Favorite Gallary Sites

[elizabeth]

Hi all. I am finally moving forward on setting up a more comprehensive gallary for my photos - in addition to the one here. I would love some input about which sites you use and why. Thank you Kim for pointing me to Picasa and Colleen for telling me about Smugmug. I have had a look at both.

I think I am looking for the following:

easy management and reasonable help/support
reasonable size for reasonable cost
some control over the look of the background and style
ability to have nested groups of pictures, based on my categories or themes - such as 'travel photos' > 'Prague photos'
public key word searching (in case someone is looking for a Golden Retriever picture and is dying to have one of mine!!! :D)
ability to have 'non-public' sections - such as pictures for 'family and friends' only.Too much??? Anyway I would love to hear why you love or hate Picasa, Smugmug or any other sites you use.

thanks in advance. elizabeth

[billz]

Elizabeth -

I use Smugmug and it seems to offer the things you are looking for in terms of file management and searchability. I've been very happy with them ... and at roughly $30 a year it seems priced fairly.

There's a link to my Smugmug gallery below if you want to see one possible setup option.

Your Prague and Russia photos are simply wonderful!

Bill

[Russinator]

Elizabeth, I used to use Photosite, but, they went out of business. I really liked them, but, they are gone.

After they closed I tried several sites and ended up liking Picasa best.

You can see my public albums by clicking on the link below.

Russ

http://picasaweb.google.com/Russinator43

[genevh]

I've been very happy with SmugMug. They do all your asking for and more, depending on what level of service you go for.

[deedeeO]

Hi Elizabeth,
I use SmugMug as well. I've purchased the Pro level to get my business website up and going right away. I like the ability to design and customize your website (still constructing mine, but some examples are fabulous!!), the ability to create private galleries for family friends and clients, right click protection of photos, automatic watermarking, unlimited no. of photos, direct upload by selecting photos from Organizer (one draw back - limited to 100 photos per upload...I just need to keep coming back to continue the upload esp. when 300 photos are involved), ability to set own prices for purchasing (Pro level), support is fabulous and very personal (family run business from out here in the Bay Area), print quality compares greatly to other pro printing services I have used, and the list can go on. The only drawback for me is finding the time to learn html, JAVA, etc. to really customize my website the way that I would like and presentable. My link is below....

[genevh]

Denise:

If you need to upload more than 100 photos at a time to SmugMug, check out Star Explorer (http://www.starexplorer.com/). Its reasonably priced, works well, and the guy that makes it gives very good support. I had some problems initially when I upgraded from the trial version to the licensed version and he was very helpful, and quick on the response.

[elizabeth]

thanks all for the input. I have had a look at all of your sites. Aside from seeing some great images i wanted to see how the sites worked in real life. I seem to be having some trouble with some of them. For instance, in terms of the smugmug sites I seem to be able to see all the images in Bill's site. But when i go to Gene or Denise's sites and drill down I get the 'structure' but no images. Also I am not sure I am getting some of the text - even on the home page.

Just today I have discovered I am having some other internet display problems so I am 99.9% sure that this is my problem. Could you just confirm for me that there are images below your home page. And Denise, do you in fact have some logo or text or ?? on the top half of your page. I am not seeing anything there.

Yikes I love this internet stuff!! elizabeth

[deedeeO]

thanks all for the input. I have had a look at all of your sites. Aside from seeing some great images i wanted to see how the sites worked in real life. I seem to be having some trouble with some of them. For instance, in terms of the smugmug sites I seem to be able to see all the images in Bill's site. But when i go to Gene or Denise's sites and drill down I get the 'structure' but no images. Also I am not sure I am getting some of the text - even on the home page.

Just today I have discovered I am having some other internet display problems so I am 99.9% sure that this is my problem. Could you just confirm for me that there are images below your home page. And Denise, do you in fact have some logo or text or ?? on the top half of your page. I am not seeing anything there.

Yikes I love this internet stuff!! elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth,
If you scroll down past my Bio, you will see my photo galleries. The one labeled, "My Portfolio", contains many subgalleries catergorized by the type of photography that I do. Also, there is text.. Yikes, if you can't see it, how many others can't. I may be taking my 22in screen for granted cause I see everything (even pixels sometimes:eek:). Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I am going to have change things up a bit!!!

BTW, what you should see at the top is the same as my signature pic below...

[baycruisers]

I think Flickr offers good value and a community as well. Some have commented about the learning curve, but I think if you can handle PSE you can quickly learn Flickr.

Like Picasa you can upload for free and use the service without paying a penny, but if you pay you get unlimited storage and improved organization.

[elizabeth]

Hi Elizabeth,
Yikes, if you can't see it, how many others can't. I may be taking my 22in screen for granted cause I see everything (even pixels sometimes:eek:). Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I am going to have change things up a bit!!!

BTW, what you should see at the top is the same as my signature pic below...


NO, NO Denise. Don't panic. I am almost absolutely sure that it is a problem with how my Internet Explorer is configured or functioning or something. Things seemed to be going along ok with it but in the last little while I seem to be getting some wonky stuff. Please don't change anything on your site, based on what I see. I will let you know when i get it sorted out and can see your great images.

elizabeth

[genevh]

Are you still having problems? I just checked my site from work, going to it without logging in and am not having any issues with it. :)

[elizabeth]

yah, Gene, i am. But I am absolutely convinced in is my problem - not with your sites. I will keep working on it.

elizabeth

[genevh]

That's strange, though, why some would work and others not. Have you tried clearing the cache in your browser?

[bayhli]

Elizabeth,

I'm using pbase at http://www.pbase.com and quite like it.

It's reasonably priced and allows you some choices for display, such as backgrounds and categories for example. It too has a learning curve but you will handle it if I did. Their help files could be better but I've experienced that with others as well.

Just another choice to add to your well-rounded list...

[elizabeth]

Have you tried clearing the cache in your browser?

Hi Gene. I would try that but I don't know what it is or means. Can you give directions. thx.

and thanks Mario and Pat for other suggestions re possible sites. I will have a look when i get my little problem sorted out.

elizabeth

[genevh]

Any time you visit a webpage, the page itself is downloaded into your browser Cache, a folder for storing those files. Its supposed to refresh when you revisit pages, but sometimes things can get hung up in there.

It depends on your browser.

For Firefox, go to Tools -> Options ->Advanced. Then hit the Clear button in the Cache box.

In IE7, go to Tools -> Internet Options ->General -> Delete (under Browser history) then delete the Temporary Internet Files. Also, under the Settings button in Browser History, you can set IE to check for newer versions of stored pages every time you visit the page. This should force it to download the latest and greatest.

See how that goes.

[deedeeO]

Denise:

If you need to upload more than 100 photos at a time to SmugMug, check out Star Explorer (http://www.starexplorer.com/). Its reasonably priced, works well, and the guy that makes it gives very good support. I had some problems initially when I upgraded from the trial version to the licensed version and he was very helpful, and quick on the response.


Hi Gene,
This looks cool. I'll contact Nik this week to get more scoop. Thanks!!

BTW, saw some customizations on your site that I liked. I'll be PMing you to get the CSS/html codes on how you did some of it. Tried more customizations last night...:eek: I swear, web design takes on a different mind set and brain wave.

[kevmiami]

Hi Denise,

Can you eloborate about posting from Organizer to Smugmug? I may be doing it the hard way: Selected in Organizer, exported to folder then used the SmugMug "old faithful" to upload folder. I assumed I had to do it this way, because I'm saving my photo edits as .psd files, rather than jpgs. This method did not give me any issues with above mentioned 100 pic limit (?); it loaded 113 very large files. Thanks for the insight, Kevin.

[deedeeO]

hey Kevin,
I select my photos in the Organizer, then go to "Share your photos via Email or online service" found in the top toolbar in Organizer. There, you will find, "Send to SmugMug Gallery..." It is this option that only allows an upload of 100 photos at a time. I did not know about your option...Geez, I keep learning new things..

[kevmiami]

Too Cool - I just didn't remember SmugMug being on the drop down - way cool. I did try a .psd and it appeared to convert, no problem. I have been using the "Add Photos" button within SmugMug and then using SmugMugs' "Windows Internet Explorer Uploader" tool - just select your folder of photos and good to go. I like yours better, no exporting to new folder - nice, thank you.

[Ham1]

hey Kevin,
I select my photos in the Organizer, then go to "Share your photos via Email or online service" found in the top toolbar in Organizer. There, you will find, "Send to SmugMug Gallery..." It is this option that only allows an upload of 100 photos at a time. I did not know about your option...Geez, I keep learning new things..

Hi Denise,

I am from SmugMug and I was the one that coordinated the partnership with Adobe PSE 5.0. That link indeed allows you to upload 100 images at a time.

We also have a lot of other great uploaders list on our upload page you can choose from. We have Mac and PC options available.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I would love to help you customize your site. There are a lot of great simple tricks and tips we can do to your site that are tricky if you don't do them all the time.

feel free to email me directly at markham at smugmug dot com OR you can PM me and we can hook you up!

Thanks,
Markham

[deedeeO]

Hi Denise,

I am from SmugMug and I was the one that coordinated the partnership with Adobe PSE 5.0. That link indeed allows you to upload 100 images at a time.

We also have a lot of other great uploaders list on our upload page you can choose from. We have Mac and PC options available.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I would love to help you customize your site. There are a lot of great simple tricks and tips we can do to your site that are tricky if you don't do them all the time.

feel free to email me directly at markham at smugmug dot com OR you can PM me and we can hook you up!

Thanks,
Markham

Hey, thanks Markham. I need to go over Ivar's tutorials some more, once I finish up some clients this week...sit down and really ponder what I want to achieve with my site, then take you up on your offer. Thank you!!!

[Ham1]

Hey, thanks Markham. I need to go over Ivar's tutorials some more, once I finish up some clients this week...sit down and really ponder what I want to achieve with my site, then take you up on your offer. Thank you!!!

Sounds good. If anyone else has some customization issues or other questions I am always happy to help.

Markham

[elizabeth]

I seem to be getting some wonky stuff. Please don't change anything on your site, based on what I see. I will let you know when i get it sorted out and can see your great images.

elizabeth

FINALLY! (I hope) I have spent the last 10 days trying to diagnose this mess and sort it out. It turns out I was having problems with the way my computer rendered some aspects of html. I was getting 'plain vanilla' everything - black on white text, no background info, some links working-some not. YIKES.

after resetting defaults, reloading programs, checking the registry, spending futile hours on the phone with MS, etc, etc. it turned out that what was needed was creating a new profile account. So that is done and it seems to have cleared up the problem. Still lots of things to reset and set up but I can finally see your sophisticated sites as you meant them to be seen. WOW. great to see what can be done.

Thanks for your help with this. I feel like I can proceed with picking a way to set up my site - especially now that I can see what I am getting. And Denise, I see on your site that you say you are learning html. this all started when I decided it would be a fun mental exercise to learn some html and how to set up a simple site. With guidance from Bob (thanks, Bob!!). I realized that even simple formatting code was not displaying correctly for me. So the saga started.

thanks again for all the help. Hopefully i will be able to add a new site to my signature line soon.

elizabeth

[deedeeO]

And Denise, I see on your site that you say you are learning html. this all started when I decided it would be a fun mental exercise to learn some html and how to set up a simple site.

....you made my day...."fun mental exercise" .... I hope they come up with adult versions of Baby Einstein soon otherwise my brain will go to slug. Its tough, just a different mind state. The only time I understood our algorithmists and programmers was at Happy Hour:D

When I get back from the 'burgh (Pittsburgh, PA) from my football photo shoots, I'm taking Markham up on his offer.....got the ideal design in mind, but don't have months to figure it out.

Can't wait to see your site!!!

[Russinator]

Sounds good. If anyone else has some customization issues or other questions I am always happy to help.

Markham

Thanks for the offer. Would it be possible to insert a few links so we can see some of the custom work that's possible?

Thanks in advance - Russ

[deedeeO]

Hi Russ,
I found a few....

http://photos.lmsportspix.com/

http://www.moonriverphotography.com/

and more: http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1801307#118526631

I also google, "smugmug" and a list of sites hosted by smugmug come up.....

[elizabeth]

....you made my day...."fun mental exercise" .... I hope they come up with adult versions of Baby Einstein soon otherwise my brain will go to slug. Its tough, just a different mind state. The only time I understood our algorithmists and programmers was at Happy Hour:D


Denise, somehow you can't sell me on the idea that your brain is going to slug- not with all of your creations, mini-tuts and i am sure much, much more.

btw - If you look on the official Happy Hour website you will see that 'increasing understanding between geeks and not-geeks' is one the the three primary reasons Happy Hour was invented. A little known fact.

I am really wanting to take a closer look at smugmug, especially if there is creative help to be had.

cheers. elizabeth

[Russinator]

Denise, thank you for those wonderful sites. I'm very impressed by the layouts and the photography.

I'll do a Google check soon - Russ

http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[mom to 4]

I just got an email from Adorama. They're having a sale on 16 x 20's (4.95) and 11 x 14's (1.99) . I have purchased camera equipment from them, but not prints. They were wonderful to work with! that 11 x 14 is even cheaper by $1. than costco. I can't get 16 x 20's at costco, so not sure if that is a good price or not.

[mom to 4]

Just caught up on the thread. I have a smugmug site. Right now it is a basic membership, but I think I am going to upgrade it to the pro level. But I am not sure how to get it to look really good.

Markham: is you offer open to me too?????:o:eek::D

[jayegirl]

I have used smugmug since 2003 and have over 22k photos on there and have never had a single problem. Several people have ordered pictures from my site over the years without complaints. The customer service is great!

[mom to 4]

Do you have the pro membership?

[jayegirl]

No, I have the power account.

[mom to 4]

What is the power account? I just want to get something where people can't right click and download my pictures.

[jayegirl]

There is the standard, power-user, and professional options. My account type said power.
I think you will need the pro account for what you want.

I actually got smugmug to ALLOW people to have access to the original size prints to save or print. I didn't want to keep up with all the requests for copies or prints so I just referred them to my smugmug site.

[kimh]

I am still trying to decide on my photo sharing site. I like Pbase. Flickr is a little 'busy' for me. Smugmug looks great to be able to personalize but trying to learn that would probably be frustrating for me:o
kimh

[baderms]

I'm weighing in late here as I've been on vacation for the last 2 weeks. The site I use for my gallery is at Zenfolio.com. It's easy to setup and it does everything you are looking for. And for $40 per year it's unlimited. You can change the look and feel for each gallery also. Mine is at http://www.myartisticphotos.zenfolio.com if you want to see how it looks.

Also, I have used Adorama and love their Metalic paper. I use them for the posters I've sold.

[mom to 4]

Mark:

With the site you are using and the level ($40) you are at, can people just right click and download your photos??? that's my problem right now.

[deedeeO]

Mark:

With the site you are using and the level ($40) you are at, can people just right click and download your photos??? that's my problem right now.

Colleen, are you able to at least add a watermark at your level? If not, perhaps the photos that you upload should only be your final proofs with a watermark across them. Then have the customers contact you directly for prints. I know a pain and more work, but it will protect your images better. Regardless of the "right-click" security, people can still do screen dumps and Snag-It to get photos (OK, I pick locks for a living:o), so by adding a watermark, your adding extra security to your photos.

[deedeeO]

What is the power account? I just want to get something where people can't right click and download my pictures.

I should have started down a few posts.....the pro level allows right-click security and the addition of a watermark to the photos. They (smugmug) removes the watermark when prints are made. I have pro and I use both security measures....

[mom to 4]

Yes, I can watermarke them, but you are right...it's a pain going backwards to do all the ones I have up already. I actually upgraded to a pro level this afternoon. Sometimes it costs a little money to make a little or hopefully a little MORE money!

I think I will batch watermark them as I put them up. I am hoping to have a website up and running by next September.

[baderms]

Colleen,

You can allow or disallow downloading the photo as well as be able to order from your choice of 2 different labs. They are working on modifications that will allow you to set your own price to sell photos also.

Mark