Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Tell us what you use for hosting your pictures and what their rules are. What other services do they offer that you like and what are the shortcomings?
Also any fees!
Also any fees!
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What hosting service do you use?
- Thread starter Asher Kelman
- Start date
Kathy Rappaport
pro member
Several
I've use several.
Photobucket is free but they have a pro site by subscription that has a larger storage - not expensive at all and easy to navigate; Easy to link to forums like this one.
Pbase is another one that I have used and been happy with just for hosting a gallery. I moved from there because I found it was not possible to really protect my images from being copied. When my subscription runs out, I will not renew there because of the copy issue.
I've been using SmugMug on a pro account for about a year and a half. I can order images and so can my clients at my set pricing; I can be alerted to the order to do some editing before the order is final as well and I can actually link the site and customize it to my own domain name. $150 a year. The lab is excellent - I can select the paper and finish for the images too. Galleries can be hidden or public. This is the best option for me unless I want to pay thousands for a custom site or buy a template. It's really an excellent value once you learn your way around the menus. My images can be watermarked and right-click protected and not foolproof but not easily just copied with a mouse click.
I've use several.
Photobucket is free but they have a pro site by subscription that has a larger storage - not expensive at all and easy to navigate; Easy to link to forums like this one.
Pbase is another one that I have used and been happy with just for hosting a gallery. I moved from there because I found it was not possible to really protect my images from being copied. When my subscription runs out, I will not renew there because of the copy issue.
I've been using SmugMug on a pro account for about a year and a half. I can order images and so can my clients at my set pricing; I can be alerted to the order to do some editing before the order is final as well and I can actually link the site and customize it to my own domain name. $150 a year. The lab is excellent - I can select the paper and finish for the images too. Galleries can be hidden or public. This is the best option for me unless I want to pay thousands for a custom site or buy a template. It's really an excellent value once you learn your way around the menus. My images can be watermarked and right-click protected and not foolproof but not easily just copied with a mouse click.
Cem_Usakligil
Well-known member
I have used flickr, pbase and smugmug in the past. First one was/is free, the latter aren't.
There are many good and bad things that can be said about all three. I have also had a trial account at Zenportfolio.
My opinion now is, go get any hosting package out there for some USD 5 a month. They all support photo gallery scripts. And you are in control of things. You can install your own templates and use your own look. I know that this is also possible with the paid services, but in a more limited way.
I now have my own virtual (Ubuntu Linux) server, which also serves my pictures making use of Gallery2. I costs me some USD 30 amonth, but I have full root access, 30 GB disk space and 1GB main memory, a dual Xeon processor server and a 100 Mb connection to the Internet. I can install any software and configure things as I see fit. I have never had so much freedom in the past, it is awesome.
Just my Euro 0.02.
There are many good and bad things that can be said about all three. I have also had a trial account at Zenportfolio.
My opinion now is, go get any hosting package out there for some USD 5 a month. They all support photo gallery scripts. And you are in control of things. You can install your own templates and use your own look. I know that this is also possible with the paid services, but in a more limited way.
I now have my own virtual (Ubuntu Linux) server, which also serves my pictures making use of Gallery2. I costs me some USD 30 amonth, but I have full root access, 30 GB disk space and 1GB main memory, a dual Xeon processor server and a 100 Mb connection to the Internet. I can install any software and configure things as I see fit. I have never had so much freedom in the past, it is awesome.
Just my Euro 0.02.
Georg R. Baumann
Inactive
Shane Carter
New member
I sell photos online so that is important. I've had Pbase for non-sales but use FM for that now. Had SM Pro for a while and had a lot of problems and now use Exposure Manager for the sales site. It is totally branded, pricing options are many and can be applied independantly to any gallery, great photo printing, easy to use, fully customizable or templates if you like that better. It has has a really nice clean image display which many do not. If they did not go for sale, I might do my own with a more elegant set up...but that is not the situation here.
Charles L Webster
pro member
I post much of my work on Photo.net for critique, and for $25/year I get effectively unlimited space, and no restrictions on hot-linking to other sites, such as this one.
But I am putting more of my stuff up on my own domain server, because I am starting to create private client galleries, and can control access better on my own site.
I'm going to be following Cem's advice and setting my site up to use Gallery2, which will make the whole process much easier, and the appearance of the site more professional.
But I am putting more of my stuff up on my own domain server, because I am starting to create private client galleries, and can control access better on my own site.
I'm going to be following Cem's advice and setting my site up to use Gallery2, which will make the whole process much easier, and the appearance of the site more professional.
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Cem,
I gather, in that you say virtual (Ubuntu Linux) server, that you don't actually a server, but then you write that you have "30 GB disk space and 1GB main memory, a dual Xeon processor server and a 100 Mb connection to the Internet".
So how is it physically set up?
Asher
Cem_Usakligil
Well-known member
The physical server is a Dell PowerEdge machine running Xen virtualization software. This makes it possible to have multiple virtual private servers (VPS) which look and act just like physical ones. In my case, there are max 20 VPSes set up per one physical server. They all have full access to the processor and bandwidth available but if they claim it exclusively for longer periods, then they get throttled. The VPSes are guaranteed to have at least 1GB RAM and 30 GB disk available at all times. The allowed network traffic per month is 1500 GB. Fixed IP addresses and reverse IP-lokup are provided. I have access to a control panel and can install any OS, such as Ubuntu, on the machine. Using a combination of SCP, SSH, PuTTY, Virtuozzo control panel, Plesk and WebAdmin, I can install and configure the machine as if it is sitting next to my desk. I can also create backups using the control panel and have them saved off-line for me.
Jeff Donovan
New member
I use Smugmug and have been very happy with the service. I have a free flickr account and will occasionally upload photos there. I have to say that Flickr does a much better job in allowing you to create groups based around common interests and I'd love to see Smugmug move in that direction, but I think they feel that their core competency is simply hosting and sharing photos. At that they are very good indeed
http://bostonwolf.smugmug.com
Be forewarned a lot of these folders are just "dumps" and I haven't sorted them, polished up the photos or deleted the stinkers.
http://bostonwolf.smugmug.com
Be forewarned a lot of these folders are just "dumps" and I haven't sorted them, polished up the photos or deleted the stinkers.
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Hi, I second Tim's good advice.
OVH hosts our website and numerous of the website we do developp for our clients…
They are situated in North of France.
Here are the links to OVH:
In English.
In French
In Spanish
In German
In Polish
Do I need to say that we have no other connection with OVH than being happy customers?
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
November 2008, call for info on your hosting service for images
November 2008 Update on Hosting
Could you give us an update on your online hosting service, the pluses and minuses and fee if any? New people keep asking so we'd like to see if there's anything new.
Is there anything missing that you might want here?
Asher
November 2008 Update on Hosting
Could you give us an update on your online hosting service, the pluses and minuses and fee if any? New people keep asking so we'd like to see if there's anything new.
Is there anything missing that you might want here?
Asher
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Still happy with ovh.net and with free.fr for the more "rough" thing…
Daniel Buck
New member
I've been using www.dreamhost.com for about a year now, so far I like them best out of the many hosts I've had. Tons of space and bandwidth for a very reasonable price, and lots of tools in the control panel. They have had a few down times this year, but I haven't been bothered by the down times, they have not been frequent, and they have always been very short. Their staff is very friendly, and helpful.
John Angulat
pro member
I've been using Yahoo! Small Business for nearly 5 years now. it's $11.95 a month. No problems (heck, if Yahoo! is down the nation is down!). Their site management tools leave a lot to be desired, but I never use them. I write all my own code and ftp it via SmartFtp Client. Also, their statistics are dreadful. Anyone who is looking for an after-market analysis package should look into Google-Analytics. it's free and I absolutely love it. Register and get a unique ID or "tracking" number. Then place 3 lines of code onto each HTML page - whammo - you're done. It returns more usage and geo-statistics than I'll ever need. Just the other day I was perusing the stats and wondering: "who the heck hit my site from Bordeaux, France?"...aha! Nicolas!
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Lol! I've been caught!…
But, are you very far from Dunwoodie Golf Court? or maybe Lennon Park?
We do use also Google-Analytics for OPF and I do too for my website and my client's websites also… yes, quite powerfull and as you say very easy to set-up…
Daniel Buck
New member
I highly doubt the yahoo site is on the same servers as their commercially available servers
John Angulat
pro member
Nicolas,
As the 'net grows larger the world grows smaller!
I'm about 5 miles north of Dunwoodie and Lennon Park, on the Yonkers/Hastings border.
As the 'net grows larger the world grows smaller!
I'm about 5 miles north of Dunwoodie and Lennon Park, on the Yonkers/Hastings border.
Alain Briot
pro member
if speed is a concern you really want a dedicated server. Not a shared server.
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Well, it just shows that I'm not a bad spy too, with Internet tools!
I didn't want to be more precise, to protect your privacy, but anyway, I can just track your IP and I didn't know how far you are from your IP server… Now I know! ;-)
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Simply true!
For speed as for reliability as well…
But expensive, at least a shared paid server! remember, YGWYPF!
leonardobarreto.com
pro member
I have a personal account with SERVERPRO and use Macromedia's DreamweverI registered my name as domain LeonardoBarreto.com and can upload images very fast with the PUT/GET feature of the program and FTP of my server. Costs about $100/year. I learned to use Dreamweaver autodidactically, and it is a bit hard to set up, but the amount of control you have on the page is worth it.
When you make you own website you can control the METADATA that is embedded as well as the keywords that people are going to use to find you in the world wide web. I have plans to re model the page one of this days, probably using Capture 1 for the image viewers... the other advantage of dedicated server account is that they give you detailed traffic statistic on all your domains and sub domains...
I use ALAMY as my method of seriously attempting to sell images, with their strict QC (Quality Control) they make me maintain standards of focus, resolution, etc etc, they have a very good upload system -most are 80MB files !-- and it is free of charge !
When you make you own website you can control the METADATA that is embedded as well as the keywords that people are going to use to find you in the world wide web. I have plans to re model the page one of this days, probably using Capture 1 for the image viewers... the other advantage of dedicated server account is that they give you detailed traffic statistic on all your domains and sub domains...
I use ALAMY as my method of seriously attempting to sell images, with their strict QC (Quality Control) they make me maintain standards of focus, resolution, etc etc, they have a very good upload system -most are 80MB files !-- and it is free of charge !
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I'd like to get an update of what hosting people are using free or otherwise and your opinions on quality of service as of the last quarter of 2009.
Thanks,
Asher
Thanks,
Asher
Ken Jackson
New member
Asher,
I use SmugMug and have been for years. I am totally statisfied with them. My biggest problem at present is Tahiti has a very iffey DSL service we pay over a hundred dollars a month for a 10 Gb upload/download service and the downloads are only abour 40-55 kbps... It's better than dialup, but not by much <grin>
Edit It took just around 1 min 30sec for this small msg above to be uploaded and appear
I use SmugMug and have been for years. I am totally statisfied with them. My biggest problem at present is Tahiti has a very iffey DSL service we pay over a hundred dollars a month for a 10 Gb upload/download service and the downloads are only abour 40-55 kbps... It's better than dialup, but not by much <grin>
Edit It took just around 1 min 30sec for this small msg above to be uploaded and appear
Last edited:
Kathy Rappaport
pro member
Smugmug
Smugmug - I have no branding on the site that is theirs. $150 a year, link to a professional lab for the Pro Account. I can make pages to put my own products on and sell with Paypal or Google Checkout links. I have a blog attached to the site that is branded with my stuff but is Blogger. I love it.
Smugmug - I have no branding on the site that is theirs. $150 a year, link to a professional lab for the Pro Account. I can make pages to put my own products on and sell with Paypal or Google Checkout links. I have a blog attached to the site that is branded with my stuff but is Blogger. I love it.
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Reports on Online Services for Your Photography
Could we get update your online image storage, gallery, print and other services and whether or not they pay and the experience. I'm getting requests for this info and your reports would be helpful.
Thanks,
Asher
Could we get update your online image storage, gallery, print and other services and whether or not they pay and the experience. I'm getting requests for this info and your reports would be helpful.
Thanks,
Asher
Jerome Marot
Well-known member
For posting on a forum like this one, I use Flickr. Then I don't have to worry and bandwidth. Besides, Flickr has discussions on its own as well, although I must admit that the value of flickr as a "community" (whatever that means) is poor. Or maybe it is me who can't really use it.
For immediate sharing with the family, etc... I have a small web server at home and use dyndns to point at it. Actually, that appliance does a lot more than serving web pages, it also backs up the machines on the home network. It even has a photo database application, but I find simply using the web server more convenient.
For immediate sharing with the family, etc... I have a small web server at home and use dyndns to point at it. Actually, that appliance does a lot more than serving web pages, it also backs up the machines on the home network. It even has a photo database application, but I find simply using the web server more convenient.
Sandrine Bascouert
Member
I'm using Photobucket which was one the first on my list when it was the time to choose, others didn't look like having a reasonnable user friendly interface for me... But I tend to use more and more a "temporary" folder on my website, where I can have analysis of where and when and who are coming to see what on the website (Not google analytics though, it's a custom made one, coded by my better half)...But you may have not noticed because I'm not posting much these days...I'm using "private" folders on Photobucket to show customers the work in progress, (password, images JPEG watermarked by PBucket via their tool) and I deliver the final result by FTP, or Dropbox. Some customers have their own preferences such as "you send it" so I also use whatever they like...It makes me have a load of passwords and one-time use accounts....
I could have a private section on my website, with multi level type private folders, passwords and so on...all have been coded for me, but I'm just too lazy to set it up. I'll probably have too do it anyway if my workload gets bigger.
I could have a private section on my website, with multi level type private folders, passwords and so on...all have been coded for me, but I'm just too lazy to set it up. I'll probably have too do it anyway if my workload gets bigger.