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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Online file delivery to clients
PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 11:48 PM on 12.22.10 |
->> Just wondering what people are using to deliver files to clients . . . I'm not talking about print fulfillment or shopping carts, but rather when you are paid to shoot an assignment and need a a place where the client can log in to a password protected site/gallery, view, select and download images.
There used to be a great program called wirephoto.com that provided this service, but it's no longer available. I know about SmugMug, PixOasis and PhotoShelter. Amazon S3 is an option which can easily link it to my aphotofolio web site and which would allow me to keep the same design (a big plus).
Any other suggestions?
Thanks. |
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Joshua Brown, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:03 AM on 12.23.10 |
->> Hey PJ,
I use an S3 account to deliver almost all my high res files to clients these days. I very rarely use discs any longer. Its super easy to use once you have it set up and I also don't know of anything cheaper. There used to be something like a 4GB size limit, but earlier in the month they upped it to 5TB. http://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2010/12/09/Announcing-Amazon-S3-L.../
I use Transmit to FTP into my space and drag and drop.
I also use it to backup my entire Aperture archive, iTunes library, and current video projects.
I also use aPhotofolio for my portfolio site http://weddingsbyjoshuabrown.com (with the photo client add on), but the amazon integration isn't quite there yet, or at least last time I tried it.
Ideally, I will be able to upload all the high res files to an S3 bucket, then have the client gallery generate web thumbnails which automatically link to the high res versions. I think Rob will add it soon though.
I also have a Dropbox 50GB account that I use to keep all my machines in sync, but you could also use it for delivery. |
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Craig Mitchelldyer, Photographer, Assistant
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 12:35 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> Photoshelter does everything you would ever need and a bunch of stuff you won't use or know you need, until you need it and then it's there. I honestly don't know why people would look anywhere else. |
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Clark Brooks, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 2:25 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> I bought and use imagefolio (http://www.imagefolio.com) It does all the things you mentioned in your original post, PJ. As I'm very comfortable with html code, it made sense for me to go this route so could customize the look and feel (which anyone can do who knows even basic html or better yet PERL) to whatever my whim at the moment desired. Best of all, in the long run, it was a very inexpensive solution for me to use for delivering online proofs and high-res files. Having used it for about the past 7 years or so - basically about $5 a month to own so far. |
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Chip Litherland, Photographer
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Sarasota | FL | USA | Posted: 7:16 AM on 12.23.10 |
->> Photoshelter is all you need to know, man. It's been one of the best investments in my business to date.
Just delivered a high-resolution take in a pasword-protected gallery to a magazine client last night. Password-protected, editable, and already there and ready to make a public gallery for resales after the story runs.
Chip |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 7:21 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> YouSendIt.com |
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Ed Mulholland, Photographer
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Pompton Lakes | NJ | USA | Posted: 7:21 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> I second what Craig and Chip said, I've been using Photoshelter for years, and it always does what I need, and does it well... |
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Keith Crowley, Photographer
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Hudson | WI | USA | Posted: 8:01 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> Zenfolio is working for me. Clients can download password-protected, full-res files. |
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Brian Ray, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Fort Worth | TX | United States | Posted: 8:29 AM on 12.23.10 |
->> Photoshelter, photoshelter, photoshelter....did anyone mention photoshelter?
Phenomenal customer service, every function under the sun and then some. Both times I have thought to myself "I wish photoshelter did XXXXX" that function was included in the next update...I didn't even send my ideas in, they were already on top of it.
Best business tool I use hands down. |
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Matt Cashore, Photographer
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South Bend | IN | USA | Posted: 9:17 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> x5 on Photoshelter. No better bang for the buck out there. |
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Bradly J. Boner, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Jackson | WY | USA | Posted: 11:12 AM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> I think I am going to make the PhotoShelter plunge in the new year. One of my resolutions to get a better online presence and, in general, be a better business person. Any tips from anyone on how to get through the set-up process with ease? |
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Walt Middleton, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 12:40 PM on 12.23.10 |
| ->> Photoshelter is a must... |
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Joshua Brown, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:43 AM on 12.24.10 |
->> I was a Photoshelter user from its first month of life until earlier this year. If I was doing anything other than weddings for my primary income, I would still probably be a standard member, but a combination of other services ended up meeting my needs and making me a lot more money the past few months.
I ended up switching all my proofing over to Pictage and its been great. I pay 99/month for their pro account. http://newaccounts.pictage.com/photos/plans-and-pricing/
A few of the big reasons I swtiched:
-access to credit card processing at 1.5% (when I am ringing up $8000 transactions, its adds up quickly)
-free color correction. I get all 1500 images from a shoot really close in Aperture, then let them fine tune it
-sales. since switching, my print sales have increased tenfold. they do a lot of email promotions and marketing for me
-free album design. I upload the gallery, the clients pick their favorites, and the album is designed within a couple of days, I can then send it directly to leather craftsmen or any number of album companies
INTEGRATION WITH SHOOTQ!! this has been the single best business investment I have ever made by far. http://shootq.com
Pictage bought ShootQ earlier in the year
As for my portfolio site, I switched to aPhotofolio http://aphotofolio.com/ from Livebooks around the same time. I couldn't be happier with the support Rob and his team has given me during the switch. It loads beautifully in Flash, HTML, iPad, and iPhone, they also set me up with a Wordpress blog that helps with SEO. They also have an add-on called aphotoclient. Once you upload the files to a bucket on Amazon, you can point it at a client gallery for them to view the take. I use it for my commercial, editorial, and portrait work. http://aphotoclient.com/
So that took care of my portfolio and print fulfillment, the only other thing was high res delivery and offsite archiving. I chose amazon s3 for price, scalability, and flexibility. http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#pricing
I have Transmit set up to automatically upload new referenced files from my aperture library and selected final cut media. I also use a 50GB dropbox account for other types of backup and syncing. For 100GB of storage, and 50GB of bandwidth, you are looking at around $20/month I think (http://calculator.s3.amazonaws.com/calc5.html). I don't usually use 50GB of bandwidth, but I do use a lot more than 100GB of storage, and its a mix of photos, video, and music.
I email the clients one simple link, and it immediately starts downloading to their machine when they click it, no matter how tech illiterate they are.
In short, I think Photoshelter is a great solution for a lot of people. I still recommend it regularly to other photo friends. I just found a better and ultimately more profitable solution for my business needs. |
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Tom Ewart, Photographer
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Bentonville | AR | USA | Posted: 10:38 PM on 12.24.10 |
->> I do all my own electronic delivery with Fotostation and my own web site hosting company. I use fotostation by fotoware to make HTML pages complete with clickable download files, in a few seconds it makes web pages (depending on # of images) with lots of custom options. It's like photoshop's html web page builder but it has the option to put a clickable link to the original full res image file. It dose a great job, it also dose lossless jpeg rotation which photoshop still dose not do. It makes a folder and I just upload it to my web site server. The program is a little more expensive that something like thumbsplus or photomechanic but it draws thumbnails when editing a lot fast than any other program I've ever run across.
I know this example is not a photo of sweaty boys playing football or even a great photo, or any great web design, but I have total control and it works for just about any client I have.
It's a lot less messy than trying to e-mail photos, I just post the images and then send a link to the page. Here is one I put up for a high school who wanted to submit a photo to a local paper yesterday...
http://www.nwaphoto.com/fhscheer10b/
This is a great option, with out additional fees if you have a good web site hosting company. |
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Paul Calhoun, Photographer
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Hillsborough | NC | U.S. | Posted: 7:23 PM on 12.26.10 |
| ->> DropBox.com is quick and easy. |
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Mike Janes, Photographer
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Attica | NY | USA | Posted: 9:05 PM on 12.26.10 |
| ->> I'll jump on the PhotoShelter bandwagon, though do wish the storage was a bit cheaper. I've made a lot of sales from people finding the images online because of the SEO, and delivered thousands of images through it for other clients with them just logging in and getting what they need. |
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Jock Fistick, Photographer
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Brussels | Belgium | | Posted: 4:32 PM on 12.27.10 |
| ->> Photoshelter is the best one stop shop bar none. That being said - as Joshua has illustrated - one can take the best aspects of a number of individual services and create an infrastructure that best serves their specific needs. For me personally, its way too many moving parts. Maybe if I were in a similar biz I'd feel differently - but for the news, corporate and commercial work I do, Photoshelter is a perfect fit. It just depends on what your specific needs and priorities are. For instance - besides the functionality that Photoshelter provides me - I really value having all of these tools in one place - a bullet proof searchable online archive - web site & blog publishing - automated online sales - secure image delivery - collaborative editing tools - self promotional tools, etc... and having them all seamlessly integrated is priceless and a huge time saver. And then there is all the industry info, that the staff at PS produce via their blogs, webinars,PDF's and videos - such as the SEO Cookbook, Photography Websites: What Buyers Want, The Marketing Formula of Successful Photographers, and Social Media for Photographers - to name just a few.... (and much of this info is provided free of charge). So, from my perspective, PS offers more bang for the buck than any other photo industry related service I can think of - and on top of all that - they give back to the industry. It's good business and they do it well! |
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