I spent long hours searching for a perfect online gallery for photographers. The number of available solutions is extensive, from WordPress plugins to photo gallery platforms. With such a huge amount of different options, it was tricky to assess which of them was the best one for me.

It gets more complicated if, like me, you specialise in children’s photography, pregnancy and mini sessions. In this type of photography, the process of transferring photos to the client in an online gallery is quite complicated. In short, you don’t send clients the final pictures immediately. You start by sending unprocessed photos directly to the system. The photos are then sent to the clients who decide which they are going to buy. Only when such decision is made, you retouch selected shots. When your work is done, you pass the final versions of photos to the clients.

Unfortunately, most of the programmes for photographers do not facilitate such an extensive process of delivering photos. There are just a few which offer such option. Fortunately, a colleague of mine told me about Photonesto as a good alternative to existing online galleries for photographers.

After visiting Photonesto’s website I knew for sure that its creators put great emphasis on aesthetics and visual aspect of their product. As it turned out, this applies not only to the website, but to the entire system.

Photonesto offers two different kinds of galleries:

• Online Photo Albums– great for reportage and wedding photographers who can present their work in a set of shots from a given event
• Proofing Galleries– best for creating galleries of families’ and babies’ photos, so the best option for me!

Proofing Galleries in Photonesto – what are they?

If, like me, you work on mini sessions, pregnancy and children’s photography, you surely know what they look like. Here is a short summary for those who don’t know it as yet. The clients buy a session lasting 2 – 3 hours. Within the set price, the clients have several photos to choose from (package photos). We also agree on the price for any additional photos they would like to buy and on the advance payment (optional).

After taking the photos, I create a proofing gallery using Photonesto. I need to provide basic information like the client’s name, email address, price, etc. I send unprocessed photos directly to the system, which automatically puts a watermark on each of them. With one click I send a message to the clients asking them to select photos for further processing. The clients receive a simple email which directs them straight to the beautiful Photonesto gallery, where they select the photos they like and can also select additional photos for which the system calculates an additional fee. Once the clients are done with the selection, they go to the order summary, where they see all selected photos with their final price and can confirm the order.

In an instant I receive a message confirming what happened and I start processing selected pictures. When the photos are ready, I send them in full resolution using Photonesto, this time in the “Uploaded photos” tab. With one click I send a message to the clients with a link to the gallery, which displays photos without watermarks and gives a possibility of downloading them.

Why is Photonesto such a good solution? Below you will find my answers

It saves your time:

Before I started using tools such as Photonesto, I used to go through the whole process manually. I communicated with my clients via emails. The clients used to email me to say which photos they selected, and mistakes occurred frequently. The whole process costed me and my clients a lot of time. Now the work is largely automated and resistant to human errors. Thanks to systems like Photonesto, I work less and can have more clients. This is a huge advantage for me!

It looks good, it is ergonomic and reliable:

Photonesto is designed extremely well and looks very professional. The system works well and doesn’t freeze. When I use Photonesto, I know I am using a premium product. This feeling is shared by my clients, who receive photos in beautiful galleries, which enhance my work even more.

It is speedy and sends photos really fast:

Not sure about you, but until now, when using other tools, I used to complaint about the speed of sending photos. Especially on Monday mornings. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but still. At Photonesto, photos are sent using the full potential of my connection, which significantly reduces the time I spend on each session.

It is not expensive and does not require you to subscribe:

At Photonesto you pay when you publish your session. The fee is not high, and the most important thing is that there is no subscription. You pay only when you use it. You can then forget about payments for a while. It is a great solution, as it saves your money in the low season. I wouldn’t mind using more services like this one!