Nikon1201

Why not digital files?

Ray and JoJo Loc: Florida--Tenneessee

Last winter in Florida I took some pics of a car wreck, person needed of 8x10 them the day he called offered to pay by credit card and shipping sent them to his local Walgreen in NJ via internet. He got the prints in 4 hours and called back saying there were better prints than he expected.

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

I took almost a hundred photos of a train vs. car fatal accident a couple of years ago. I've done wreck photography as a volunteer fireman for over thirty years and I know what I'm doing. At one point a legal firm who was suing the railroad wanted to get a copy of my photos and they were given my usual price with no charges for duplicates, personnel shots, etc. I got a phone call from the First Sgt. at the Highway Patrol office to inform me that the legal firm didn't like my price so they filed a subpoena for my pictures and got them from the NCSHP. Lawyers absolutely deserve the reputation that they have!

InfiniteISO Loc: The Carolinas, USA

You didn't say how large a print they wanted and if they wanted it framed. I've had excellent luck with Mpix with great quality and quick turnaround and it's easy to direct the delivery right to the client although there is a certain risk in that. If the cost of the printing and shipping seems high, perhaps you're not charging enough for your work.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

I am a paid Smugmug subscriber, and have been for a number of years. I have a little technical experience, but if you can operate a camera, I suspect you have enough smarts to Get it to work.

To keep it short: Smugmug has an "upload" button. You can drag-and-drop photos onto a landing zone, or use the file system selector (my method). Once uploaded, you can keep all your photos in your master "collection," or you can create your own simply by using their browser-based organizer. You can then add photos to each collection (you can add the same photo to multiple collections) and create "albums." It's actually easier to do than it is to describe.

I have the "Power" plan and pay yearly. You can compare packages here: https://www.smugmug.com/plans

fotoman150

I charge what I want my sales to be then let them download free and print at lab cost. Saves a lot of headaches.

For example for a portrait session I might charge say $500. Then I post to Zenfolio and forget it. No sales session. No slide show presentation. No lab costs. No framing. No fulfilling the order. I have what I want out of the session and I move on.

If you want more for your sales just charge more to post the session to Smugmug. You can charge $200 for the session fee and $500 to post the images if you want. The point is you have your money and very little work.

If you photograph a sporting event people always want to know where to purchase copies but your sales will be very low. Charge the customer who booked your service whatever you want your sales to be for that event then let them download free.

It’s expensive to go after people who download and resell your images. Not worth your time or money. Just charge upfront and forget it.

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Theft of photos has never been higher than during the digital revolution. Once photography was a craft, a true craft. Took hours to do albums or prints that were carefully retouched by the photographer just for dust spots. Film was Magik and so were prints. Then came Kodak and Digital followed turning the Magik into chemistry and then to electrical energy. Many people today call themselves photographers and have no talent or the knowledge of their own equipment. They leave all of that to a lab where some talent still exists. The real talent left are the ones who know how to turn a captured electronic into a great print via computer and programs like Adobe while sitting at their desks at home or work using their own printer or sending an image with great directions to a lab that can make the exact print they want.