Newbie here!

Meganrene88

I have just joined Smugmug and I am thinking about getting the Pro account but I am wondering if It is really worth it. Just wanted some feedback from fellow Photogs that have had success with the site. How many sales did you have last month?(If you dont mind me asking) I would be happy with just a couple of my own. I have had my photography on numerous sites throughout the years and even tried my own site with not much avail.
Also would like to know if when you purchase a pro account if you get the chance to create your own personal website, or Whether you have to already have a website with your own domain. Thank you in advance!

rainforest1155

Hi Megan and welcome to Dgrin!

Here's a good guide on how to get started with a Pro account.

Every SmugMug site comes with a separate yourname.smugmug.com address so you don't have to have a domain. In addition, you can use a custom domain (www.yourdomain .com) if you have one already or wish to buy one. Instructions on setting up a custom domain to work with SmugMug can be found in the DIY section of our domain page.


I'm not a selling Pro so take the following with multiple grains of salt. From what I've seen and heard, it really depends on what kind of photography you're trying to sell and who you're trying to sell to. Just having a site up with photos doesn't give you guaranteed sales. For example if you shoot events, you probably would give out your business card with your details directly at the event so that people can check out the photos you've taken later on.

On the other hand, if you shoot landscapes, I'd say it's still very important to find your audience and to market to them directly. There are just so many sites on the Internet with tons of good landscape shots and people may like looking at shots, but most might not take it further to actually pull out their credit card and buy prints from a site they found through a search engine.
Here it may come in handy as well to have an audience to market to. Check out the market yourself page for some suggestions.

Another idea might be to talk to local shops to see if they'd be willing to put up some prints for people to see.

Meganrene88

rainforest1155 wrote: »

Hi Megan and welcome to Dgrin!

Here's a good guide on how to get started with a Pro account.

Every SmugMug site comes with a separate yourname.smugmug.com address so you don't have to have a domain. In addition, you can use a custom domain (www.yourdomain .com) if you have one already or wish to buy one. Instructions on setting up a custom domain to work with SmugMug can be found in the DIY section of our domain page.


I'm not a selling Pro so take the following with multiple grains of salt. From what I've seen and heard, it really depends on what kind of photography you're trying to sell and who you're trying to sell to. Just having a site up with photos doesn't give you guaranteed sales. For example if you shoot events, you probably would give out your business card with your details directly at the event so that people can check out the photos you've taken later on.

On the other hand, if you shoot landscapes, I'd say it's still very important to find your audience and to market to them directly. There are just so many sites on the Internet with tons of good landscape shots and people may like looking at shots, but most might not take it further to actually pull out their credit card and buy prints from a site they found through a search engine.
Here it may come in handy as well to have an audience to market to. Check out the market yourself page for some suggestions.

Another idea might be to talk to local shops to see if they'd be willing to put up some prints for people to see.

Thank you that was helpful! Will mostly be selling landscapes and wildlife photography.