? Features: Batch Upload, View All, Nesting
larrytxeast
Registered Users Posts: 34 Big grins
I imagine this question has been asked before, I have done some searching but just can't seem to get a real clear conclusion with this.
I already have a PBase site but am pondering a SmugMug gallery as that would seem to enable me to sell photos to people; PBase seems to be for "browsing" only. There are several things I like about my PBase site, things which I hope to find in other sites which would be better for selling, but I'm having a difficult time finding those same aspects. Among them:
(1) PBase lets me "nest" my galleries all I want. I can "subgallery" to my heart's content. For instance, with shots of my daughter Helen, I have it "nested" like this:
Kids/Helen/2009/2009-05-01
Kids/Helen/2009/2009-04-23
Kids/Helen/2008/2008-12-15
Kids/Helen/Best-Of
For all my shots in general, I have recently developed a "nesting" pattern like this
By Year/2009/January
By Year/2009/February
By Year/2009/Best
That is about as "deep" as I get it.
(2) PBase lets me "batch upload" multiple JPEGs at once as a ZIP file. Better-still, I don't have to download any special "plug-ins" specific to PBase, or use a Flash-based plug-in, heck, it doesn't seem to require anything more than basic Java. Think of how simple something like Yahoo! email or Google's GMail works and you get the idea. I can even upload files running Opera Mini on my Blackberry (although obviously that's rather awkward compared to a PC-based experience).
Overall PBase has a "clean, uncluttered" interface. You see the thumbnails, then you "open" an image, and then you see the image BY ITSELF, nothing else (except for the "navigation tree" up-top). You don't have to "hover over" the image to get any options, they're setup as links below the image--again very simple.
(3) Perhaps more important, I can customize it to show more than a measly 15 images per page (I usually specify 50) and you can even "view all" a given gallery if you dare (something more sites wlth listings etc ought to allow, by the way). Nothing more annoying, to me, than having to click "next, next, next" a zillion times on a 300 image gallery. I want to be able to see at least 50 at a time, and if I dare, all 300 (or whatever) all at once. Yes, all at once.
(In much the same way, for instance, I hate it when you read a news story at Yahoo! or MSNBC etc and there are comments, but there about 1000 of them, and it will only show you 10 at the time. I want to be able to load all 1000 comments all at once, and then scroll through the long list. Yes it's a long list but at least I don't have to keep going "next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next....")
(4) Security issues may come into play. PBase's doesn't seem very good, SmugMug's seems better.
It seems that SmugMug limits how much you can "nest" your galleries. If 3 or 4 levels can easily be done (Kids/Helen/2009/2009-04-28), that's fine and all I would need. Flickr, for one, fell out of contention because, apparently, you can't subgallery there at all. Apparently all you can do is create a "set" which is basically like having a "filter," or (say) sort of like having 1 level of a subgallery.
Some have stated that I should setup a 30-day trial SmugMug to see if I like it. Well I did that two years or more ago (http://larrytxeast.smugmug.com/), and never really did anything with it, I ended up just sticking with PBase then. (Obviously my 30-day trial would be up by now.) I just visited the site right now, and in a gallery of 28 images it was showing 15 at the time. Again, I want to be able to tell it to show 50 at the time if I wish (by default), and even offer a "view all" option to viewers (for a given gallery).
Tips?
I already have a PBase site but am pondering a SmugMug gallery as that would seem to enable me to sell photos to people; PBase seems to be for "browsing" only. There are several things I like about my PBase site, things which I hope to find in other sites which would be better for selling, but I'm having a difficult time finding those same aspects. Among them:
(1) PBase lets me "nest" my galleries all I want. I can "subgallery" to my heart's content. For instance, with shots of my daughter Helen, I have it "nested" like this:
Kids/Helen/2009/2009-05-01
Kids/Helen/2009/2009-04-23
Kids/Helen/2008/2008-12-15
Kids/Helen/Best-Of
For all my shots in general, I have recently developed a "nesting" pattern like this
By Year/2009/January
By Year/2009/February
By Year/2009/Best
That is about as "deep" as I get it.
(2) PBase lets me "batch upload" multiple JPEGs at once as a ZIP file. Better-still, I don't have to download any special "plug-ins" specific to PBase, or use a Flash-based plug-in, heck, it doesn't seem to require anything more than basic Java. Think of how simple something like Yahoo! email or Google's GMail works and you get the idea. I can even upload files running Opera Mini on my Blackberry (although obviously that's rather awkward compared to a PC-based experience).
Overall PBase has a "clean, uncluttered" interface. You see the thumbnails, then you "open" an image, and then you see the image BY ITSELF, nothing else (except for the "navigation tree" up-top). You don't have to "hover over" the image to get any options, they're setup as links below the image--again very simple.
(3) Perhaps more important, I can customize it to show more than a measly 15 images per page (I usually specify 50) and you can even "view all" a given gallery if you dare (something more sites wlth listings etc ought to allow, by the way). Nothing more annoying, to me, than having to click "next, next, next" a zillion times on a 300 image gallery. I want to be able to see at least 50 at a time, and if I dare, all 300 (or whatever) all at once. Yes, all at once.
(In much the same way, for instance, I hate it when you read a news story at Yahoo! or MSNBC etc and there are comments, but there about 1000 of them, and it will only show you 10 at the time. I want to be able to load all 1000 comments all at once, and then scroll through the long list. Yes it's a long list but at least I don't have to keep going "next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next....")
(4) Security issues may come into play. PBase's doesn't seem very good, SmugMug's seems better.
It seems that SmugMug limits how much you can "nest" your galleries. If 3 or 4 levels can easily be done (Kids/Helen/2009/2009-04-28), that's fine and all I would need. Flickr, for one, fell out of contention because, apparently, you can't subgallery there at all. Apparently all you can do is create a "set" which is basically like having a "filter," or (say) sort of like having 1 level of a subgallery.
Some have stated that I should setup a 30-day trial SmugMug to see if I like it. Well I did that two years or more ago (http://larrytxeast.smugmug.com/), and never really did anything with it, I ended up just sticking with PBase then. (Obviously my 30-day trial would be up by now.) I just visited the site right now, and in a gallery of 28 images it was showing 15 at the time. Again, I want to be able to tell it to show 50 at the time if I wish (by default), and even offer a "view all" option to viewers (for a given gallery).
Tips?
0
Comments
You can nest smugmug but you're currently limited to three deep. You can have category, subcategory, and then gallery.
So, you could have:
Kids (as the parent category) / Helen (sub category) / Jan 2009 (Gallery)
I do event photography and there are times when I've wanted to go deeper, but then you also run the risk of having people get a little lost in your site map. So, I've found that creative category, subcategory, gallery titling can go along way.
There are numerous options for uploading to smugmug. There is a simple uploader called Ole Faithful that is not much different than the one used to upload your avatar here on the site that can upload up to 60 images at once. Or, you can use a more sophisticated uploader like Send to Smugmug. Send to Smugmug is an independent uploader written by a developer. This is one of my favorite uploaders and you can send an entire folder of images at one time and you can set alot of customized settings by using the uploader.
If you wanted to upload a bunch of folders as seperate galleries all at one time I'd then suggest Star*Explorer which was written by a fellow dgrinner/smugmugger. You could easily upload a string like:
Kids/Helen/Jan 2009
Kids/Helen/Feb 2009
Kids/Helen/March 2009, etc.
all at once time and it would create all of the new galleries for you. There are more than 10 ways to upload photos to smugmug! You can even upload photos via e-mail or your cell phone!
Straight from the smugmug help page -
Click fatigue is our enemy.
The default gallery style is SmugMug, which automagically adjusts the size of the main image and the number of thumbnails to better fit your browser window.
So, smuggy agrees with you on clickage! They've also introduced something that I REALLY like SMUGMONGOUS! -> http://www.smugmug.com/help/full-of-photos.mg Or you can choose different display options like, smugmug, slideshow, all thumbs, and filmstrip.
Smugmug takes security very seriously! There's so much info I'll just go ahead and link you to the info - http://www.smugmug.com/photos/photo-video-backup/
SmugMug Support Specialist - www.help.smugmug.com
http://www.phyxiusphotos.com
Equine Photography in Maryland - Dressage, Eventing, Hunters, Jumpers