SmugMug Portfolio

deadcactus · January 5, 2013

I do photography as a hobby. I was considering trying to sell some of my photos with the understanding that there is a good chance that a financial wash is the best possible outcome. Mainly it would be a fun, relatively low-risk experiment and provide another source of motivation to get out there and take some photographs.

It seems that SmugMug Portfolio would be the best option in terms of not too expensive but having some room to grow into and give it an honest effort. For those using Portfolio, anything about it that you've found lacking?

slpollett · January 6, 2013

I've had SM pro for about 5 years, but have been seriously considering the move down to Portfolio when my renewal comes due soon. I don't use many of the features that Pro has that Portfolio doesn't. The biggest difference (for me) and the one that is really making me think about whether to downgrade or not is that Portfolio will only allow one active pricelist at a time. Pro allows multiple price lists.

On the surface, it doesn't seem like a big deal... but if you want to offer family a special rate or if you do pictures for a school or charity and want to offer a discount then it does become a bigger deal. I do a lot of shooting for a local high school band and I either need the option for additional price lists or I need to be able to offer a coupon (which of course are only available at the Pro level.) So for me, that is the biggest drawback to Portfolio. Other features of Pro may appeal to you more.

I would suggest starting with Portfolio and see how it goes. You can always upgrade if you see your sales can justify the upgrade or if you decide the Pro features are more desirable.

Good luck.

Sherry

denisegoldberg · January 6, 2013

You should also be aware that upgrading to a portfolio account is not enough to trigger sales of your photos. It is likely that you will need to do much more than upgrade your account. That said, a portfolio-level account would allow you to sell photos from your smug site as long as a single price list suits your needs.

What types of photos do you take? Is there a built-in market for them? Do you plan to promote your photography through another site or method?

--- Denise

Art Scott · January 7, 2013

Might also want to take a look at a Premium Zenfolio Account ... ... You can have several Price lists, use coupons and lots more and it is $30 / yr less than a Smug Port account...just sayin...weigh all your options.

deadcactus · January 16, 2013

Thanks for the input all.

Mostly doing landscapes and architecture right now. Plan to try and slowly build a market through friends, family, and social media. Honestly, I fully accept that initially it will be an overpriced personal gallery and may never go beyond that...

Helvegr · January 16, 2013

deadcactus wrote: »

Thanks for the input all.

Mostly doing landscapes and architecture right now. Plan to try and slowly build a market through friends, family, and social media. Honestly, I fully accept that initially it will be an overpriced personal gallery and may never go beyond that...

I've been/am at where you are. Looking for a place to simply display my work for friends and family, but not wanting to rule out the purchase of something once and awhile.

While I've enjoyed Smugmug tremendously, one option that seemed to be the most economical for me was a simple Wordpress blog and adding fotomoto.com as a plugin to sell the occasional print. I've ordered from them before and have been very happy with the results. This option works well for me and it will probably mean the end of my smugmug account when it comes up...at least until I really need to ramp something up.

mbonocore · January 17, 2013

deadcactus wrote: »

I do photography as a hobby. I was considering trying to sell some of my photos with the understanding that there is a good chance that a financial wash is the best possible outcome. Mainly it would be a fun, relatively low-risk experiment and provide another source of motivation to get out there and take some photographs.

It seems that SmugMug Portfolio would be the best option in terms of not too expensive but having some room to grow into and give it an honest effort. For those using Portfolio, anything about it that you've found lacking?

Have you tried our 14 day free trial? That should give you a great idea of what features you need and don't need. And just so you know, our Support Heros are here 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week, 365 days a year! So if you ever get stuck, make sure to visit http://help.smugmug.com/

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Michael

deadcactus · January 19, 2013

Random question, does the SmugMug Portfolio account come with a custom URL or only allow you to use one once you purchase it from somewhere for the $10/year or so?

Helvegr wrote: »

I've been/am at where you are. Looking for a place to simply display my work for friends and family, but not wanting to rule out the purchase of something once and awhile.

While I've enjoyed Smugmug tremendously, one option that seemed to be the most economical for me was a simple Wordpress blog and adding fotomoto.com as a plugin to sell the occasional print. I've ordered from them before and have been very happy with the results. This option works well for me and it will probably mean the end of my smugmug account when it comes up...at least until I really need to ramp something up.

I'll have to look into that, might be a good option for starting out. Thanks for the suggestion.

denisegoldberg · January 20, 2013

deadcactus wrote: »

Random question, does the SmugMug Portfolio account come with a custom URL or only allow you to use one once you purchase it from somewhere for the $10/year or so?

SmugMug supplies a URL in the format http://<your name>.smugmug.com.

If you want a custom domain name you will need to purchase one and then set your smugmug site to use your custom URL.

See help page at http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93340-how-do-i-set-up-a-custom-hostname-domain-.

--- Denise

SmugMug Portfolio

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