Online Gallery is probably something you have read if you have been researching photographers for you wedding day. They are actually popular with other areas of photography but especially wedding photographers.
Why is is this? What does an online gallery look like? How do you use it?
What is An Online Gallery?
Simply put, an online gallery is a website or webpage where your images are stored. Only you will have access to the private link for this gallery unless you share it with friends or family. You will be able to select your favourites, download to post on social media and even buy printed products directly from your own gallery straight to your door.
Why Are Online Galleries So Popular with Photographers?
The reason that you will likely be offered an online gallery with your wedding photography package is because this is the best way to store and share images from your big day. Gone are the days where you would pay a fortune for 6x4" prints to see what an image looks like before it is printed big. Yes, I still firmly believe that you should have tangible products from your wedding day like albums and wall art but for initially sharing these images and having a platform to select your "favourites" for album design, an online gallery is the way to go. Online Galleries are also web-based programmes so they will not use your internal device memory, unless you download images from the gallery to your device. Being web-based also means that you can access it from a phone, iPad, tablet or a computer anywhere in the world. A USB stick requires the necessary USB port in a computer, restricting use on a mobile device.
Buy Printed Products Delivered to Your Door
Another advantage of online galleries is that you can purchase products like prints and thank you cards among other things. The beautiful interface of a modern online gallery makes the buying process a breeze. Most online galleries nowadays, I know mine certainly do, work alongside the best suppliers in the country so you know you are buying quality and not cheap rubbish. Jump to this section here.
How Does It Work?
Online Galleries these days are very user friendly. This means that you can send the link to the oldest family member and they will still be able to view your wedding images easily. For the purpose of this blog post I will be using my past couple, and now very good friends', online gallery to explain how it works.
Firstly you will receive an email from me letting you know that your images are ready and your gallery is ready to be viewed. You will both be the owners of the gallery so you will receive a special link and an email similar to the one below.
2. Once you are in your gallery, you will be straight into the Full Colour Gallery. This is what I will name all galleries if there is a Black and White gallery too. I keep these sections separate but will be within the one gallery link.
3. You can either scroll through the images individually or grab a glass of wine and hit the slideshow option. When you click on each image you will be able to favourite it by hitting the heart icon at the bottom left. Once favourited, you will be able to find your favourites by clicking on the heart at the top right of your gallery view screen.
4. After you have went through the full gallery and selected your favourites, you will be able to download them by clicking on the heart icon and then clicking the download photos button.
5. To share your gallery with friends and family, you will be able to do this via three ways. You can either send them an email that will have a button in it to direct the person to the gallery, send them a message on Facebook, or copy the link to send in a text or Whatsapp message.
How do you buy printed products?
Your wedding images are special moments from a day you will only experience once. So why would you leave them on a USB stick in a drawer somewhere? There is nothing better than having tangible products to relive your special day with.
Thankfully buying printed products of your favourite images could not be easier.
To buy an item using your favourite image, just click the "Buy" icon at the bottom of that image (who'd have thought it, eh?!). Then select the product and size you want... simples!
Just make sure that you don't crop anything off from within the image. If anything, like the poor llama's ears below, is being cropped then you will be able to adjust the crop of the image before sending it to print.
This was you will not be disappointed when your beautiful prints arrive but you notice someone or something is cropped off.
The papery type I would recommend would be the semi gloss option within the online gallery shop. This particular paper is one that is not overly reflective like gloss but it still has a slight shine making it perfect for printing and framing.
What can you buy?
Within the online gallery you will be able to buy prints and greetings cards (thank you cards or birthday cards for example). This is because it is a fairly automated and streamlined service. When you place an order on my online gallery, this order goes directly to my professional printing lab where it is then printed and sent directly to you. This is amazing because it allows a quick turnaround whilst not compromising on quality. The downside to this though is that I am unable to give you the full experience from seeing samples to designing your bespoke collection and ordering. This is why I prefer to discuss albums and wall products, including framed prints and wall art, in person so that I can give you the best value for your investment and we can make sure we get it perfect for you.
If it is albums you are looking for, click here for the album guide. Or if you want to have a look into other wall products like framed prints and wall art, click here for the wall art guide.
This was a brief overview of what an online gallery is, how it works and what you can do with it. But please let me know if you have any other questions relating to your online gallery. If you have not yet booked me to be your photographer but you want to know more about how your images will be delivered then get in touch and I will send you over a personalised video talking you through it all.
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