Review of Shutterfly Pro for Selling Your Pictures Online

I've been using Shutterfly Pro Gallery for more than a year now, primarily for weddings. The system is fairly straightforward.

I prepare the images on my computer, upload the Jpegs to Shutterfly, set the pricing for the various sizes, publish, then send the link to the client. I can password protect each area for each client, or leave it open to the public. If I want to watermark the proofs, I have a handful of different options that Shutterfly will apply for me.

The client can then browse the gallery. When they place an order, Shutterfly handles the transaction, delivers the prints, takes a percentage of the gross, and puts the balance in my account. You know exactly how much you're going to make on each print because Shutterfly lists the profit when you set the price. So, for example, Shutterfly Pro charges 40 cents a print for a 4x6 (matt or glossy). If I set the price at $2.40 a print, Shutterfly displays $1.70 as profit. The client does not see this information, only you when you set up their account. The client only sees the price you've set.

They also offer note cards, mugs, mouse pads, magnets, playing cards, puzzles, keepsake boxes, and desk organizers that can be personalized with images from the gallery. You set the price on everything. One missing product from the lineup is their hard bound book. You can build one for yourself on the site. (They are quite nice!) But Shutterfly doesn't provide the ability for the client to build one with your pictures for a price you've set. This would be a tremendous service that I think they should figure out how to offer.

The annual fee for Shutterfly Pro is $99 a year for the basic service. They also have a Premier Plan for $199 a year. It includes unlimited hosting space for heavy users.

The main reason I use Shutterfly Pro is so my wedding clients don't have to hassle with providing prints to members of the wedding party or attendees. They can simply direct them to the Shutterfly Pro Gallery, let them peruse the images, and if they see something they want, they can order it themselves for a reasonable price. Some photographers use this method to deliver prints to the clients too. Personally, I don't. I like to review all of the images the client receives. But, it's a reasonable business model in some situations. What is nice, however, is that it's an easy way for you to publish a gallery quickly so the clients can see their wedding while you're working on their prints. I try to get the gallery up by the time they return from their honeymoon.

You can see a sample gallery here if you want to get a feel for the experience clients will have.

Overall, I give Shutterfly Pro a thumbs up. They do a good job of handling the business side of online photography so you don't have to worry about credit card transactions and sales tax. You can always check your account online, and once you publish the images, it's fun to see some money coming in the door. They also do a good job of the printing itself, which is important since the prints are going directly to the client. I do wish they offered a few more products, such as the hard cover books. We'll see if they continue to improve the service as competition stiffens.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, Shutterfly Pro Gallery

24 Comments

dennis | September 2, 2008 10:00 AM

Shutterfly does not protect me from someone copying my photos ex. http://im1.shutterfly.com/procproserv/76aa539bcd7c12b321e799e3c677180000003710

will allow me to save the image to my hard drive. Unless my images are degraded when viewing or I password protect my images they can be copied.

Derrick Story | September 2, 2008 1:03 PM

If you're worried about someone copying your low resolution images, then just add one of the watermarks that Shutterfly provides.

Kevin Zdyb | September 2, 2008 5:42 PM

What happens if you want to get the photo's up quickly for client's to view but want to further process the ones that are selected by the client?

Derrick Story | September 3, 2008 7:31 AM

You can handle layers of progression as your process the shoot. When you set up an area for the client, you can add as many albums as you need to. So you can post an initial album that is intended for viewing, then post subsequent albums for printing. You can use the "Proof" watermark on the initial album to remind the client.

meditation blog | July 16, 2009 2:30 AM

your article is great,I found a great make money site.
Best 15 ways to earn money by home,make money to easy ways by home.
http://greatmakemoney.blogspot.com/

John Hershey | July 21, 2009 11:17 AM

Thanks for sharing your wedding photography expertise and especially this Shutterfly Pro recommendation. I was trying to figure out how to handle print requests from event photography, weddings, and even location portrait shoots. This looks like the answer. No printing, no muss, no credit payment blues, etc.
I remembered you had posted this some time ago and searched on your site for the article. Both your site search engine and the archived article work great.

Andrew Pelt | December 7, 2009 6:43 PM

Does anyone here make money on Twitter? I may try to find a way to make money on this.

Susan R. Austin | December 15, 2009 8:14 AM

Hello, perhaps this is off topic but anyway, i've been surfing around your blog and it looks very superb. It is easy to determine that you are passionate about your writing. I'm making a new blog and I am struggling to have it look good, and offer excellent subject matter. I have learned a lot on your site and I look forward to additional updates and will be back.

Judy -hair specialist | December 17, 2009 3:43 PM

You do not want to spend much time on check printing? You have a great alternative

affiliate network pro | December 23, 2009 9:05 AM

I think, that you are not right. I suggest it to discuss. Write to me in PM, we will communicate.

Ivan Butscher | December 30, 2009 11:56 AM