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Archive 2015 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?

  
 
IrishDino
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Anyone using traditional cloud services (dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, etc.) for image delivery?

Google Drive and OneDrive are ~$24/yr for 100GB of storage vs. $20/m for CloudSpot

Double the storage (200GB) you're looking at $50/yr vs $300/yr for Pixieset.

Heck, Dropbox lets me do 1TB backups for $120/yr (Canadian)

I don't sell prints and where I live, I doubt I'd have any local vendors who could fulfill orders.

If I'm just using this as literally just a delivery method, is there any reason to do with a photography specific service?




Oct 14, 2015 at 08:23 AM
SGallant
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


How many weddings a year you do will have a factor, especially for sized services. I use Smugmug, no limit to the number of weddings I have up. I just set up a password for high resolution download and provide it to clients for delivery. Yes, it is $300 a year for pro. No I don't sell many prints. But I still easily make that money back in Random prints that people buy from the site over the course of a year, just pick a lab and setup a default price and you are in business.


Oct 14, 2015 at 08:59 AM
azmerm
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


The only service I found that lets the customer mass download a folder with more than 2gb, multiple files at a time, including both photos and a video slideshow file, and also not force the customer to create an account is "Box". Personal Pro account 100 gb is $10/mo.

I tested Dropbox, Amazon, iCloud, Google Drive, MS Onedrive. Onedrive also resulted in in upload and download error restarts on multiple occasions with large folders ( I have high speed Cox). I believe Instaproofs may work at $50/yr but I haven't tried it for delivery yet. Proofing is commission based no monthly fee and I use them for that.

My final folder usually consists of 500-800 finished jpgs, and a slideshow movie. Total folder size 5 to 6 gb. I'd love to know any other experiences.



Oct 14, 2015 at 09:09 AM
elevationphoto
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


I would recommend Zenfolio. You can set up your website front end, and have image galleries in a presentable format right on there - or you can host your own site and link your image galleries from your site like I do. You have option to make files downloadable as well. I have the premium plan at 140 yr (grandfathered in- have since changed plans and costs ), but is unlimited storage. That breaks down to $9 month, with included fulfillment option, customizable gallery look, set your pricing plan, unlimited storage, branding, etc.

looks like the equivalent of what I have is the Advanced at $30 month, but you can get the Pro plan at 240 annually and have all features I listed. ($20 mo)

One drive and google drive are nice, but they don't offer option to present files in a nice, package with a bow on top. If you want to be a professional, present yourself as one

Also keep in mind we as photographers use significantly more bandwidth than the average person and thus, most of us have high speed connections. Most clients of ours, who simply browse online and check emails have the basic internet packages - and while companies have improved bandwidth and speeds overall, the basic packages will still be awfully slow when it comes to trying to download entire wedding files ( last wedding I shot was right around 17GB of delivered files to client with 2 D800's and second shooter with Canon 7D2's ).

Rather spend 20-30 bucks for USB, packaging and priority mail than have a client frustrated because they cant download files.

Also - USB drive costs have significantly gone down. They are right around $5-7 for 16gb, which is usually great for most weddings. 32 gb drive will run you $12ish. I like to buy them in bulk when they go on sale locally or on Newegg.

40 weddings a year is $200 worth of USB drives. Considering tacking on $10 bucks per wedding to cover cost is easy enough, and say an extra $10 for packaging those USB drives properly. Give one free to B&G and then charge $25 for each additional USB drive a client requests. One day technology and basic connection download speeds will catch up to downloading bulk files for the mass of consumers, but it isn't quite there yet. Just like the drop in USB and flash drive prices we have seen in the last 2-3 years, the same will be true of data transfer in a few years. With media streaming becoming the norm, and 4k entering into the picture, data consumption requirements are increasing exponentially.



Oct 14, 2015 at 09:14 AM
glort
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


elevationphoto wrote:
Also - USB drive costs have significantly gone down. They are right around $5-7 for 16gb, which is usually great for most weddings. 32 gb drive will run you $12ish. I like to buy them in bulk when they go on sale locally or on Newegg.

40 weddings a year is $200 worth of USB drives. Considering tacking on $10 bucks per wedding to cover cost is easy enough, and say an extra $10 for packaging those USB drives properly. Give one free to B&G and then charge $25 for each additional USB drive a client requests.


This is what I was going to suggest and ask about.

Don't clients find downloading what I imagine is several GB worth of pics a pain in the arse?
Do people do it in zip files or do they download them one by one? Surely not that?

I never had any luck uploading large amounts of pics. No matter how many different companies I tried for my internet services, 90% of the time the upload would fail and I'd have to do it again. sometimes I could pick up where it fell over, sometimes It would be back to start another 12 hour or whatever ridiculous time again.

I would MUCH rather drop images on USB and send them than upload the things.
Is there a reason why you don't want to do it this way?
-Maybe- it might cost a fraction more but surely the time, effort and reliability factor more than makes up for it? Wouldn't worry me if it cost me $50 per wedding. Lets face it, there is plenty in the pot to be able to spend $50 on actually getting the pics to the couple especially for those that aren't doing albums or prints etc.

If you are doing a lot of Jobs, what about a Bulk buy of Drives? Despite the slurs and indignation of those that have never used them, I bought a heap of drives from China and I think we had like 2 out of 1000 that were flaky. They wouldn't burn so we got another one and gave the dodgy one to a kid to play with seeing they were all characterised. Did not get a single complaint about them not working from clients.

You would probably buy 16G drives for like 2 bucks each now.

Interested to know why the preference for uploading though.




Oct 14, 2015 at 09:31 AM
elevationphoto
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Here in the US- I have never had an issue with uploading bulk amounts of data with Zenfolio ( 10-20GB per wedding regularly ). I feel this must mean it is an Internet service provider issue in Australia rather than the hosting companies.

As for USB, china drive is totally fine I think- as long as there is a disclosure note to the client recommending local backup on computer hard drive and cloud drive in the event USB stops operating years down the line- that there is no guarantee on time USB drive will remain operable and it is not to be intended for use as the sole method of wedding image long term storage

I have a certain brand drive that I can take plastic casing off easily and spray paint in 1 minute to make it look generic and match branding colors, and then 30 minutes later snap back together with usb data portion put back.

In that event- it really only has to have data written to it one time, and read data one time



Oct 14, 2015 at 09:43 AM
LeeSimms
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


We've moved to 100% download for new clients via Pixieset. Still smitten with their responsive galleries and interface. They've added almost every feature we've asked for and the price is right (for us) — proDPI integration really seals the deal.

For years we had a nice as a USB presentation as anyone shooting weddings (custom box, drive, with custom 6x9 mini proof book inside) but the cost/hassle didn't seem worth it — not with 2015 brides that want everything now. Better off putting those branding/marketing dollars elsewhere, and we have a very nice custom premium we send to them as a thank you (would rather not say what it is in an open forum).

We still have 50 or so custom USBs with minimal packaging if anyone bumps their head on the download (just drop it in the mail overnight). After that we'll just move to whatever the coolest looking SanDisk, Lexar, etc and make it fit an our own packaging.

Long live the USB!

OT — I don't think there's anything wrong with a Dropbox account for downloads. It's all in the way you present. For us, the added cost of Pixieset is more of a marketing tool to vendors & venues and they get to quickly download all the watermarked images they want. Everyone wins.



Oct 14, 2015 at 10:48 AM
sherijohnson
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


good topic, not the cheapest... but smugmug now has a gallery download feature which I just started using recently, but still delivering files to wedding clients with a package and am transitioning from DVD to USB as of now, we'll see how that goes....


Oct 14, 2015 at 01:14 PM
IrishDino
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Now having said all that in my OP, it's still costing me ~$45/wedding for a pretty basic physical delivery: $15 USB, $10 in boxes/materials, and $20 for 2 day shipping if they're out of the city....yes shipping in Canada in brutal. Plus all the time/effort to source all this stuff every year.

But my main thing is if all I care about is a straight digital download, what can Pixieset give me that Dropbox can't, other than automated printing (which I don't offer right now) and a gallery?






Oct 14, 2015 at 02:00 PM
skg photos
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Zenfolio just addd a pro Canadian lab recently, their blog said...

I love their service; left Smugmug about three years ago and never looked back. The renewal charges are always covered by print orders, even though my plan is the most expensive one they offer. And I can order little,or big gifts for clients using that profit, which Smugmug never let me do because of 'accounting'.

All my clients get digital delivery of galleries, and most also make use of and give great feedback on the client app for watermarked image mobile sharing to ig or fb.



Oct 14, 2015 at 06:43 PM
Depth of Feel
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


+1 for smugmug.


Oct 14, 2015 at 09:50 PM
DmitriM
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


ZachOly wrote:
Now having said all that in my OP, it's still costing me ~$45/wedding for a pretty basic physical delivery: $15 USB, $10 in boxes/materials, and $20 for 2 day shipping if they're out of the city....yes shipping in Canada in brutal. Plus all the time/effort to source all this stuff every year.

But my main thing is if all I care about is a straight digital download, what can Pixieset give me that Dropbox can't, other than automated printing (which I don't offer right now) and a gallery?


ways to save:
You can get custom usb for less than $5/usb+box (with logos) if you use aliexpress...
25gb of Dropox can be acquired for free within a day or by paying $5-10 to a few sites online
1TB can cost as little as $20/y if you search around
Shipping doesn't have to be by express. Create a gallery for them(LR can do it under 2 min) and they can enjoy the images will they wait. And while they wait, they will probably copy those images(which you need to tag with your logo)to their social media account. So you will win by saving on shipping and get more exposure...



Oct 15, 2015 at 09:09 AM
mulder32
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


I would love to go the digital download route, but I have two reservations--other people (who don't have a release form) downloading the images and doing who knows what, and two, the DVD cases I design and deliver are very well-received by brides. It costs me $31 for the cases/disc, and another 4 to ship so my total is around $35.

Weddings are not my main source of income, and I will taking less of them next year, but the thought of saving some money is nice.



Oct 19, 2015 at 06:50 AM
azmerm
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Mulder32 what I let them know is that as soon as "Box" notifies me that the folder has been downloaded the link gets deleted.


Oct 19, 2015 at 10:08 AM
SloPhoto
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Smugmug or Zenfolio,

I use smug



Oct 19, 2015 at 01:23 PM
mulder32
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


azmerm wrote:
Mulder32 what I let them know is that as soon as "Box" notifies me that the folder has been downloaded the link gets deleted.


What method are you using? I have Zenfolio and I don't think it can let me know.



Oct 20, 2015 at 06:56 AM
azmerm
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


I don't use Zenfolio or Smugmug. I use Instaproofs for low res proofing galleries. They only charge you if you make a sale. I use a product called Box for the high res upload. The bride gets a link and Box lets me know when there's been a download.


Oct 20, 2015 at 07:49 AM
Marici Photo
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Digital Delivery - Cheaper Options?


Smugmug, $5/month. Easy.


Oct 30, 2015 at 10:18 PM





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