I try not to share pictures of my kids on social media too regularly because many of the images I shoot are personal and often I’m not comfortable baring it all to my Facebook friends and their friends too. So I came to realize after talking with my family that they rarely get to see the special moments I’m capturing — a huge eye-opener! So last year, I stumbled across SmugMug and realized this photo sharing (among other offerings) website could be the ticket to sharing more with my family. SmugMug offers four service levels (Basic, Power, Portfolio, Business) with varying price points.
I knew I needed: 1) a site that could be password-protected, 2) a simple interface for my less tech-savvy family members, 3) the option to put quotes and captions on images to describe and remember what was happening, 4) easy and quick uploading, and 5) the ability to allow my family to download high-quality images for their own use.
I now keep an online photo album for family and friends to access and uploading is a breeze as the option exists to upload directly from Adobe Lightroom, which is where I do the majority of my editing. It’s seamless and fast within my workflow. My entire site is password protected thanks to SmugMug’s security options (You can choose between protecting individual galleries, nothing at all, or the entire site). I gave the password to my family and everyone is able to see what I’ve been shooting with just one click. Customizing the site to look how I envisioned took me a total of 10 minutes. I went with a clean white background and simple text, however, the option to alter and play with the graphic elements further is always available to me. SmugMug has helpful tutorials to get you started and support available 24/7. My family is thrilled with this setup and love the fact that they’re able to download and save the images they want without having to snag low-quality versions off social media or badger me with requests I never quite get around to finishing!
Are you in business? Though I’m not currently using SmugMug for my photo business, it’s a fantastic option I’m examining, as SmugMug’s interface allows you to print through many of the industry’s top labs. The e-commerce and marketing options are quite wonderful too — I encourage you to check it out!
Hi Melissa! Thanks for the insight! I’m considering SmugMug for storing/sharing photos (deleting my Facebook account, but still want to share pictures with family and close friends). Do you know if SmugMug offers a feature where people who have the link can also get email updates when new photos are added? Almost like the emails you get when you subscribe to a blog?
I’m a SmugMugger too, Melissa. What a great feature. Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE SmugMug! I’ve been a user for like 4 years now, I think? It’s great for sharing and I know several local photographers who use the business level as their website platform and love it too! It’s just so versatile and accommodating for anyone from beginner to business!
One of the best things about SmugMug is that you can download an entire gallery into a zip file, and then simply share a link. that way, if you take photos for someone else, a party, etc., you can just email the link, and all the photos are theirs with no hassle. I used this with clients, for school functions, family, etc.
What a great feature!
I didn’t realize that!! I’m so excited share grouping of images from Christmas now! Haha. Thanks for the tip, Lynette!
This is great Melissa! So do you just email your family/friends when you’ve uploaded new pictures? Also, which plan did you go with?
Thanks, Lauren!! I do just email them and give them a heads up (some are checking because they know I get new ones on there every week or so!). I have the Basic plan, for now!