Top Ten Reasons to Choose SmugMug for your Photo Gallery

If you are considering a professional gallery. There are lots of things to consider. It is not only important to have a snazzy gallery, but it should be easy and quick for potential buyers to navigate through your pictures quickly. In a study performed by PhotoShelter, they surveyed buyers of photographs and found some surprising results. Take the quiz found on the PhotoShelter site and you will be in for an education. For a longer view of the survey and more detailed interpretation here is an hour long video of what photo buyers want. After viewing I decided this is what I needed.

Kudos has to go to PhotoShelter for their savvy questions and their interpretation of the results. And, their implementation of the results on their website. Unfortunately, the cost for a pro account at PhotoShelter is nearly 50 dollars a month. And, there are limits to the amount of storage.

Now, at this point the cost factor enters in. And, you have to decide if you want to pay the piper or try another way. I first had someone design a site for me, and they did a good job. But the needed elements were just to difficult to implement even for a seasoned web designer. In order to be competitive I had to find another solution. And I did, I am wowed by SmugMug.

• SmugMug will *never* surround our clients' photos with Ads or Pop-ups. We also don't require your visitors to enter an email to view photos.
• SmugMug has 3 different service levels to meet every type of photographer from soccer mom to fine art photographer.
• SmugMug answers Help emails within minutes and not days like everyone else.

Now, that is just the beginning of their excellent service. And here are ten reasons for a photographer to have a SmugMug Account.

1. Their motto: "Your Photos Look Better Here," and they really do. You can find my gallery here for a look see. And the cost is a darn lot cheaper than PhotoShelter. I have a pro account and the flexibility of the site and themes are just superb. Everything is easy to customize even if you do not have a great deal of knowledge of CSS. The site is easy to navigate and the customer is in charge of how he wants to view your site.

2. Image protection: With a pro account you can disable right click copying and place watermarks on your photos like the image above. On each page you have a buy this photo with tons of options. Clients can buy prints (many sizes and paper styles), merchandise, and downloads with a simple click. You set the price and determine your own profits.

3. Printing: SmugMug gives the photographer a choice of two excellent printers. If you read through their help indexes you will find the meticulous effort they used to pick who prints the photographs. I am pleased by the printer I have chosen who has human quality control rather than just software output. SmugMug is about quality, and you can see that in every step of their efforts. Choosing SmugMug is like buying the best Swiss time piece.

4. Support: I can safely say their support is the best. I have used it once and had a human answer me within minutes. When they say, talk to real person they mean it. And, if you are a person that likes to fend for themselves their help menus are filled with easy to follow tutorials.

5. Easy Customization: I have been able to make the customizations that I considered essential through their easy customization tool. It is a breeze to use and very easy to understand. You will have your site running the way you like it quickly and efficiently.

6. Client Confidence: Using SmugMug you will instill confidence in your clients. Not only will your photos be elegantly displayed the service they receive is superb. Clients will be impressed by the attention to minute detail in every aspect of their experience on the site. As a professional photographer, you want the service to be professional. And SmugMug delivers.

7. Site Compatibility: Uploading pictures is a breeze, the interface works great. One thing I particular like if you have your photos on another site like Flickr as I do, you can use an available Firefox extension to upload directly from the site. This is quick and easy and saves tons of time. The extensions are available directly from the upload menu.

8. Unlimited Storage: SmugMug offers you unlimited storage and use of your photos. A person like me who has over 2,000 of processed photos this is a godsend.

9. Competitive Cost: SmugMug offers three levels of membership. I have chosen the most expensive option which is $149.50 a year. This is by far one of the best deals on the internet for what you get. Compared to PhotoShelter which is also a great site your cost would run $600 dollars per year. My choice SmugMug has not been a disappointment. Here is a SmugMug coupon that will save you five dollars. 2PY6wBMmDLK56

10. You Get What You Need: I started this post with the PhotoShelter appraisal of what photo clients want. Each item in their appraisal is covered by SmugMug. And, I must say elegantly and with a professional style.

Top Ten Steps: Making a YouTube Slideshow

As a photographer who wants to gain exposure, you might have overlooked the idea of placing videos on YouTube. Here are ten easy steps to make a video slide show on YouTube. Above is my best example of what works best in a slide show.

1. Download Picasa. Picasa is not only an excellent way to organize your photos, it makes making slide shows a breeze.

2. Create an album. This is easy to do, and it does not move your files from their folders. To start just select file at the top of the page then click new album and name your album.

3. Select your pictures. This is very easy. Just right click the photos and the pop up menu will have add to album. Click on the album name and instantly the photo is added to your album.

4. Know how many pictures equals the running time of your video. You can use this as a rough guide. 147 pictures will give you a running time just under ten minutes. To keep your visitors interested I would recommend a running time of no longer than five and half minutes. Just remember YouTube only allows a maximum ten minute run time. For a five minute run time I would suggest around 80 pictures.

5. Arrange your pictures. Remember that pictures can tell a story. Order your pictures in an arrangement that makes interesting transitions.

6. Let Picasa do its magic. Once your pictures are arranged just press the create a slide show. I usually stick with the standard options for this, except I find the pan and zoom transition more entertaining. Now you just have to wait for the movie to be made.

7. Get a YouTube account and upload your video. While uploading, I add in the title and description and tags etc. I set to private, until I am ready to go live. And that happens after I complete the next steps.

8. Add music. Once your video is uploaded and processed on YouTube, you can now add music. Just click the audio swap button and check the box, "Only show songs of similar length to my video." Then preview the songs that are suitable for your slide show video.

9. Go back to edit and make your video public. I wait until the audio is live.

10. Share the fun. I have set up a blog to feature my race track videos, you can also share through the variety of social network sites. And be sure to tell your friends. This is a fun way to promote your photography.

Top Ten Sources for Photography

A list of my top ten photo resources that I use all the time.

1. Cameta Camera: This is my favorite site for buying camera equipment. Check their eBay store for great deals on factory demos that have been refurbished. I tend to like refurbished better than new, because all the cameras are gone over with a fine tooth comb and re-calibrated. These cameras are in new condition and generally 25 to 40 percent cheaper than retail.

2. Amazon: Whenever I check out Cameta Camera I also check the prices at Amazon. Cameta is an Amazon associate and sometimes you can get the same camera from them there cheaper than you can get one at auction. I like their customer reviews for the best unbiased opinions, but still take them with a grain of salt.

3. Adorama: A great place to shop for camera accessories and for photo presentations supplies. Prices are reasonable and they have a large inventory of everything imaginable about cameras, printing, accessories, lighting and presentation supplies.

4. Newegg: Sometimes the best deals on point and shoot cameras can be found here. I have always had a great experience shopping Newegg for both cameras and computer equipment.

5. Mpix: One of the best places to buy prints online. If you are looking for quality prints on a variety of premium paper Mpix cannot be beat. Their price for metallic paper is exceptional.

6. Flickr camera finder: There are many camera and lens review sites and you can blurry eyed reading the reviews. You also have to think how tainted these reviews are. I use Flickr for a resource to see what is most important. The output of the camera pictures. I also do my lens research on Flickr. I search the lens itself and look at the pictures people achieve. After all, pictures tell more than a thousand words, better than any review.

7. Zazzle: One of the best places to make, buy, and sell photo products. The quality is superb and they have a quick turnaround when products are ordered.

8. Blurb: Blurb makes superior photo books. Their book making software is easy to use and it is great for making books for clients and for books for sale. This would be also a great source for wedding photographers.

9. Picasa: The best free software for organizing your photos. You can quickly locate photos that may have gotten lost in the shuffle on your computer. They also offer some easy non destructive editing software and other perks.

10. Windows Live Photo Gallery: I use Windows Live Photo Gallery to get large resolution pictures to clients. It is also great to use in conjunction with Picasa. I also find their publishing tools very useful in photo uploads.