Smugmug vs Shootproof
Looking for the best online viewing and ordering gallery site for your photography business? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place!
Throughout the years I’ve solely relied on Smugmug for my viewing and ordering sessions, as well as my online digital downloads, and as a whole for my online proofing system. This worked great for me while I was a “Shoot & Burn” photographer with prints as an option. However, as I started venturing into wanting to do photography full time, I realized that I needed to cut back on things that were costing me more, and opt for more cost-effective options. It was a very hard switch, simply because Smugmug’s customer service is some of the best I’ve seen and experienced.
So, below you’ll find the comparison on Smugmug vs Shootproof. Both companies are great, but here’s some pros and cons that’ll hopefully give you some peace of mind when making a decision.
SMUGMUG
1. Smugmug has AMAZING customer service. They’re quick, polite and ALWAYS willing to help. If a Client orders the wrong print, or something is off about it, Smugmug ships them another one free of charge. Smugmug is perfect at taking care of my clients.
2. Smugmug takes 15% of your sale plus a yearly cost, you have to pay a yearly fee. Which means, in order to make the money off a print that covers your editing time, shooting time, etc.. you’d have to up your price on the print. There’s also a monthly or yearly fee associated with Smugmug, depending on which package you choose.
SHOOTPROOF
1. Shootproof has a self fulfillment option. Plain and simple, this means I can choose which professional lab I want to go with. After experimenting with 5+ different labs I found the one that prints out my work just how it is on my computer screen. I’ve had so much trouble getting my computer calibrated to other printing labs. I’ve spent countless hours and who knows how much money trying to get my computer screen to match the colors that were coming from other printing labs. After too much time I just switched to a company that my computer screen was most aligned with. And, unfortunately Smugmug doesn’t have the option for me to go with my printing lab.
2. Shootproof You only pay for the amount of photos you have stored on the site. So some months when our clients don’t opt for an online gallery, we don’t have to pay the monthly fee for the gallery. This has saved us money in the long run.
3. Shootproof allows you to set up e-mail templates and contracts via the Shootproof site. Example for email templates: If I have a Clients gallery that is expiring, I can schedule out an email to go out at the 30-day, 15-day, and 5-day mark as a friendly reminder for them, letting them know if they have remaining items in their cart, let them know if their gallery is about to expire, etc.
After having smugmug for a couple years, we ended up switching to shootproof. Not only did they offer our preferred lab, they allowed us to send automated emails to our clients.
To find out more about SmugMug, click here
To find out more about ShootProof, click here
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