let me do the final editing and cropping. Do they allow this?

09/23/2012 01:38:02 PM · #88
Originally posted by MattO:

. . . I did play with the crop tool, however if I don't upload high res photos it won't allow me to purchase anything larger.

I don't want to final edit every photo that I upload until a print is bought. So I don't want anything sold off an unedited photo. I want the order to be placed and then let me do the final editing and cropping. Do they allow this?


If I am understanding your first (implicit) question correctly, you can upload a full resolution image but restrict the size/resolution the viewer sees (therefore what anyone could screen copy). And you can disallow downloads (that may even be the default setting, I forget)

For the second question, I would say no. What I do in this situation is put up a first client access only gallery with the unedited photos in it. I do not allow ordering from this gallery and I make sure the quality is pretty low (but still high enough for them to get a good look at the images). I ask the client to make the selections, mark them as favorites, and send them to me through email (this is all very easy for the client to do). Now I do the edits and either create a second gallery they can order from or empty the first gallery and put the edited versions in it, activating the buy option at this time.

09/23/2012 01:39:33 PM · #89
Originally posted by MattO:

I don't want to final edit every photo that I upload until a print is bought. So I don't want anything sold off an unedited photo. I want the order to be placed and then let me do the final editing and cropping. Do they allow this?
Yes, they allow it. It's more cumbersome, but there is that option.
09/23/2012 02:07:05 PM · #90
Originally posted by Venser:

Originally posted by MattO:

I don't want to final edit every photo that I upload until a print is bought. So I don't want anything sold off an unedited photo. I want the order to be placed and then let me do the final editing and cropping. Do they allow this?
Yes, they allow it. It's more cumbersome, but there is that option.


OK Exposuremanager by default allows me to put up every gallery as display only and to add watermarks to them. I haven't found that option with Zenfolio yet. I may be sticking with EM just for the simplistic features it allows.

What I like about Zenfolio is the simple Website it allows me to have. I don't like some of the other "features" just yet though.

Matt
09/23/2012 02:40:49 PM · #91
Originally posted by MattO:

. . .
OK Exposuremanager by default allows me to put up every gallery as display only and to add watermarks to them. I haven't found that option with Zenfolio yet. I may be sticking with EM just for the simplistic features it allows.
. . .
Matt


Go to your edit page and click on the name of a gallery. On the right side of the screen, you will see all your options for this gallery. 1) general owner information; 2) friendly URL and client access code; 3) gallery description; 4) thumbnail and cover photo option; 5) print ordering options; 6) visitor sign in options; 7) access control options (this is where you can control the size of the image displayed); 8) watermark options.

I don't see why you can't disable print ordering (5th box down) and add a watermark (last box) to the entire gallery and get what you want.
09/25/2012 08:26:41 PM · #92
OK I've played around with it in between work trying to customize the site and I've watched a few of their recorded webinars. Site for now.

So far it's OK. I have to figure out the pricing, and the branding so I can use my own domain name. I may buy the package I need for now and upgrade once I am comfortable using it.

If you sell from MPIX or their other places how is the quality? How is the selection? How is the speed of processing.

I am still unsure about them not allowing me to upload low res files and having to essentially final edit all the files without being able to sell larger sizes.

Matt
10/21/2012 03:00:17 AM · #93
I'm encountering a problem I haven't had before. I just calibrated my monitor yesterday, to update it.

What I have now noticed is that for any photo I edit in LR4, it looks more saturated on the zenfolio site. I am trying to figure out why this is so, when I haven't had that problem before.

Also, whenever I sit down to do some work, the desktop screen looks a little bright, so I think it's ok. Then a few seconds later, the screen seems to dim a bit. I don't know if I have inadvertently bumped a setting which has caused this?

The desktop is set on sRGB. Should it be in Adobe RGB and I always edit my photos in sRGB.

This is bothering me!

PS ( I did move my desk around, which means my back is towards the window, but on an angle. I thought perhaps the light coming in was affecting it. So I did an experiment just now, I put down the blinds, yet the screen still darkened slightly after about 20 seconds)

Message edited by author 2012-10-21 14:39:38.
10/21/2012 02:38:12 PM · #94
bump
10/21/2012 04:15:11 PM · #95
Originally posted by Ozzie:

I'm encountering a problem I haven't had before. I just calibrated my monitor yesterday, to update it.

What I have now noticed is that for any photo I edit in LR4, it looks more saturated on the zenfolio site. I am trying to figure out why this is so, when I haven't had that problem before.

Also, whenever I sit down to do some work, the desktop screen looks a little bright, so I think it's ok. Then a few seconds later, the screen seems to dim a bit. I don't know if I have inadvertently bumped a setting which has caused this?

The desktop is set on sRGB. Should it be in Adobe RGB and I always edit my photos in sRGB.

This is bothering me!

PS ( I did move my desk around, which means my back is towards the window, but on an angle. I thought perhaps the light coming in was affecting it. So I did an experiment just now, I put down the blinds, yet the screen still darkened slightly after about 20 seconds)


I've not noticed that on mine.

That's going to be tough to figure out! When you download the jpg back from ZF or look at the JPEG that was uploaded, does it look any more saturated on your monitor? Hsve you tried a different browser?

Perhaps now you are embedding the color profile, and before you weren't? Or vice versa?

10/21/2012 05:00:12 PM · #96
Hey Ozzie,

Double check the jpegs you are upload and make sure they are still in sRGB. I realize that you edit in sRGB, but that doesn't mean that they are not being converted on export. The only time I have experienced this problem was when I accidentally uploading photos in AdobeRGB and the browser assumed sRGB.

I'm curious why you edit in sRGB? I think it's consider a best practice to edit and the wider color space, such as AdobeRGB, and then convert when preparing the downsized imaged for web use.
03/22/2013 02:12:17 PM · #97
Originally posted by tryals15:

I am on Zenfolio as well. (www.ryalsphotography.com) I really like it. I think I've been there for almost 3 years now. I am a huge fan of Mpix, so when it came time to build a site, it seemed like a pretty obvious choice.


Hi Trey (or anybody else who can help me out with my question)

Since I am considering switching from Exposure Manager to Zenfolio for my website, I have been reading through the DPC ZenFolio User's Group thread here.

While looking at your website I noticed that you have links to PDFs which contain package pricing. Sales of packages and the option to do so is a huge part of my overall sales and is important to my business. I was wondering if you employed the link to those PDFs because you were unable to incorporate packages into your available products directly through Zenfolio. I would like to be able to list my packages on the same price list that individual prints and products are listed and if that is not possible then I will have to reconsider going to Zenfolio.

To see exactly the product list including my packages CLICK HERE and click on the Packages of Single Images Only tab.

03/22/2013 02:41:33 PM · #98
You can create packages on Zenfolio and the prices can show up along with your individual print prices.

I think some people create PDF price lists because the Zenfolio price list shows up after a customer has an item in their cart. There are featured prices that show up without using the cart, but as soon as the user select the option to see all of the prices they will need to pick an image to add to their cart. The PDF makes it easier if you want to show a user all of the prices before they are working with their cart. I tossed out a quick sample gallery with one image and an old price list that includes a package of wallet sized prints. In the example I show product categories before select the products, but you can chose to just show a full list without the category selection first. Hope it helps, didn't have time to do more than just toss together a couple things.
03/22/2013 03:05:35 PM · #99
Thanks for creating that sample for me, David. The option that I would want to create in my pricing on Zenfolio is the ability for a client of my sports or dance studio photography to be able to choose a package of different images based on something like this:

Any (2) 5x7's
Any (1) 8x10
Any (4) 4x6's

Say the total for purchasing these separately would be $65, they would be able to purchase all of the prints in this package for something like $49.95.

My clients absolutely love the ability to create their own packages of different images of different sizes and save money. Actually, it makes them happy and results in significantly larger orders, making quite a bit for me.

Is it possible on Zenfolio to offer this option of clients assembling packages of different images?

Message edited by author 2013-03-22 15:09:36.
03/22/2013 03:08:03 PM · #100
Originally posted by MattO:

OK I've played around with it in between work trying to customize the site and I've watched a few of their recorded webinars. Site for now.

So far it's OK. I have to figure out the pricing, and the branding so I can use my own domain name. I may buy the package I need for now and upgrade once I am comfortable using it.

If you sell from MPIX or their other places how is the quality? How is the selection? How is the speed of processing.

I am still unsure about them not allowing me to upload low res files and having to essentially final edit all the files without being able to sell larger sizes.

Matt


Hey Matt,

I'm just now getting around to leaving EM for another site as well and Zenfolio has been recommended by several other photogs who have also left EM. I see that you are now at Zenfolio also. How is it working out for you?

I also like to upload a ton of pics and edit only the ones that are purchased like we can at EM. Have you found the solution at Zenfolio regarding this option that you were asking about?
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