Best Cloud service to send digital images to client?

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Background: My wife has started a photography business in the past few months, and is really excited/optimistic about it. The only problem is my old white macbook from 2007 really isn't cutting it anymore... Apparently when she's using Lightroom and Photoshop it can slow to a crawl at times (she is really impatient and gets frustrated easily which leads to a huge slew of texts to me that read like "I HATE YOUR COMPUTER!" and "*EXPLITIVE*" and the like. In fact she's told me that she has even hit the computer a couple of times. Yeah... no patience....). Anyway, the point is that it's about time to get a new laptop for her business. So it's between a mbp and mba. I would like to consider the mba, but the lack of a ODD on the mba becomes a problem because she burns all the photos on to CD/DVD's to give to her clients.

There are so many dropbox-like cloud services out there I don't even know where to begin. Basically we would need a professional-looking cloud storage system that can be sent to someone through a link where they can easily DL the whole file to their computer. The photos would only need to be temporarily stored though until after the client DL's them. Typically it would only be 50-70 images, but for weddings there would be many more. Maybe 200-300.

Any suggestions?

 

[Apple Expert]

You said it best, Dropbox.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

You said it best, Dropbox.

I know dropbox is capable of sharing folders publicly, but are there any other services that would better fit our needs?

The needs are basically easy upload, easy sharing, easy download, and easily delete (or maybe delete automatically after download. Or delete after a predetermined period of time). In addition to that, it would be nice for the client to easily view/browse through the photos before they DL them. Possibly even delete the ones they don't like and DL the rest? or simply select their favorites to DL?

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I decided to tinker around with dropbox to see if it would work. Turns out we wouldn't be able to use dropbox.

Either A) put the pictures in the "photos" folder which automatically creates a gallery that you can share with anyone. BUT there is no way to easily DL the entire photo gallery

or B) create a standard folder and then "share" it with the client. BUT this requires that the client have a dropbox account.

There needs to be a way to easily DL all the photos that doesn't require signing up. Viewing the gallery before DL isn't really a necessity

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Best Cloud service to send digital images to client?

My wife has recently started a photography business, and we need to upgrade my old 2007 mb to something that can handle a little more power. We have been deciding between a mbp and mba. The mba would be very portable and convenient... but my wife has been burning the digital images onto cd/dvd's and that wouldn't be possible with the mba (unless we purchase an external ODD, but I would rather avoid that).

I figure there MUST be some really great cloud/web service that allows uploading a folder filled with between 50-800 images, then sharing that to an individual which allows them to download the file to their computer.

Requirements:
Easy upload to private folder
Share to selected individual(s)
Easy for client to DL folder
Client must be able to DL without requiring any account

Would be nice:
Viewing gallery
Option to easily DL only selected photos
Automatically deletes photo folder (either after DL or after a predetermined time)

I tried dropbox, but it wouldn't work because it requires having a dropbox account to view a shared folder. Or you can view it as a gallery, but then you can't easily download all the photos...

Thanks in advance!!

 

[arul]

Picassa

Would picasa work? I remember it having some amount of storage space available and it integrates with iPhoto too.

 

[xkmxkmxlmx]

I know it is a young business and you're trying to be financially efficient as possible, but any reputable business these days would probably have their own website for something like that.

For instance, a photographer we used for a recent event gives you a personal login for his site and you go and look at and grab your photos from his site. It could also, obviously, be done with just a direct link from your server.

Probably not telling you anything you don't already know, but it is the first thing that came to mind when I read your predicament.

 

[radek42]

Hi,
You might want to check SmugMug (www.smugmug.com). I think it's one of the best options of photo enthusiasts and starting professionals. They only offer paid services, but they seem pretty reasonable for what they offer.

Cheers,
Radek

Background: My wife has started a photography business in the past few months, and is really excited/optimistic about it. The only problem is my old white macbook from 2007 really isn't cutting it anymore... Apparently when she's using Lightroom and Photoshop it can slow to a crawl at times (she is really impatient and gets frustrated easily which leads to a huge slew of texts to me that read like "I HATE YOUR COMPUTER!" and "*EXPLITIVE*" and the like. In fact she's told me that she has even hit the computer a couple of times. Yeah... no patience....). Anyway, the point is that it's about time to get a new laptop for her business. So it's between a mbp and mba. I would like to consider the mba, but the lack of a ODD on the mba becomes a problem because she burns all the photos on to CD/DVD's to give to her clients.

There are so many dropbox-like cloud services out there I don't even know where to begin. Basically we would need a professional-looking cloud storage system that can be sent to someone through a link where they can easily DL the whole file to their computer. The photos would only need to be temporarily stored though until after the client DL's them. Typically it would only be 50-70 images, but for weddings there would be many more. Maybe 200-300.

Any suggestions?

 

[Steamrunner]

You'll probably find it easier to go with an out-of-the-box website solution - here's a Google search to give you more ideas.

Don't forget you can always attach an optical drive to the MBA when needed, so disc burning isn't totally out.

 

[designguy79]

You should check out Phanfare -- it takes some exploring and has a bit of a learning curve to the admin interface, but it works great for album view with a "download" -> "download album" link. (upper right)

You can even use your own domain (or sub-domain) name and customize the header graphic.

Here is an example album:

http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/J0TVZdwi/1/5034859

(note to all forum members: is it okay to give people a referral code to use when signing up? I don't want to be "spammy"!)

 

[avro707]

Smug Mug is very good. I'm extremely pleased with it - and people using the system are happy too. They get the images they want quickly (digital download), and it cuts down my workload as well.

For your computer needs, I'd suggest the MacBook Pro.

 

[Flash SWT]

I'd suggest Photo Shelter:

http://www.photoshelter.com/

 

[btbrossard]

I tried dropbox, but it wouldn't work because it requires having a dropbox account to view a shared folder. Or you can view it as a gallery, but then you can't easily download all the photos...

As an FYI-

If you put a .zip file into your public folder, you can create a public download link for that file. No need for a dropbox account to get the file shared with the public download link.

Obviously, you can't view the photos one at a time this way, they all must be downloaded as a .zip file.

I would go with your own password-protected website. It's going to look more professional and give you more options that you would have otherwise.

Smugmug, as someone else mentioned, is also very good. You can password protect the galleries if you want so only your client can see the photos. You can customize Smugmug quite a bit if you want it to look more "your own".

Good luck with your business.