Luminous Landscape Forum

Site & Board Matters => About This Site => Topic started by: Ray on July 01, 2012, 04:17:23 am

Title: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 01, 2012, 04:17:23 am
I'm trying to find a sensible photographic website template, or design, so I can display my own images with options for purchasing prints made by me, and also options for me to make ascerbic comments on various issues.

I'm not getting much success doing a search on Google. What's on offer seems very much attuned to the very popular market of wedding images and 'cool' images etc. with all sorts of irrelevant options for me.

Do I really have to start from scratch and employ my own computer programmer, at great expense, or is there already available an affordable, flexible template for sensible and serious photographers?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Rob C on July 01, 2012, 04:49:10 am
Ray, are you in danger of losing your artistic virginity?

Rob C
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: dchew on July 01, 2012, 06:05:29 am
Ray,
If you use Lightroom, theturninggate/ (http://shop.theturninggate.net/) has some very flexible templates that include options for shopping carts, etc.

Dave
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Rajan Parrikar on July 01, 2012, 06:06:32 am
The Wordpress platform is robust. I use the ProPhotoBlogs theme which is highly customizable and will allow you to design the look and layout per your taste -

http://www.prophotoblogs.com/
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 01, 2012, 06:20:47 am
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check them out.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: budjames on July 01, 2012, 07:30:29 am
I host my photo web site on Zenfolio.com. The price is reasonable, they have nice templates and they handle the fulfillment for print orders.

You can check my site out at www.budjamesphotography.com.

Cheers.
Bud
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: JohnBrew on July 01, 2012, 08:18:43 am
Another vote for Zenfolio.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Craig Arnold on July 01, 2012, 08:48:13 am
Any basic host that supports Wordpress then look for some good themes.

Graph Paper Press does some very good ones for reasonable prices.

I use them for my website.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Walt Roycraft on July 01, 2012, 09:01:27 am
Wordpress/Prophoto Template

www.roycraftart.com
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: PeterAit on July 01, 2012, 04:57:41 pm
LR itself can make a wide variety of albums for the web. You can find scads of out-of-work web designers on Guru.com who can design the support pages for a very reasonable cost.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Wayne Fox on July 02, 2012, 12:12:55 am
I"ve tried several, including LR/turning gate self hosted, wordpress blog, PHotoShelter and smugmug.

I'm now with Zenfolio and I also highly recommend it.  I like how my template looks, the commerce part is flexible enough, and I also like how if you self fulfill they don't take a cut.  this was the main drawback with smugmug and Photoshelter ... they wanted a pretty hefty percentage for anything I sold that I wanted to print myself .  the problem I had is the percentage is out of line considering what I"m selling is full retail vs. the percentage they expect for many customers which is a fraction of what I'm collecting.

You can see my results if you want by clicking the link in my sig.  (my blog is wordpress based and does link out of zenfolio to a separate self hosted site, but Zenfolio recently introducing blogging options, which is probably enough for many who like to post occasional things.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 02, 2012, 01:27:40 am
Ray, are you in danger of losing your artistic virginity?

Rob C

Yes, I'm afraid so. I have a professional printer and I have already sold a few images to friends and neighbours, and even to the Brisbane City Council in Australia, but I'm very undecided about the entire issue of a web presence and any obligation to produce prints on demand.

How would it sound if I were to state at the top of my website, something like, "Here are my print costs for various sizes, but bear in mind there may be considerable delays in your order being fulfilled, should I happen to be trekking in Nepal"?

I take some pride in getting my prints just right, as I like them. I wouldn't want to hand over that task to someonme else, as HCB did.

It's a problem I've been struggling with for a while.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Robert-Peter Westphal on July 02, 2012, 03:03:37 am
Hi,

I would highly recommend to go with SmugMug.

It is a galleriy which allows you to start very quickly with good results, and if you want to dive deeper into it, you can use Java or CSS to finetune everything.

But, the most important reason for me to use it, was that there is a published service available for Lr which "thinks for me". When updatuing a picture which was published years agom, it remndas me directly to rebublish it to the recent version. Furthermore, I can import all comments into Lr and have one tool to see everything around it.

Pretty nice !

Robert
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 03, 2012, 10:41:01 pm
Thank you all for your suggestions. When I typed Zenfolio into Google, I got the following Australian website which is advertising itself as better value than Zenfolio.

I'll probably go with Photomerchant, because I'm so patriotic (Joke). However, I'm still undecided about the whole concept of getting involved in selling my own printed photos. Should I be bothered or concerned about such issues at this stage of my life?

Which would I rather do, spend 3 months printing out photos to fulfil international orders, or spend 3 months trekking in the most marvelous and exotic locations on earth?

Maybe I'll have to let Photomerchant do my printing, which would be a shame because I do pride myself on producing a realistic print that matches the emotion of the scene.

http://pro.photomerchant.net/l/zenfolio-photomerchant-AU?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=%2Bzenfolio%20%2Bphotographers&utm_campaign=AU-SE-Zenfolio-A&pm_kmatch=Phrase&pm_src=web&pm_ad=Adwords_AU-SE-Zenfolio-A_ZenfolioPM_%2Bzenfolio%20%2Bphotographers&pm_site=&pm_adgr=ZenfolioPM&gclid=CPux9sX5_rACFWaXpgody01VQA
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: LesPalenik on July 03, 2012, 11:11:46 pm
Ray,

The Australian site looks ideal for local interest prints. American-based sites may be better for serving US buyers. You could try one or other, and if things go well, most probably it would be best to have presence on both continents.

Have you looked at finartamerica.com (http://fineartamerica.com/)?
I think, this one is optimized for selling prints, rather than coffee mugs and T-shirts, and they will do the professional fullfilment for you.
They have a free small version that you could try out (I think up to 25 images).  Here is an example of one successful site:

http://elena-elisseeva.artistwebsites.com/ (http://elena-elisseeva.artistwebsites.com/) (powered by Finearartamerica.com)

Les

Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 03, 2012, 11:35:01 pm
Ray,

The Australian site looks ideal for local interest prints. American-based sites may be better for serving US buyers. You could try one or other, and if things go well, most probably it would be best to have presence on both continents.

Have you looked at finartamerica.com (http://fineartamerica.com/)?
I think, this one is optimized for selling prints, rather than coffee mugs and T-shirts, and they will do the professional fullfilment for you.
They have a free small version that you could try out (I think up to 25 images).  Here is an example of one successful site:

http://elena-elisseeva.artistwebsites.com/ (http://elena-elisseeva.artistwebsites.com/) (powered by Finearartamerica.com)

Les



Les, you have created a bias in my outlook by showing me a website with a beautiful picture of Elena Elisseeva holding a camera to her eye. That's very alluring and a great advertisement for the site. But I'm not sure I should be seduced by it  ;) .
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: LesPalenik on July 03, 2012, 11:43:16 pm
Just trying to help. I thought, I'd better switch from parrots to pictures of pretty girls.

Let us know what you decide and how it works for you.

Les
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 04, 2012, 12:48:59 am
Just trying to help. I thought, I'd better switch from parrots to pictures of pretty girls.

Let us know what you decide and how it works for you.

Les


Okay! I shall. You might be interested in genuinely unmanipulated images of Tibetan refugee camps in the early 1960's. (Although I'm not sure I should mention this in case China refuses me a visa should I decide to visit their country.)
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: LesPalenik on July 06, 2012, 06:25:27 pm
Ray,

a few days ago, I registered my ArtistWebsites / FineartAmerica account, and uploaded about 100 images.
It's simple and straight-forward setup, however it seems that this community caters to more painters than photographers (both artists and buyers).
To satisfy your requirements, they have also provision for image specific comments (acerbic or others), but hardly as many comment readers/posters as in this establishment.

In general, I'm happy with the website, but I use also other sites/venues for different collections of images.
A useful feature at this website, when you log on, is a display of recent sales on the site, so it's interesting and sometimes inspirational to see what other artists are creating and selling.

If you want to try it (free for small collections, or $30 per year for unlimited galleries), here is my referral link (http://artistwebsites.com/?affiliateid=A134447):


My initial gallery:
http://www.les-palenik.artistwebsites.com/ (http://www.les-palenik.artistwebsites.com/)
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 06, 2012, 10:54:37 pm
Congratulations on your new website, Les. It looks good. I particularly like that facility to display 100% crops from any selected part of a preview image. The customer can then get a better idea of the resolution or sharpness of the image and what size print it might be good for.

I haven't noticed such a facility on other photographic sites. I wonder how prevalent this feature is.

$30 a year for unlimited uploads seems fantastic.

However, I think I have a lot of organizing to do before I'm ready for this. I haven't even got my own URL address yet. I recently bought a couple of the new 2TB WD Passport USB 3.0 external hard drives, hoping I can fit all my images, well-organised under appropriate headings, onto one 2TB drive.

I then have the problem of selecting for display what I imagine might have a more universal appeal than any personal favourites. It's a huge task. I never realised I'd be so busy in my retirement. I need another lifetime to finish this project.  ;D
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: LesPalenik on July 06, 2012, 10:59:40 pm
The new FAA site really works.
In the first two days of having it up, some of my images have been featured in specific interest groups, I received about ten image comments, and one marriage proposal. Regrettably, the distance was a problem.

Ray, to start with FAA, you don't even need your own URL and domain. FAA will create instantly a subdomain within their domain for you.
Of course, having your domain is a good thing for many other reasons, and once you have it, you can link to it also from FAA.

I find, as with many other projects, it is a good idea to start with a scaled-down version of your final portfolio, and try it that way. You can play with various features, change them or even delete all images and categories, and start over. In short time and with very little time invested, you'll quickly find out what works and how to design the real thing. Saves a lot of time in long run. I wrote a short report about the installation and initial experience with this website in my blog.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: John Camp on July 07, 2012, 01:26:22 am
A related question -- any recommendations for galleries for people who just want to show off the photos, but don't want to sell anything, don't need fulfillment, don't want comments, but would like a little space for their own commentaries about the work? Would it be the same bunch of websites?
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: LesPalenik on July 07, 2012, 01:33:20 am
A related question -- any recommendations for galleries for people who just want to show off the photos, but don't want to sell anything, don't need fulfillment, don't want comments, but would like a little space for their own commentaries about the work? Would it be the same bunch of websites?

I would think that all online sharing sites allow you to create galleries without the price tags. Smugmug and Zenfolio would be more expensive than FAA, but they may offer some other features that you don't get with FAA. You can utilize the comment feature to write your own image description and story behind it. Furthermore, the comments could accommodate direct or indirect links to other related images, any applicable location maps, and other documents.

If you already have a website and don't intend to sell the prints, you can use Lightroom or some other software to create your own galleries and put it on your existing website - at no additional cost.

One difference between the LR generated HTML pages and the online sharing websites, such as above, is that LR gallery generation is essentially a batch process that has to be regenerated everytime you make a change to your gallery, whereas the online galleries utilize a dynamic database concept, and various changes (additions, deletion of images, linking them to various categories and comments, etc.) can be made on the fly. FAA website allows even to exchange the actual image file in the image holder, without losing the related textual information, keywords and other content, such as links to comments, other images, and categories, accumulated previously.


 
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: jule on July 13, 2012, 06:37:03 am


However, I think I have a lot of organizing to do before I'm ready for this. I haven't even got my own URL address yet. I recently bought a couple of the new 2TB WD Passport USB 3.0 external hard drives, hoping I can fit all my images, well-organised under appropriate headings, onto one 2TB drive.

I then have the problem of selecting for display what I imagine might have a more universal appeal than any personal favourites. It's a huge task. I never realised I'd be so busy in my retirement. I need another lifetime to finish this project.  ;D


Pack your bags and head for Nepal Ray.... not that your images are not good... it just seems way more fun to travel than to try and squeeze diminishing disposable income from others... I suppose you just have to work out what gives you the most thrills!

Julie
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 13, 2012, 08:49:10 am
Pack your bags and head for Nepal Ray.... not that your images are not good... it just seems way more fun to travel than to try and squeeze diminishing disposable income from others... I suppose you just have to work out what gives you the most thrills!

Julie

Hi Julie,
That's probably good advice. Selling prints becomes a business, and running a business is not as much fun as trekking in Nepal.

But heading for Nepal right now would not be advisable, unless you are fond of leeches. They're in the thick of the monsoon in Nepal right now. October, November, December are the best months, but March, April, May can also be okay. January and February are far too cold.

I'm contemplating doing the Annapurna Circuit this year in October. It's roughly a 21 day trek, or shorter if you're fit. However, I'm a bit hesitant about the Thorong La pass. That's 5400 metres and causes some trekkers a lot of trouble with altitude sickness. Reading accounts on the internet, it seems that some folks take as much as 13 hours to get from the last lodge, Thorong Pedi, and over the pass, Thorong La, to Muktinath, which involves a 1,000 metres ascent followed by a 1600 metres descent.

I'm not keen on boasting about physical prowess. Lots of trekkers seem to enjoy the challenge. I just enjoy the scenery, the culture, the people, and taking photos.  I'm quite content to be as slow as I want to be, or need to be to get the photos I want, which is why I employ my own guide and porter so there's no pressure to arrive at a particular pre-booked lodge at the end of the day.

You've got a lovely website showing some amazing photos.

Cheers!  Ray
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Analog6 on July 13, 2012, 04:14:18 pm
I have photomerchant, I think it is terrififc.  I like that you can have automated selling or 'persoanl fulfillment' (translates as you do it all and keep control) by galleries.  I have the Fine Art gallery set to be controlled by me and allow the automated buying on the other galleries.  And you can set your margin rate by galleries too.  And I love that it is Australian.
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: jule on July 13, 2012, 07:33:40 pm
Hi Julie,
That's probably good advice. Selling prints becomes a business, and running a business is not as much fun as trekking in Nepal.

But heading for Nepal right now would not be advisable, unless you are fond of leeches. They're in the thick of the monsoon in Nepal right now. October, November, December are the best months, but March, April, May can also be okay. January and February are far too cold.

I'm contemplating doing the Annapurna Circuit this year in October. It's roughly a 21 day trek, or shorter if you're fit. However, I'm a bit hesitant about the Thorong La pass. That's 5400 metres and causes some trekkers a lot of trouble with altitude sickness. Reading accounts on the internet, it seems that some folks take as much as 13 hours to get from the last lodge, Thorong Pedi, and over the pass, Thorong La, to Muktinath, which involves a 1,000 metres ascent followed by a 1600 metres descent.

I'm not keen on boasting about physical prowess. Lots of trekkers seem to enjoy the challenge. I just enjoy the scenery, the culture, the people, and taking photos.  I'm quite content to be as slow as I want to be, or need to be to get the photos I want, which is why I employ my own guide and porter so there's no pressure to arrive at a particular pre-booked lodge at the end of the day.

You've got a lovely website showing some amazing photos.

Cheers!  Ray
eeeeeeewhh... I am not a fan of leeches!! I can do spiders and snakes NO worries... but leeches !!! eewwwwh. My body responds by huge egg-sized red itchy lumps for weeks. YUK!  What about Kilamanjaro?? or somewhere in South America?? Better than ...or way much more fun that trying to sell images that you have worked for ages trying to get a system up to sell them. Just depends I suppose on whether you need the money or get the kicks out of selling your work.... or would rather be breathing the fresh air! :-)

Thanks for your kind words about my website and images.

Julie 
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Gellman on July 21, 2012, 02:55:17 pm
Ray, I have had my own site for quite some time (a ProPhoto.com wordpress template) but I have been torn about selling prints. I am always reminded of a story about the author, William Faulkner, who turned down a job as a local postmaster when he was in need of some money. A friend asked him why he would not take the job, and he responded something like, "because I do not want to be at the beck and call of anyone who has 3 cents."

I have decided that it is simply not feasible for me to commit to making prints upon submission of web-based orders. So I am headed in the direction of offering prints through a printing service, which would make my images available to the widest possible audience at reasonable prices. I may also offer personally printed fine art prints, but it would be through email requests at considerably higher pricing levels, on a schedule that will vary case by case.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

John Gellman
www.jgphoto.com (http://www.jgphoto.com)
Title: Re: One's Own Photographic Site
Post by: Ray on July 22, 2012, 05:49:23 am
I have decided that it is simply not feasible for me to commit to making prints upon submission of web-based orders. So I am headed in the direction of offering prints through a printing service, which would make my images available to the widest possible audience at reasonable prices. I may also offer personally printed fine art prints, but it would be through email requests at considerably higher pricing levels, on a schedule that will vary case by case.


Hi John,
That also seems to be the best type of arrangement for me. But what sort of percentages does the printing service take? 50%, 75%, 85%?

It's probably just ego that makes me think I could do a better printing job. Maybe in reality I couldn't, at least from the perspective of the buyer. So perhaps that shouldn't be an issue.