Proof Albums

mattchewone

mattchewone

Suspended / Banned
Messages
884
Name
Matt
Edit My Images
Yes
Just need someone to clarify really, A proof album is album you present to your clients for them to pick photos to order from.
Do you give the clients the album to keep aswell as the requested pictures?

Is there a best size to get proof prints?

Thanks

Matt

p.s Sorry for all the threads asking lots of questions, i go by the theory, if you dont ask you dont get.
 
I don't do proof albums. Instead I offer a private, secure online gallery, contact sheets and a CD of web sized shots.
 
Ahh i see web gallery seems the way forward i think. Contact sheets allow the clients to input which picture they would like to order etc.
Whats the benefit of the cd with web sized photos? Do you offer this aswell as the online gallery or instead of, for those without web access.

Thanks PXL8 Your a real Star!!
 
Contacts and CD are for those who don't have online access, normally it's for the older relations if it's a wedding.

Web gallery is best though, everyone can get to see the shots without waiting for the proof album to do the rounds and can order directly :thumbs:
 
Do you offer friends and family access to the web gallery? and allow them to buy them through you aswell as the B&G order there pre-paid prints?
How do they order online, via email or have you got a buy now button attached to each picture?


Just trying to gather as much information as possible.
 
I offer a 6 x 4 proof album of around 100 photos. Which after they have chosen for the main album they can then keep it .

I am not bothered about extra prints [ I make my money from the bride and groom] but if family members want them thats cool.

I never give them a cd.
 
How people do it is entirely up to you, but I'd imagine giving the B&G the URL and passwords to their gallery and then they can forward these details (if they wish) to their guests who can then order directly.

Alternatively if the family wishes to compile an order, then its up to them.

The beauty of an online system is that its very flexible. There are lots of systems out there from very cheap to quite expensive. I use a JAlbum template called EOS Template (works with Photoshop, Breezebrowser as well) which is quite cheap (approx £ 60). The disadvantage is that it is a bit cranky and needs some configuring (via editing fields in the javascript files). It will link up to paypal and a lot of other payment gateways or good old fashioned cheque.
 
mattchewone said:
Do you offer friends and family access to the web gallery? and allow them to buy them through you aswell as the B&G order there pre-paid prints?
How do they order online, via email or have you got a buy now button attached to each picture?
Click to expand...

I give the B&G the gallery details and leave it to them to distribute it to anyone they want. This means the B&G always see it first, can get changes made, etc. before it's seen by anyone else.

Online ordering is via a button through paypal.
 
Thanks so much lots of info there to get me going. Just one more quick one, When you say button through to paypal, how do you know which print they are ordering? How does that work? Also do you add paypal charges on top?

Thanks
 
The gallery is done with Jalbum but I've hacked the skin to match my website. When an order comes through it specifies the full path to the image, here a copy & paste:

Item Name: 9x6"
Item Options: Selected: Matte
Item Number: Gallery/Events/Wells Fun Run 2008/362-2 ()
Quantity: 1

So it show which gallery and the name of the image plus all the other options selected.

Paypal charges aren't added on top but p&p is, based on the value of the order which is all part of the paypal setup.
 
Honestly i cannot thank you enough! You got a link to your site? Obviously not your gallery as thats private to clients but just want to have a browse around.

O how do you link JAlbum to paypal to get what you just pasted?

:) you've helped me so much!! Cant thank you enough!
 
Thanks lol you sig wasnt in your recent posts so i didnt see it.

How do you link the JAlbum to paypal? Is there another bit of software to bridge them together?
 
It's all part of jalbum. Not every skin has selling options but quite a few do.
 
Oh right i see! Will definatly have a look at this! You ever had any problems with it PXL8? How long you been using the software?

Which skin is it you currently use? Sorry. Thats the last question i promise!
 
Sorry yer it looks like that one. Looks nice! Will have a look at all the different ones and see which ones offer paypal shopping cart.
 
Yep, it's the chameleon skin but I've edited the CSS and added the header, footer, etc.
 
Awesome! Thanks so much everyone for your input will keep this in mind and go from there!

Matt
 
Like Pxl8 I also use an online proof service now as the proof books were getting a bit unwieldy. I usually pick the B&G's surname as the password for their secure area as it easy for everyone to remember. In their area I set up a few galleries which splits the day up (bridal preparation, service, formals, reception etc) and they then pick the ones they want for the album using an offline order facility which tells me which images they want, other guests can buy through paypal if required.

Hope this helps.
 
Cheers Hacker, How easy is it to set up galleries and passwords etc?
 
Oh right ill speak to my dad as he is sorting the site for me and hosting at home.
 
mattyh said:
Depending on your host, it's bloody easy. Cpanel (if your host uses that as a backend) has an option to password protect galleries.

You can also do it via PHP and using .htaccess but they're a bit more complex :)
Click to expand...

I have download JAlbum to my Mac, but i cant find how to password protect albums. Am i missing something?

Do i need a JAlbum.net login to do this?
 
depends on your website. I use .htaccess to control what folders/files on the site need a login. Google it and see if you can use that.
 
Had a google and im pretty sure we can use that. Just need to work out how to do it to particular albums.
Does it make the albums invisible in the main gallery view or is it just when the client clicks there album it asks for username and password.

Sorry for the really stupid questions.
 
They get asked when they click on the album, to protect a particular album just but the .htacces file inside the folder for that album on the site.

As for stupid questions, a lot of the answers you'll get just by trying :thumbs:
 
we do a proofbook and an online gallery. we also offer dvd slideshows.
the proofbook is a freebee IF we get more than £x00 of reprints. it comes back with the b&g's selections for the album.
they can buy it for £x too , if they want. it contains a better coverage of the day(upto 400 images) at around 2in x 3 in pickies.
the main album maybe 20 to 100 prints dependant on album and package.
hope that helps.
mark
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top