Online Proofing Suggestions

[KellyL]

I've gone back into the posts for a year to make sure I was not going to repeat something that might have been discussed.

What is the most economical manner to offer online proofing and ordering? Although I do not have many jobs lined up in the upcoming year (four and hoping that grows) I joined Pictage for their introductory rate of $25.00 a month for the first four months. There are many things I like about Pictage, others that frustrate me. Knowing that if I continue my account with Pictage over the summer I will be charged $99.00 a month for their services and the fact that I don't have too many jobs up and coming, I am looking for an alternative to offer online proofing and ordering.

I have used Full Color lab in Texas, and am very pleased with the quality of their prints and they offer a service called ImageQuix. Has anybody used that service?

Are there any other services that are more economical for someone in the beginning stages?

[KellyL]

Doing some research and posting so others may benefit. Other image counts are available where image counts are specified.

Online Proofing Options:


* *
Picture Proofs No set up fee, unlimited uploads, flat 5% commission on gross sales, use your own lab Welcome to Picture Proofs! ~Proofing Made Simple~*

OrderPicture.com No set up fee, unlimited uploads, flat 12% commission calculated after lab cost, use their lab OrderPicture.com - The most complete professional online photo service

InstaProofs No set up fee, unlimited uploads, flat 15% commission, choose your own lab* Instaproofs.com: Online photograph sales and proofing

PhotoReflect No set up fee, unlimited uploads, graduated commission beginning at 18%, labs available or use your own PhotoReflect

Phototool No set up fee, unlimited uploads, $50.00 per month, no commission, choose your own lab Sell images OnLine. Online Proofing. Commercial, event, wedding, portrait and stock photographers. Making more money with photography.

PhotoShelter Leveled packages, one time $50.00 set up fee, $9.99 per month, 10% transaction fee PhotoShelter™ - Archive, Buy, Sell Photographs

Collage.net Leveled pacakges, middle package $70.00 per month; 15% commission on all orders Collages.net: Total Workflow and Printing Solution for Professional Photographers

SmugMug No set up fee, unlimited uploads, $149.00 per year, customizable pricing, catalogs, galleries and user interface SmugMug - The ultimate in photo sharing. Online photo albums, photo sharing, photo hosting and photo storage.

Eventpix Fairly complex per-event pricing. eventpix.com: Maximizing Your Exposure

Exposure Manager* $99.95 / yr for unlimited storage or $12.95 / month.* Self fulfilled or use one of their selected pro labs. ExposureManager - Focus on Sales

Shutterfly $99.95 / yr for 5GB storage; $199 / yr for unlimited storage.* Fulfilled by Shutterfly. Shutterfly | Professional Photography Ideas | Pro Gallery Storefront

MorePhotos:* $200.00 set up fee, 25,000 images, $49.00 per month Online Photo Proofing and Sales- Photographer Site Web - Photography - MorePhotos.com : E-commerce Software for Professional Photographers

PhotoBiz: $100.00 set up fee, 7200 images, $80.00 per month PhotoBiz - Online Proofing Solutions for Photographers

Pictage $150.00 set up fee, $99.00 per month, unlimited uploads Pictage.com

Skoots Kart Currently $1200.00 fee, regular $1500.00, don't know if that is one time or annual; a different league than others listed here, I think. Can't quite understand everything on the site. Used by Jeff Ascough. Online Proofing Solution For Photographers - Allow Clients to View Print Proofing Online - Skooks Kart

Software for your website:

Photo Cart: Create your own shop to run on your website. $279 one time fee; choose your own lab; create your own catalogs Photography Shopping Cart | Photocart | Photographer Flash Websites - Pictures Pro


As I investigate others, I will update this post. I am looking for the most affordable way to proof images online. Workflow varies with each of the different sites listed here.

[Song4themoon]

I am starting to use www.pictureproofs.com now... Hosting is free, you can put in how much you charge for prints, clients can order through the site, then picture proof will foward the order to you. That gives you the chance to use a lab of your choice. They keep a small percentage of the total sale and send you a check over the rest

[jachurch]

I'm also looking at this at the moment, and I have looked at these:
Eventpix (www.eventpix.com) Fairly complex per-event pricing.
Exposure Manager (www.exposuremanager.com) $99.95 / yr for unlimited storage or $12.95 / month. Self fulfilled or use one of their selected pro labs.
Shutterfly (http://www.shutterfly.com/b2b/profes...hotography.jsp). $99.95 / yr for 5GB storage; $199 / yr for unlimited storage. Fulfilled by Shutterfly.

I have a couple of criteria that I am interested in:
Branding / Marketing - I want this to look like part of my web site; I want the customers to be my customers, so I can see who is ordering what.
Easy shipping to Canada

Do any Canadian photographers have a preferred solution?

[KellyL]

I am going to set up an InstantPicture site. Suppposedly I should be able to configure things to make them look like folks are still on my site. I'll let you know of my progress.

Just not enough time to get all of this done, and the clock is ticking on my Pictage account.

[Stormdancing]

I use Smugmug.
You can customize your pages to match your site.
You can also set proof delay and see who is ordering what pictures. You then retouch them, upload and approve the order.
The order is then processed and sent directly to the customer.
You could also place the orders yourself and have them delivered to you.

Use this coupon code to get $5 off wbWqo7uNMODlA

I have been with them a year in March and will be renewing. Their support is great too. Fast response. Great support forum also.

http://heartsfire.smugmug.com
My site is very basic looking and I'm still working/learning how to customize it further.

[KellyL]

Thank you! I am very pleased to finally be getting some action on this thread. The more we help each other, the better off we all are.

[jachurch]

Kelly - I will be interested to see how you get on with Instaproofs. Their web site looked encouraging and they seem to have options for Canada, which is always encouraging. I think for me it is down to EM or Instaproofs. I'll report back when I have made some progress.

[TonyK]

Hi Kelly,

I have used PhotoReflect.com. Pretty versitile in how you manage the orders. They take care of the orders and billing you supply the services and prints and everything just works.

You can provide passwords to the viewing galleries so couples who wish to not have their photos publically online can have their privacy respected.

You can set-up your store to be self-fulfilling on the orders or set the site up to go to a lab.

PhotoReflect also holds seminars (hint they are affiliated with Express Digital) and seem to be pretty good.

I know other folks who use them and seem to be happy with them.

Take care,

Originally Posted by KellyL

I've gone back into the posts for a year to make sure I was not going to repeat something that might have been discussed.

What is the most economical manner to offer online proofing and ordering? Although I do not have many jobs lined up in the upcoming year (four and hoping that grows) I joined Pictage for their introductory rate of $25.00 a month for the first four months. There are many things I like about Pictage, others that frustrate me. Knowing that if I continue my account with Pictage over the summer I will be charged $99.00 a month for their services and the fact that I don't have too many jobs up and coming, I am looking for an alternative to offer online proofing and ordering.

I have used Full Color lab in Texas, and am very pleased with the quality of their prints and they offer a service called ImageQuix. Has anybody used that service?

Are there any other services that are more economical for someone in the beginning stages?

[KellyL]

Thank you TonyK. I will look them up and compare their pricing to the others.

[TonyK]

The few times I needed their customer service they were reasonably prompt and accessible. Good reporting and the ability to set different price structures.

[KellyL]

I would like to thank all who have participated in the expansion of our list. I hope that by having this information in one place it will help save valuable time for interested parties. I have added the other suggestions to the main list. As the list continues to grow as others submit, I will add them to the main list to create a very useful directory.

Thanks for your participation!

[KellyL]

You know, it is crazy. JDArt gave me a Karma point for this thread. Now, I don't know how you respond to a Karma point, but they make me smile and feel good inside.

I moonlight as an 8th grade teacher, have also taught 6th and 7th, and the value of getting that "gold star" on your paper or project is rich. As adults, we too like to get recognized by our peers for doing good things. Karma points are free and I want to encourage people to use them.

I am not asking for anymore Karma points for this thread, JD has rewarded me and I thank him, please don't misunderstand, I just want to encourage those who are reading to be cognizant of the effect those Karma points have. Give freely when someone does a good thing. When people show their appreciation it builds community.

YOU GUYS have also encouraged me by participating in this thread. I thank you very much.

[KellyL]

Have added to this list.