SmugMug, Flickr or Photobucket which for my needs????

[rickp1]

I'm loooking for a website that i can use to put up my images for potential clients to see and also for me to upload client images for them to see. I want all this in a beautiful and professional gallery format. As for the client images, I want them to be able to see them but not be able to download them, at least not until I allow it. Additionally I want to be able to build a nice web slide show, something for them to view the images in a memorable format. I also want to be able to be able to use a custom domain name once I come up with a company name.

On another thread a SmugMug user or employee briefly noted some of SmugMug features and I must say it sounded pretty comprehensive.

In the past i've used Flickr and Photobucket to post images but they were for personal use. It was just an easy way to upload and share family events without having to email the images. I used them in the most simplest of ways. I uploaded and that was it, nothing special.

So my question is, for the professional use I'm looking for which service/website is the best or should I say fits my needs the best?

R.

[Nicole]

SmugMug. I don't use it, but of your list, neither Flickr nor Photobucket is going to do what you want, at least not without a lot of extra effort on your part (for example, you could probably use Flickr's API to pull the material and then do things like password protected galleries as part of your site, but when SmugMug does it all without the extra effort, it seems to be the better choice).

[rickp1]

Nicole,
Thanks for the info. I agree, SmugMug seems to have and do everything I need or would like it to do. I'll probably call them tomorrow to hash out some questions I have, but overall it seems to be a very comprehensive site and service.

Thanks for the info
R.

[inkista]

Yeah, I think you don't want to ask Flickr, SmugMug, or Photobucket.

You want to ask SmugMug, Zenfolio, or Pbase.

[rickp1]

Originally Posted by inkista

Yeah, I think you don't want to ask Flickr, SmugMug, or Photobucket.

You want to ask SmugMug, Zenfolio, or Pbase.

?? So yes or no to SmugMug? you lost me.

[inkista]

Flickr and PhotoBucket are for photosharing.

Zenfolio, SmugMug, and PBase are for portfolio display and purchase. So, yes, Smugmug is closer than the other two to what you want, but so are PBase and Zenfolio. You want to evaluate similar tools.

[Jim Bryant]

Go to exposuremanager,com. It's only $95.00 per year and does everything else that the others do. Tell them Jim Bryant sent ya.