I’m a professional photographer. And I always take pride in my work. In fact, I love it so much I’ll never give it up. I’ll keep taking pictures or I’ll die doing it. Maybe I’m pushing it. But it’s a hobby that I’ve enjoyed doing since I was a kid.
Even today, I have been getting a lot of good remarks from people who love my photographic work. Some of them even asked why I didn’t consider the idea of selling them online. What an interesting idea, I thought.
That’s when I fired up good old Google and searched for ways to sell my photographic works. After an hour of searching, that’s when I came across Zenfolio. I must have passed it a few times in the search results and didn’t notice until the last minute.
In fact, I can build a portfolio website in a matter of minutes so I can be able to showcase my own works.
Zenfolio Features
Build Your Website
As a professional photographer, a lot of people that I work with are those “know before you buy” people. And I cannot say that I blame them for going that route before choosing a professional photographer.
I know for a fact that the first place visitors will go to on a photographer’s website is the portfolio page. That’s where I will display my best work.
Most of the people that I worked with for special events like graduations and weddings said that while they loved my portfolio, they connected with a certain photo from this album or that album. Needless to say, I think my photography sells itself.
I can use this website not just to book my photography appointments, I can also use it to blog about a few events that I did in the past. Most of my fans and past clients will read my stories about what goes on behind the scenes. Who wouldn’t want a backstage pass to the events that I do? The stories are captivating, shares a special meaning for someone, and can be relatable to many.
eCommerce Platform
As mentioned before, I am able to sell my photos that I think can go for a good price. In fact, I set the prices for how I see fit. Plus, I can set various prices for different sized prints or digital photos. One of the cool things about this platform is that I can sell pre-orders of photos before they even get stocked.
Not to mention, I can auto-fulfill my orders. When one person orders, all the heavy lifting is taken care of. And I can also book sessions well in advance if I want to. I never had the opportunity to sell my photos before. And I didn’t want to complicate the entire process. But Zenfolio will be able to help you set everything up.
You get a more streamlined system set up so your buyers will purchase their favorite photos, check out, and be on with life. If anything, I’ve always wanted everything to be as simple as possible.
Did I mention that it doesn’t have to be just prints and digital copies? Oh no, it’s not just that. You can get your favorite prints done up on mugs, metal prints, calendars, and so much more. I always thought it would be cool to have a calendar that featured all of my work. With Zenfolio, I am able to do that and a whole lot more.
Marketing Packages
If there is one thing that I would love having, it’s ways to market my services and my work. Believe it or not, I can do exactly that. I am able to use search engine optimization so I can be able to show up on Google and other search engines when people are searching for photography services near my local area.
Plus, I can be able to showcase my work across various social media platforms. And I can also contact my email subscribers should they decide to sign up for my mailing list. I can keep them in touch with what’s going on in my store, event updates, and so much more. It’s just another way that I can keep in touch with my past clients and fans of my work.
Protection Features
If there is one thing that really bugs me, is that people love to steal other people’s works and call it their own. That’s happened to me once before and it became a frustrating task. Even after the issue was settled, I knew that I had to take the necessary precautions to protect my work.
And that’s what you’ll get using Zenfolio. You can protect your galleries and have them accessible by a password that you can keep to yourself or share with others (especially when it’s their own private gallery that no one else can see but them).
I can also place custom watermarks on my photos so those who try to steal it will think twice before doing so. Thankfully, I was able to create a watermark where it was my signature. I chose that because it represents my identity. It represents the real me.
You get full on administrative controls so you are able to decide who gets access to what and who does not. Security and protection should be one of my top priorities when I want to build a website that includes my work. And when things go haywire, I can be able to keep all of my work backed up. That way, I don’t lose it all. I would hate to see all of my hard work gone in a flash because of corrupt data, hackers, viruses, and so on.
Packages
You can choose a website package that will fit your needs, preferences, and budget. If you are new to the entire concept of photography, you can get the basic package. However, I was blown away with how affordable they all were. For a monthly fee, I get more than 100 features at my disposal for my website and eCommerce store.
Pros
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Final Verdict
If you are a photographer that is looking to expand on their services or sell photographic work in the form of prints and personalized items, I would go nowhere else but Zenfolio. No matter how many photos you sell or if you are getting the word out about your services, there is no better way to simply put together a website based on your own works.