Rating the online photo hosting sites?

[Master Mason]

Hopefully this post doesn't get lost in an abandoned thread......

My question is this- some friends have asked me to take some pics of them and their friends at some equestrian events. I would like to put the photos up for sale somehow so that they can all see them.

I would like to try and compensate just a little for my time/travel/etc if they order prints, but I am trying to figure out the best way.

I really like the look of SmugMug, but I am not a professional photographer, so I can't fill out the W-9 to be able to set my own prices. (I have no tax ID number)

Yes you do, it is called your social security number. If your selling something you can also write off the costs to produce the items up to the value of what you sold, so essentially it would be a wash on the taxes anyway unless you start making quite a bit of money.

I saw on Zenfolio that you can take away the ability to purchase prints. I guess I could do that , and then they would have to contact me to order prints, and I could give them my own list, but that seems more complicated to do it that way. I didn't see an option on SmugMug to allow this- is this correct?

Yes you can set it up so certain photos can not be purchased.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I currently host on Snapfish and Photobucket, but I would like to incorporate more of a "clean" look, kwim?

Thanks!
Lisa

I know smugmug offers a free trial, so you could set it up and see what you think, then if you don't like it your not out anything, not sure about Zenfolio

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Thank you! I didn't realize you were supposed to use your social security number for this. Hmm, I am really going to have to look into SmugMug- now the only thing holding me back is the 150 bucks for the pro account, lol.

Thanks again for the information- I think I will go ahead with the trial and see how it goes.

 

[MICKEY88]

Thank you! I didn't realize you were supposed to use your social security number for this. Hmm, I am really going to have to look into SmugMug- now the only thing holding me back is the 150 bucks for the pro account, lol.

Thanks again for the information- I think I will go ahead with the trial and see how it goes.

another option is Fotki they are only 30 a year for a premium site

their home page is cluttered as someone else mentioned, but if you are directing people straight to your page it doesn't really matter


if you want to see the difference between fotki and zenfolio layouts,,

checkout

www.starrrshots.net and

www.starrrshots.com

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Thanks, Mickey 88-

Have you gotten any prints from fotki? What is the quality like? One thing I do like about Zenfolio is the option for MPix, which is my favorite place to get prints from. The price is good at fotki, but that sort of makes me nervous- they are cheaper than Snapfish and Walmart, 2 places I have had problems with in getting prints.

Thanks

 

[MICKEY88]

Thanks, Mickey 88-

Have you gotten any prints from fotki? What is the quality like? One thing I do like about Zenfolio is the option for MPix, which is my favorite place to get prints from. The price is good at fotki, but that sort of makes me nervous- they are cheaper than Snapfish and Walmart, 2 places I have had problems with in getting prints.

Thanks

I've had good prints and not so good prints from fotki, my pics from WDW were great, but some stuff I did that had tricky lighting was not so good, I ordered pics from fotki and mpix on that order...mpix blew them away...

that is why I opened the account with zenfolio, I liked being able to order from mpix...

zenfolio has told me that in the near future they will allow you to set your own prices..


fortunately my local walmart does great printing so I also have them in a crunch... but I prefer mpix

right now I have zenfolio set up so only I can order. that way with some high school stuff i did, parents can go to the site, send me an email of what they want and I place the order.., once I can set my own prices I will let people order their own...

 

[barrie]

I'd like to throw in a plug for phanfare - it has everything you asked for. That's the service I use and I absolutely love them! Their albums look really nice. I actually learned about them on this board and one of the owners even came on here to talk about their service - his wife is a DISer I think.

Here's a link to their tech specs and this one is to their info page with sample albums, slideshows and videos.

They have a free trial available. If you like them and want to sign up, send me an email for a discount code - you'll save a little money and I'll get a free year! (focusondisneyworld [at] gmail [dot] com)

I have recommended them to several people who are also very pleased. They're worth a look. Barrie

 

[DizGeek]

I just stumbled upon Picasa through Google. You get 1 GB of storage for free but I upgraded to 7 GB @ $25 for a year. Not sure how to post pics from it yet

 

[tinksdad]

I'd like to throw in a plug for phanfare - it has everything you asked for. That's the service I use and I absolutely love them! Their albums look really nice. I actually learned about them on this board and one of the owners even came on here to talk about their service - his wife is a DISer I think.

Here's a link to their tech specs and this one is to their info page with sample albums, slideshows and videos.

They have a free trial available. If you like them and want to sign up, send me an email for a discount code - you'll save a little money and I'll get a free year! (focusondisneyworld [at] gmail [dot] com)

I have recommended them to several people who are also very pleased. They're worth a look. Barrie

I second the Phanfare endorsement!! Been using them for awhile now and it's been a pleasure.

 

[jann1033]

not that i will be doing this any time soon but could someone tell me how much they normally would charge for photos( for sale i mean)? do you have a flat fee or by photo? (not for weddings etc, i mean just if someone wants to buy a photo you post...) i have no idea what something like that would go for. sorry if that is a tacky ? ..i tried to look online but can't seem to find prices anywhere without putting something in a shopping cart

 

[claribella]

I've used fotki for years and have been pleased with their hosting, they offer the cheapest 4x6s online..... .09 per print

I recently opened an account with zenfolio, I like them for a cleaner more professional look, plus prints can be ordered from ezprints or mpix...

I can set that up so people can or can not order prints, and I decide which lab they can order from..



fotki allows me to set my print prices...

right now zenfolio doesn't have that option, but they tell me they are going to be adding that as well as watermarking..

I also use Fotki and was wondering if you have ordered prints from them? If so, how was the quality. I'm wanting to order prints to put my photography up in my house.

I like Fotki. I like the set up and contests.

 

[MICKEY88]

I also use Fotki and was wondering if you have ordered prints from them? If so, how was the quality. I'm wanting to order prints to put my photography up in my house.

I like Fotki. I like the set up and contests.

I've had good prints and not so good prints from fotki, my pics from WDW were great, but some stuff I did that had tricky lighting was not so good, I ordered pics from fotki and mpix on that order...mpix blew them away...

if you want really good quality prints{enlargements} try mpix, they are a little more expensive, but they are actually a division of miller printing ;

Mpix... The professional online digital imaging lab for both the professional photographer and the advanced amateur.

Mpix is a division of Miller’s Professional Imaging. Miller’s was founded in 1939, and is the largest professional photography lab in the United States. The company has production facilities in Pittsburg, Kansas and Columbia, Missouri.

 

[claribella]

I've had good prints and not so good prints from fotki, my pics from WDW were great, but some stuff I did that had tricky lighting was not so good, I ordered pics from fotki and mpix on that order...mpix blew them away...

if you want really good quality prints{enlargements} try mpix, they are a little more expensive, but they are actually a division of miller printing ;

Mpix... The professional online digital imaging lab for both the professional photographer and the advanced amateur.

Mpix is a division of Miller’s Professional Imaging. Miller’s was founded in 1939, and is the largest professional photography lab in the United States. The company has production facilities in Pittsburg, Kansas and Columbia, Missouri.

Thanks!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

I'd like to throw in a plug for phanfare - it has everything you asked for. That's the service I use and I absolutely love them! Their albums look really nice. I actually learned about them on this board and one of the owners even came on here to talk about their service - his wife is a DISer I think.

Here's a link to their tech specs and this one is to their info page with sample albums, slideshows and videos.

They have a free trial available. If you like them and want to sign up, send me an email for a discount code - you'll save a little money and I'll get a free year! (focusondisneyworld [at] gmail [dot] com)

I have recommended them to several people who are also very pleased. They're worth a look. Barrie

I like the looks of the site, but I am a little disappointed that the only choices for photos are shutterfly, snapfish and kodak. I have not tried Kodak yet though, but I have had problems with the other two. (I really like mpix) Also, it looks like when you order photos, they just directly link to the developer site to get them- I am assuming this means you cannot set your own price?

Thanks,
Lisa

 

[barrie]

I like the looks of the site, but I am a little disappointed that the only choices for photos are shutterfly, snapfish and kodak. I have not tried Kodak yet though, but I have had problems with the other two. (I really like mpix) Also, it looks like when you order photos, they just directly link to the developer site to get them- I am assuming this means you cannot set your own price?

Thanks,
Lisa

That's right - they use outside vendors for printing. I haven't gotten many prints. The ones I have gotten have been from snapfish and I haven't had any trouble with them. But since I don't order that many, I'm not a good one to comment on their service. And no, you can't set your own price. They (phanfare) are about sharing photos as opposed to selling them.

 

[jann1033]

I like the looks of the site, but I am a little disappointed that the only choices for photos are shutterfly, snapfish and kodak. I have not tried Kodak yet though, but I have had problems with the other two. (I really like mpix) Also, it looks like when you order photos, they just directly link to the developer site to get them- I am assuming this means you cannot set your own price?

Thanks,
Lisa

mind if i ask what problems have you had with snapfish? i've used them for yrs and never had a problem but haven't gotten anything but a print to keep my account open for the last 2 yrs since i rarely get prints made. just wondering if it's worth my $.12 a yr to keep it open or not

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

jann1033- My biggest problems with Snapfish have been when I have had bigger orders (100 or more prints.) It looks like they use a few different printers in processing, and the printer settings are not the same. So some of the pictures are really light, and others are dark, and the colors don't match up, kwim? One example was I had 20 photos of the same subject (ds as a baby), and taken with my old p&s camera one right after another (no settings changed.) When the prints came back, his skin tones and color of his outfit were very different in half of the prints.

I am a scrapbooker, and it is really noticable when you go through my albums- you can see where each "batch" begins and ends because the colors change.

That being said, Snapfish is definitely economical, and their customer service has been very nice. I just sort of stopped using them because I felt bad for sending them back.

hth, Lisa

 

[claribella]

I've had good prints and not so good prints from fotki, my pics from WDW were great, but some stuff I did that had tricky lighting was not so good, I ordered pics from fotki and mpix on that order...mpix blew them away...

if you want really good quality prints{enlargements} try mpix, they are a little more expensive, but they are actually a division of miller printing ;

Mpix... The professional online digital imaging lab for both the professional photographer and the advanced amateur.

Mpix is a division of Miller’s Professional Imaging. Miller’s was founded in 1939, and is the largest professional photography lab in the United States. The company has production facilities in Pittsburg, Kansas and Columbia, Missouri.

I am just looking for the largest print to be 8x10. You think Fotki can handle that. I like Fotki and have most of my pics there in albums. I guess I should just order and see what is what because I like their prices to.