Selling Photos using templates - how is everyone doing this??

MichaelKirk · December 22, 2006

So now I am going to start adding and making a few templates to my SM site and offer these for sale in addition to regular prints.
Example:
http://www.mlkimages.smugmug.com/gallery/2246136/1/118132442/Large

How is everyone working the ordering formalities using templates??
How does a customer order a photo using a template??

My original thought was to have the customer order the actual "display" and email me the photos they want to use in each template (I have a 3 day delay or orders). and then just replacing the ordered template with the corrected template with the image put in place. Then I realized once I replace the image, my display page will now show the customers ordered image.

Is there anyway to replace a customers ordered photograph with a NEW image and not replace the ordered image?

Other ideas on how to do this?

Michael

SteveM · December 22, 2006

MichaelKirk wrote:

So now I am going to start adding and making a few templates to my SM site and offer these for sale in addition to regular prints.
Example:
http://www.mlkimages.smugmug.com/gallery/2246136/1/118132442/Large

How is everyone working the ordering formalities using templates??
How does a customer order a photo using a template??

My original thought was to have the customer order the actual "display" and email me the photos they want to use in each template (I have a 3 day delay or orders). and then just replacing the ordered template with the corrected template with the image put in place. Then I realized once I replace the image, my display page will now show the customers ordered image.

Is there anyway to replace a customers ordered photograph with a NEW image and not replace the ordered image?

Other ideas on how to do this?

Michael

The way I deal with this right now is through email or my webform, have people first identify the photo they want and the template they want, then I produce the product and put it online and give them a link. From there they can not only view the actual proof they'll be getting, but make the final purchase as well.

Hope this helps!

MichaelKirk · January 3, 2007

Here is what I started to set up - feedback?
Anyone want to offer any feedback on how I set this up.
Since I did this on a whim, I am open for any way to improve.
(I still need to correct the spacing)
http://www.mlkimages.smugmug.com/gallery/2268750

Thanks,
Michael

SteveM wrote:

The way I deal with this right now is through email or my webform, have people first identify the photo they want and the template they want, then I produce the product and put it online and give them a link. From there they can not only view the actual proof they'll be getting, but make the final purchase as well.

Hope this helps!

photogmomma · January 3, 2007

MichaelKirk wrote:

Anyone want to offer any feedback on how I set this up.
Since I did this on a whim, I am open for any way to improve.
(I still need to correct the spacing)
http://www.mlkimages.smugmug.com/gallery/2268750

Thanks,
Michael

If I were to do this, here's how I would do it:

Have a gallery showing all your templates available - keyword them if you have a lot of them so they're easy to search - and put links on there to the keywords!
Have a LINK in that gallery that tells people how it works - in an HTML only gallery (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6314) - that way the only read it if they need to if they've never ordered before. I don't want to read it each time if I've done it before!
After they contact you, create a new gallery and give them a vanity URL so that it's easy to remember: http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=20011
Have them choose the file and get it to you in these ways:
- Email you a LARGE file - careful, hotmail and other smush it to unuseable size
- Have them upload to SM:
  - Create a guest account on SM (http://www.smugmug.com/help/guest-passwords)
  - Have them upload to that gallery you made above
  - After they upload, change the guest password immediately (so you dont' get random files up there! !)
  - Password that gallery
- Have them select the image YOU took
Create their file for them
Turn on watermarking, restrict downloading, etc.
Remove password from gallery if desired
Email them and make them buy a ton! !

Hope that helps - and makes sense! Good luck!

Fuzzytek · January 4, 2007

photogmomma wrote:

If I were to do this, here's how I would do it:
Have a gallery showing all your templates available - keyword them if you have a lot of them so they're easy to search - and put links on there to the keywords!

Have a LINK in that gallery that tells people how it works - in an HTML only gallery (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6314) - that way the only read it if they need to if they've never ordered before. I don't want to read it each time if I've done it before!

After they contact you, create a new gallery and give them a vanity URL so that it's easy to remember: http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=20011

Have them choose the file and get it to you in these ways:
Email you a LARGE file - careful, hotmail and other smush it to unuseable size

Have them upload to SM:
Create a guest account on SM (http://www.smugmug.com/help/guest-passwords)

Have them upload to that gallery you made above

After they upload, change the guest password immediately (so you dont' get random files up there! !)

Password that gallery

Have them select the image YOU took

Create their file for them

Turn on watermarking, restrict downloading, etc.

Remove password from gallery if desired

Email them and make them buy a ton! !

Hope that helps - and makes sense! Good luck!

This would definitely be the way to do it. I didn't know about the vanity URLs until now - THANKS!

One thing about the subject of this thread had me thinking it had to do with Pro Pricing on galleries and creating pricing "templates" rather than referencing specific galleries. I have hundreds of galleries and it would be nice to see pricing templates rather than waiting 5 minutes for the Pro Pricing tool to load a list of all my galleries.

I would have probably used a subject like "Offering Custom Watermarks to Customers". What I've seen in your galleries could be accomplished with a watermark image most likely - then you wouldn't have to merge images outside SmugMug. If you could offer the customer a way to upload into a gallery preset with the custom watermark desired then it would be so much simpler!

MichaelKirk · January 4, 2007

Maybee I am missing something here....
but you are saying this "image" could be created by only using a water mark???? This is a multil layer file to create - not sure how you could do this with a simple watermark????
http://www.mlkimages.smugmug.com/gallery/2283823

I know the "your photo here" or "sample image" could be done with a water mark. Just choose not to.

What is the benefit of allow a customer to upload something to me?? not following you here - why would I want a customer to do any work??

I may be slow, but I am not following your workflow here - seems like a lot of steps involved....more work than what I have set up right now (and not saying my way is any better - that's why I'm asking for a review).

Michael

Fuzzytek wrote:

This would definitely be the way to do it. I didn't know about the vanity URLs until now - THANKS!

One thing about the subject of this thread had me thinking it had to do with Pro Pricing on galleries and creating pricing "templates" rather than referencing specific galleries. I have hundreds of galleries and it would be nice to see pricing templates rather than waiting 5 minutes for the Pro Pricing tool to load a list of all my galleries.

I would have probably used a subject like "Offering Custom Watermarks to Customers". What I've seen in your galleries could be accomplished with a watermark image most likely - then you wouldn't have to merge images outside SmugMug. If you could offer the customer a way to upload into a gallery preset with the custom watermark desired then it would be so much simpler!

Fuzzytek · January 8, 2007

Possible NEW FEATURE to SmugMug - Customer Uploads

MichaelKirk wrote:

but you are saying this "image" could be created by only using a water mark???? This is a multil layer file to create - not sure how you could do this with a simple watermark????
http://www.mlkimages.smugmug.com/gallery/2283823

I know the "your photo here" or "sample image" could be done with a water mark. Just choose not to.

What is the benefit of allow a customer to upload something to me?? not following you here - why would I want a customer to do any work??

I may be slow, but I am not following your workflow here - seems like a lot of steps involved....more work than what I have set up right now (and not saying my way is any better - that's why I'm asking for a review).

Michael

{I hate creating a huge reply and finding that I wasn't logged in and lost the notes without a copy!! Time to regenerate ... grrrrr}

Michael, hopefully I'm on track with your end result concept with this thread. I use watermarking EXTENSIVELY. Before SmugMug offered this feature I had a tool which branded the photos and unfortunately lost EXIF in the process. Now I'm VERY happy uploading images without the additional steps for branding in the workflow. I just customize the gallery appropriately.

I see the flag image and text as a set of top layers. These can be merged with the underlying photo eliminated... PRESERVING transparency for where that photo existed. The key is to store the resulting watermark image as a PNG format file. PNG supports full spectrum color that GIF limits to 256 colors. Yes we can upload PNG to SmugMug using the MANUAL upload tool. You'll want to make the watermark image as large or larger than the largest image you will be receiving. Then the watermark isn't floating in the middle of a huge image.

Upload this watermark image into a hidden/password protected gallery using the customize gallery features. Then select the MAKE INTO WATERMARK photo feature. This allows you to position the watermark image and specify additional transparency if desired that affects the entire watermark image. you also assign a label to this watermark image.

Next the uploads gallery needs to be customized indicating this watermark image is a default for all uploads into the gallery. If you find a need to add / remove / change the watermark used on a photo the WATERMARKING photo feature lets you select photos in the gallery and remove or add any stored watermark image.

SmugMug hasn't offered what I have in concept below for customer uploads... but I've outlined it pretty well and it would be a very beneficial feature.

New Feature ?? Customer Uploads
Please note this is concept...

Offer a new feature on customize gallery that permits uploads by the public. This would likely require a password to be placed on the gallery. SmugMug Pros would be able to market upload access to this gallery to customers who would pay a price for the password. It would be nice for this to be a separate password than viewing of the gallery. That permits a team of photographers to work on a project viewable by the public.
One of the customize features of the gallery is to default a stored watermark image on the photos uploaded. Pros can use the WATERMARKING photo option to add/remove/change the watermark used on any selected image in the gallery.
Another customize feature for galleries is PROOF DAYS. You can specify up to 7 business days notice on purchased photos from the gallery. This gives you time to replace the uploaded photo or change the stored watermark used. Considering the watermark may cover the edges of an image such as Michael's a border may be required on the underlying image to get the photo positioned properly beneath the watermark. (This is the current labor extensive work done by Michael.)
Decriptive upload note would be a text box which tells the uploader what dimensions of photo work and any border considerations to consider... such as placing a 200 pixel black border around their photo.
- Perhaps bordering could be an option on the upload tool.
- Even better, permit the uploader to float the underlying image beneath the watermark to frame it best. I'm thinking of how CROP PHOTO works, but on a larger canvas floating the image. If the uploader could see a scaled down image for the watermark of the gallery it would serve as a nice guide.

Yes I have a project that would benefit from this greatly... The Abandoned In Detroit fashion showcase project. Select photographers are contributing and the images would be shared to the public.

Selling Photos using templates - how is everyone doing this??

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