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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Alternative(s) to Pictage?
Christopher Bluhm, Photographer, Assistant
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 3:24 PM on 08.21.07 |
| ->> I don't shoot enough weddings to justify spending $50/month just to be a member on Pictage. My money is going to waste November through April. Are there a la carte alternatives to Pictage? A sort of a "pay as you upload" scenario? Any help is most appreciated. |
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Tom Weis, Photographer
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Brooklyn | NY | United States | Posted: 3:46 PM on 08.21.07 |
->> Right now I use morephotos.com which does charge a fee. Some options that might work:
morephotos.com
Requires you download their management software and use it for uploads also. It's not that bad actually. Runs natively on intel Macs.
Won't accept your customers' credit cards - you have to get a merchant account on your own.
You don't have to use their lab. You can use any lab you like once you have the client order.
Doesn't require you have a state sales tax ID #.
Very nice and accessible tech support.
dotphoto.com
It bothers me they don't have a phone number on their contact page.
Yes they have a shopping cart system.
No start up fee, but maybe a monthly fee.
myphotopipe.com
You use their lab and I don't know how their print quality is.
No monthly fee... other than that I don't know much about them.
millerslab.com
DOES require you have a state sales tax ID # to open a pro account, and show you have enough sales to make them happy.
You will be using their lab which is the same company as Mpix.com.
A good friend of mine loves the image quality, and he's fussy.
They complete orders and ship fast.
I know this isn't exactly the info you wanted, but I wanted to share what I know.
I'd also be interested in hearing of any easy-cheesy free way of doing this also.
T |
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Christopher Bluhm, Photographer, Assistant
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 4:13 PM on 08.21.07 |
->> Thanks Tom. Pictage used to offer an account where they just charged a small per file fee for uploads (in addition to print commissions). So at that time it made sense for me.
I use Mpix.com for personal stuff and they do a great job on prints, so I might look into millerslab.com. |
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Christopher Bluhm, Photographer, Assistant
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 11:00 PM on 08.21.07 |
->> bump
Anybody else with any ideas? |
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Mike Brice, Photographer
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 11:05 PM on 08.21.07 |
->> exposuremanager.com has a monthly account that is pretty inexpensive.
I use it for not only weddings, but sports and PR.
You can do as much or as little as you want with the customization of the site.
Mike |
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Ian L. Sitren, Photographer
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Palm Springs | CA | USA | Posted: 11:41 PM on 08.21.07 |
| ->> Go to Buckeye Color Lab at http://www.buckeyecolorlab.com/ and look at their Image Quix system. Very easy to use and Buckeye is an excellent lab. |
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Peter Gaby, Photographer
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Madison | WI | US | Posted: 12:23 AM on 08.22.07 |
->> Hey Christopher, why not look into Photoshelter.
They have many differant options to choose from
Pete |
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Gary Brittain, Photographer
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Richmond | VA | USA | Posted: 10:37 PM on 08.25.07 |
->> Check out proofcast.com
They charge you according to the amount of pictures you have on their sight.
The customer service is fantastic. I have called them, (yes they have aphone number) and have a problem solved within an hour.
They are the best!!!
I have used collages.net (too expensive)
exposuremanager (too expensive)
You will need a CC merchant acct. But that is not a problem. I have a company that I recommend if you are interested.
Check them out and tell them I sent you. |
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Bruce Twitchell, Photographer
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Coeur d'Alene | ID | USA | Posted: 11:37 PM on 08.25.07 |
->> Gary,
Comparing exposuremanager.com ($100 per year for unlimited photos/ galleries) and proofcast.com ($25 per month for 500 images) how can you say that exposuremanager is too expensive?
I might be missing something. I will say though that proofcast has some nice features that exposuremanager does not have.
I have been an exposuremanager user for about 3 years now and am very happy with them. Anytime I have a question I email in the question and more times than not, within 15 minutes I have an answer back to me. GREAT customer service. Great price, very customizable. Highly recommend. Tell 'em I sent you there if you try them out:
http://www.exposuremanager.com/aff/photobybruce |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 1:27 PM on 08.26.07 |
->> Ian...
Stay AWAY from ImageQuix. I am with them on the MyPhotopipe.com and they are HORRIBLE! I was told I would be able to upload TIFs for my landscape fine art, and such was not the case. When I asked about it in support, they said they fixed it and sent me a new software update which did not fix the problem. Finally, they said "Just use MyPhotopipe's ROES system". ???
They have attitude, they take forever to respond and it's just a pain in the ass. I'm looking for an alternative, but I am having a porblem finding someone who will take 16-bit TIFs (or at least 8-bit TIFs), or at the very least JPG 2000 files and no one wants to do that!!! Why would I sell fine-art landscape photos of Yosemite from a friggin' JPG file? It's like, why don't you shoot NCAA basketball with a Canon Digital Rebel?
West Coast Imaging in Oakhurst, CA will take the 16-bit TIFs but they take 5 days to print and ship a print!!!
Christ, this is frustrating...
Phil |
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Tom Weis, Photographer
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Brooklyn | NY | United States | Posted: 1:07 PM on 08.27.07 |
| ->> Forgive me for asking, Phil, but wouldn't the limited gamut of RA-4 photo paper preclude it from showing the difference between an 8-bit and a 16-bit file? I haven't tested that sort of comparison myself, so I'm curious. |
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Ian L. Sitren, Photographer
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Palm Springs | CA | USA | Posted: 1:38 PM on 08.27.07 |
->> Phil...
Sounds a little more specialized. Try http://www.iconla.com, give them a call. good people. Ask for Bonny and tell her I sent you. On their website it does say they will print RGB 8 bit Tiff's. Maybe they can do 16bit...? I don't know about turnaround time. |
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Sam Santilli, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Philippi | WV | USA | Posted: 2:15 PM on 08.27.07 |
| ->> I second morephotos.com |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 5:37 PM on 08.27.07 |
->> Tom,
Yes, the difference between an 8-bit and 16-bit TIF image (assuming non-destructive archiving) is not detectable. But printing an 8-bit JPG is very different from printing an 8-bit TIF, especially when you get above 8x10 in size. I once printed a portrait and wondered why the color gradation was so off, and after much investigation, found out I had inadvertantly printed an 8-bit JPG instead of a TIF. MAJOR difference.
Besides, I have also experienced that your prints will only be as good as the weakest link in your workflow. So, I shoot 100 ISO RAW, Capture One LE software converting into an 8,000 DPI 16-bit TIF, drop my DPI to 360 for up to 11x17 prints, lower for larger prints. Sharpen with Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0, and print on a Chromira printer on Fuji Crystal Archive SUPERGLOSS or Fuji PEARL paper; Gives me great landscape prints every time.
Phil |
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