Have you been eyeballing a new photography product? Would you like to hear a Pro’s opinion on the product prior to purchasing? We have a new series for you, Click It and Pick It, where the CMpros will be reviewing several of the most talked about photo products! In this installment of the Click It and Pick It series, CMpro Lissa Chandler takes the SmugMug Business photo sharing platform for a spin.
smugmug business review
What were your first impressions of the product?
My first impression of SmugMug was that I wasn’t going to use it. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed in the product, I just didn’t feel like it was a fit for me because I don’t do online galleries for clients and I thought it would be extremely time consuming to put together another website.
Turns out, I was 100% wrong. I am still shocked at how much I love SmugMug. It’s amazing!
How would you use the product?Â
Mostly, I use SmugMug for online storage. And, you guys, I LOVE using it for online storage- it is simple and easy and downright cute when it’s all put together. I admit, I am kinda crazy about backing up my work- I had a hard drive crash when I was in college and, four years later, it still makes me nauseous to think about- so I am super crazy about backing up my files. Before I had SmugMug, I kept everything on external hard drives but, every once in a while, would need to access a file when I wasn’t at home and couldn’t get to it. I’m also a worrywart by nature and, even though I had several back ups of each image, I’d sometimes worry about what would happen if all of my hard drives failed or if something accidentally got deleted. Now that I’m backing my final images up to SmugMug and can see all of my galleries in one place just by going to my website, my backing-up stress level is non-existent. And I am all about that.
After having SmugMug for a couple of weeks, I’ve also started giving my clients the address to their galleries so that they can easily view their full set of images and, maybe more importantly, send the galleries to their moms and grandmas instead. They love it, too!
Is the product accessible to your clients? In other words, is this something you can see your clients wanting and is it something you are comfortable offering?
Yes! As I mentioned earlier, I do not offer prints and products at this time- I’m completely flat rate digital- so I was a little worried that having a SmugMug website would be a total waste. It has been such a positive experience for me even though I am not selling prints through them and is a bonus for my clients rather than a necessity. I just love having a space online where I can access my work at any time- and the wedding galleries I’ve uploaded have definitely come in hand during wedding consultations. My clients love being able to see several full weddings in one spot.
What do you think of product quality and price point?Â
Worth it. 100% worth it.
Anything else you wish to share about this product?
Just that I am super happy with SmugMug- I love how easy it is to navigate and, really, I wish I had thought to jump on something like this years ago because online storage like this is amazing for me to keep everything together in one spot and for my clients to share with their friends and family. And, also, it looks crazy nice. I LOVE how cute my little SmugMug site looks!
Read all previous Click It and Pick It product reviews.
*The product(s) mentioned in this article were provided to the post author by the vendor for the purposes of review. The post author was asked to be as honest and objective as possible in sharing her impressions of the product.
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Hi! I’m glad you’re liking SmugMug! Right now I have my public galleries posted online, on SmugMug. Please forgive the “watermark”, I’m in the process of changing my site around. I’ve been using my page as a gallery for the most part. When I photograph for individuals or businesses, I’ve been placing their photos in a password protected file, not open to the public. I’m changing around my entire business model now, and am looking to redo my SmugMug gallery, more aimed toward my portrait business, less focus on the public galleries. I looked at other websites, but kept coming back to SmugMug and plan on staying there. They’ve gone through some very welcome changes recently. Their print options/labs are wonderful, too. Thank you for this nice article on SmugMug!
I have used Smugmug for nearly 10 years, before I became a professional photographer. I loved the ease of use and the off-site, online storage feature that Lissa mentions. Since they revamped their site last year, however, I found creating and organizing galleries much harder than it used to be. I know it takes some time to adjust to a new and updated system, but I found the original user interface quicker and easier. With increased customization ability comes more room for screwing up layout, etc. I need to take a tutorial on how to most effectively use the new Smugmug. But I agree that Smugmug is a fantastic product for photographers. I can’t solely rely on it for clients to view and buy their images, however, because I’m never sure if I’ve set everything correctly.
I’ve been backing up my photos and digital scrapbook pages at SmugMug since 2008, long before I become serious about photography and now I am also considering using it professionally (I just haven’t quite started my business yet). It’s fabulous because of the levels of privacy, so I can back up all my personal photos without them being visible in any way to visitors, as well as have galleries that I only share with friends AND public galleries. And it’s beautiful! I love the upgraded SmugMug too; I think it’s easier and makes more sense.
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