Log-in galleries for clients

Ulrik_P

I am currently coding the website for my upcoming photobiz and was wondering how some of you more experienced photogs go about storing and representing images for clients and their friends.

The main idea was to have clients and wedding guests visit my website after the wedding to view pictures from the day. They must use a log-in that I have given them. The primary motivation is both to provide service but also to increase exposure of my services.

So the main question is how you do it technically? Do you just upload some kind of flash gallery, that they can view in full screen mode? Do you compress the pictures for web use or do they see the actual full size images?

Thanks,

Ulrik, Copenhagen

cj99si

a smugmug account

Slinky0390

I use my SmugMug account to allow clients to view but not download/purchase full quality images from a specially set up gallery. SmugMug allows you to set a password for galleries and hide them from view. I have my code written so that when a client wishes to view their photos, I simply have them navigate to www.slinky0390.smugmug.com/clientsname and have them enter a password that I give them.

Ulrik_P

cj99si wrote:

a smugmug account

Thanks for the tip, but how does that increase traffic on my own site? As mentioned, one primary reason for making a client gallery is to increase likelihood that friends of the b&g will provide some business in the future.

Ulrik_P

Slinky0390 wrote:

I use my SmugMug account to allow clients to view but not download/purchase full quality images from a specially set up gallery. SmugMug allows you to set a password for galleries and hide them from view. I have my code written so that when a client wishes to view their photos, I simply have them navigate to www.slinky0390.smugmug.com/clientsname and have them enter a password that I give them.

So you're saying that they're actually navigating to the smugmug gallery via your website and not directly to smugmug? Do you use some kind of flash player that imports from smugmug then? Sorry if I sound a bit confused...

Candid Arts

Ulrik_P wrote:

So you're saying that they're actually navigating to the smugmug gallery via your website and not directly to smugmug? Do you use some kind of flash player that imports from smugmug then? Sorry if I sound a bit confused...

No. His site is on the smugmug server. So he gives his website to the client and directs them to their gallery. While there, if they wish, they can browse other galleries and see the rest of their work. Their specific gallery though, is protected by a specific password that only they and the people they give it too have.

He does not have a site separate from smugmug that he links his photos too.

For Example, on my site (http://candidartsphotography.smugmug.com/Portraits) if you click the link and scroll to the bottom, you will see three galleries (Alise and Erik Jacobsen, Michael Palmer and Melanie Lemerade) that have a lock symbol on them. Any of the other galleries that don't have the lock symbol are public and can be viewed by anyone, while the ones with the lock on them have to have a specific password to view. Try clicking the different one to see first hand.

sherijohnson

You can customize your smugmug site to link to your main website and vice versa. I think that is what you were asking.

Slinky0390

Hey, just in case I was a bit vague... SmugMug hosts my photos and displays them, much like flickr, but way more customizable. I wrote the HTML/CSS/JAVA/etc. to customize the way my site looks and behaves. When someone comes across my SmugMug, they will see only the photos I intend for the public to see, I've selected some of my favorites and personal best. www.slinky0390.smugmug.com/galleries This is what the general public sees. As for my clients that I do work for, I give them a customized url to visit which takes them to an area in my gallery which is hidden from the public and that requires a password. There is no way for some random person to view the photos unless they know the url to the gallery and the password. Here is an example, www.slinky0390.smugmug.com/clients The password is openwater.

SmugMug replaces the need to completely write your own website and find a company to rent you webspace to host the site. I found that this is much easier and pain free than trying to create a website in a software application such as Dreamweaver and then uploading the file to a server that will then be displayed as a website.

Scott_Quier

I've also customized my smugmug site to be my only site. People can see what I want them to see and only what I want them to see.

Using CNAME (or some such thing - it's been a while) I have a domain name that is directly linked to my site

www.lnl-photo.com

You go there and you get my smuggy site.

Cost is cheap compared to the time it would take me to code and maintain the site myself. This way, I can concentrate on getting the photos (something that I'm trying to get good at) and let the people who are good at supporting a web site do what they are good at. Works well for me. Final thought - my smugmug subscription fees have been paid many times over through the print sales I've made.

Candid Arts

Slinky0390 wrote:

Hey, just in case I was a bit vague... SmugMug hosts my photos and displays them, much like flickr, but way more customizable. I wrote the HTML/CSS/JAVA/etc. to customize the way my site looks and behaves. When someone comes across my SmugMug, they will see only the photos I intend for the public to see, I've selected some of my favorites and personal best. www.slinky0390.smugmug.com/galleries This is what the general public sees. As for my clients that I do work for, I give them a customized url to visit which takes them to an area in my gallery which is hidden from the public and that requires a password. There is no way for some random person to view the photos unless they know the url to the gallery and the password. Here is an example, www.slinky0390.smugmug.com/clients The password is openwater.

SmugMug replaces the need to completely write your own website and find a company to rent you webspace to host the site. I found that this is much easier and pain free than trying to create a website in a software application such as Dreamweaver and then uploading the file to a server that will then be displayed as a website.

How do you make the gallery not viewable to the public, but so when you type in the link (EX: www.xyzphotographycompany.com/firstnamelastname) it is a gallery that is actually there. When I type in the name of a private gallery I have it just goes to my home page. Does this make any sense?

Slinky0390

Candid Arts wrote:

How do you make the gallery not viewable to the public, but so when you type in the link (EX: www.xyzphotographycompany.com/firstnamelastname) it is a gallery that is actually there. When I type in the name of a private gallery I have it just goes to my home page. Does this make any sense?

I believe they call it a vanity url. There is a tutorial somewhere on DGrin on how to accomplish this. You set the gallery of choice to hidden, and set the vanity url to the hidden galleries name. In a nutshell, it's some java script that you need to add to the "top java" section under customize. Every gallery on your SmugMug has a name, it's just a bunch of numbers and letters which is not easily identifiable. What the java script does is allow you to route something that is identifiable (like www.xyz.cm/abc) to the actual gallery name (wich may be www.xyz.com/ab_12c) You should be able to do a search on DGrin for vanity urls and find the tutorial.

Tampa-Photography

We use a company called Photobiz. They offer complete hosting and html/flash templates if you need it, or you can just use their "Photobiz Cart" and/or "Slideshow Biz" service to allow clients to view, proof, and order images.

You can integrate it pretty seamlessly into your website. We've been using them since 2007 and are very pleased.