A few question with a pro account

ILockert · May 14, 2008

I've been reading around and well I think i'am more confused now. It will probably be one of the easiest question answered so here it goes.

Here recently I have become well needed when it comes to photography and with the need comes the want for prints and that in return requires lots of free time on my part. I work full time on an Ambulance and do 95% of my editing on my laptop at work in between calls I tend to work 60 to 80 hours a week and I'm also a fulltime student and parent, so my time is limited when it comes to meeting up with customers and going over the digital files and then ordered the prints and bringing them back to the customer. I hate that I can't be more personal.
My first question is after reading and checking around it seems as you have to upload different size photos for different size prints, I planned on uploading the original file size which out of my D300 is well big.
Now on to the second question the Tax Id or SS# I understand SM has to do this because they are a business, but I'm not really sure what my sales would be like I would hope they would be good and I would make a few extra dollars to fund more gear. I do my own taxes using Turbo Tax and say I make $1000.0 this year in sales I have to claim that and then file it on my taxes, but if i only sale $100.00 worth of prints or even worse I sell none and make Zero off the site will there be penalty fees me when filing my taxes?

I really want to use smug mug for my work it seems to be the best choice for me even thought ill have to learn how to set it up and make it look decent cause I'm web site stupid, which is why I didn't look into having my own site I really wouldn't know where to start.

I think thats about it hopefully this makes sense and is to confusing.
TIA

MT Stringer · May 14, 2008

You can resize your images to 1500 or even 1800 pixels on the long side and still make big prints (16x20) or larger. Your files will upload quicker that way also. I found that 1500 pixels on the longest side allowed me to upload them about 20-30 seconds each...and I had 6900 of them to do!

Search the forum. There is info available here that discusses image sizes/upload times/ different uploaders, etc.
Mike

chuckinsocal · May 15, 2008

More specifically, on your first issue, you just upload one photo and SmugMug and/or the print lab will resize it for various print sizes. On the first page of the check out process there's an opportunity to crop the photo to fit the print size or not not crop the photo so the entire photo fits on the paper with left over white space that can be trimmed later. My understanding is that the minimum pixel dimensions for the largest print size is 1920x1280 pixels. Bigger is better up to the point where upload time becomes a factor and that's up to you.

As for taxes, you are considered to be self employed. At the end of the year SmugMug will send you and the IRS a 1099 form which will state your gross earnings. You will file a Schedule C where you report your gross earnings then deduct any business expenses to arrive at a net income. That's the amount you're taxed on. If your net income is less than zero, ie: you've lost money, then that loss will offset and reduce your taxable income from other sources, your job for instance. Your business expenses can include equipment, car and travel expense related to your photography, business cards, stationary, and any other expenses connected with your photography. It pays to keep good records of what you spend for the business because the more you can report, the less taxes you'll have to pay or the bigger loss you can report to offset your taxable income from your job. Beyond this, you should get tax advice from a qualified tax accountant.

I hope this helps answer your questions.

ILockert · May 15, 2008

Thank you that helps a good bit, Im going to talk to my moms tax guy about this business stuff. I honestly never thought I would get into it like this and start chargeing so I never researched anything till now.

mbellot · May 15, 2008

chuckinsocal wrote:

As for taxes, you are considered to be self employed. At the end of the year SmugMug will send you and the IRS a 1099 form which will state your gross earnings.

Clarification: SM will only 1099 you if they have actually sent you a check, regardless of what your sales to date has been.

chuckinsocal wrote:

You will file a Schedule C where you report your gross earnings then deduct any business expenses to arrive at a net income. That's the amount you're taxed on. If your net income is less than zero, ie: you've lost money, then that loss will offset and reduce your taxable income from other sources, your job for instance. Your business expenses can include equipment, car and travel expense related to your photography, business cards, stationary, and any other expenses connected with your photography. It pays to keep good records of what you spend for the business because the more you can report, the less taxes you'll have to pay or the bigger loss you can report to offset your taxable income from your job. Beyond this, you should get tax advice from a qualified tax accountant.

Also note, you can't show losses forever. I forget the specifics, but I believe if you claim a loss more than 3 years out of 5 the IRS will "reclassify" your self-employment as a hobby and deny your losses.

ILockert · May 16, 2008

Well I'm now a pro account holder. Now time to figure out all this customizing stuff out. Thank god I found the Tutorial sections with pictures and step by step cause I'm pretty HTML stupid.

A few question with a pro account

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