One of the keys to running a successful photography business is to be constantly innovating and searching for the best ways to serve your clients. A month ago I made the decision to use Pixieset for my client galleries. Here are my Top 10 reasons why I feel it is a good choice for all professional photographers.
1. Larger Selection of Print Sizes For Sale
My clients now have a much larger selection of print sizes to choose from. No longer is it just three sizes - now they can choose just about any size print WHCC offers. Also if I would like to print or order product somewhere else I can choose to self-fulfill orders and make my own price lists for my clients to see.
2. Set Your Own Prices on Prints
I love having the freedom to set my own prices on prints, canvases and more. No longer do I need to be tied down to pricing set by others. I can now set the pricing that makes the most sense for my clients, my area and my business.
3. Money From Print Sales Gets Deposited in Bank Account
Any money I earn on prints gets deposited directly to my bank account. This is refreshing as well. I no longer have to request withdrawals - it just automatically gets deposited about 3 days after the sale.
4. No Unnecessary Files Saved Taking Up Computer Space on Hard Drive
My previous gallery was designed as an app that was installed on my computer. As a result each time I used it to upload and view files it would create a cache on my computer hard drive. This cache would grow incredibly large behind the scenes - often reaching 5+ GB. I do most of my work on a MacBook Pro Laptop running a SSD. Space is limited and these unnecessary cache buildups would take up space. Fortunately Pixieset doesn’t create these - so I no longer have to worry about it.
5. Custom Domain Names
With Pixieset I am free to create a unique domain name for my galleries. I’ll be the first to admit that having “pixieset” in the name sounds a bit like a gallery full of unicorns, rainbows and glitter. Thankfully they made it possible to create your own custom domain name and have it pointed to their server so I can make it whatever domain name I would like.
6. Control of Expiration Dates on Galleries
I love that with Pixieset I can determine when a gallery will expire. That means if I want a portrait gallery to expire in 60 days, a wedding in 12 months or some galleries for vendors for example to stay open indefinitely… I can set them up to do just that. I have complete control over all the expiration dates.
7. Pay Per Storage Needed Not Per Event
Rather than pay for each event, I can now just pay for the storage that I need. In fact many users of the program could probably get by with the free or basic version of the program. What is also nice is that you only need to start paying for the larger storage options when you reach those levels. Start low and as you need extra storage they will charge you pro rated for the rest of the month when you move to the next level.
8. Upload Original Size Images
With Pixieset whatever size image I upload is what ends up on their server. It is not downsized or compressed. I can download whatever I upload. You would think that uploading larger files would make for a slower process but instead I have actually noticed a faster upload process even with the larger file sizes.
9. More Download Options - Pin Number / Email Restrictions
Once the images are online you can give your clients the choice to download in original file size, high resolution or even web versions. You can also assign a pin number to the gallery so that only those with the pin number have access to download. Lastly you can restrict who has access to download images by their email address.
10. Easy To Find Download All Icon
For whatever reason some gallery programs like to hide or bury the "download all pictures" button deep in the menus or in non-visible slide out menus. Fortunately Pixieset makes it easy for my clients by making the download all icon easy to find along the top toolbar.
These 10 things helped me realize Pixieset was the best solution for my client galleries. While I only listed ten things here, the program has many other great features. I have also been highly impressed with their dedication to listening to customer feedback and adding new features regularly. If you are a Pixieset user and would like to mingle with more users of the program there is a page on Facebook for users to get together and help one another out. You can find it here.
If you want to read more about Pixieset check out Zach Sutton's review here.
I was thinking of switching from PASS to Pixieset... You just sold me. Those are all solid points over PASS. Thanks for this article, it couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me, and thanks for linking Zach's Article as well.
It' also good to check out their competitor, ShootProof, to decide which suits yourbusiness best.
I also LOVE their proofing system. My clients love it, it's a huge time saver for me. I recommend anyone struggling with their proofing process try out the free version just to see it for themselves.
So this looks exactly like Squarespace, in every way. What's the catch and/or difference?
I agree that it look a lot like Squarespace (which I love), but you can't order prints through Squarespace.
Or vice versa, presumably… Thanks for clearing that up!
Actually SquareSpace and Pixieset are two entirely different products. SquareSpace is a website design program. It is awesome and has tons of great features. Pixieset on the other hand is a photo gallery option set up to deliver digital images to our clients. So in short SquareSpace is for photographers to set up websites and display their work while Pixieset is to deliver images from a job to our clients. Hope that made sense.
Thank you! Would be great to have both at the same time, then: SquarePixie?
Been a fan of Pixieset for a while now.
This has been a complete lifesaver for me.. saves me money, clients love it and it saves me time. I don't get the "our gallery has expired, what do we do?" emails. I don't have to set up every gallery under my email scared my couples are going to be harassed with emails asking them to upgrade their gallery. It makes me look more professional and I love it. So glad when I can get everything moved over and away from the system I was using.
I started using Pixieset about 8 months ago and I love it! They're also really open to feedback on how to make it better! Which is awesome and refreshing!
Great post Trevor. I am so glad I made the switch to pixieset my clients are so much happier and so am I
Pixieset is the best thing that has ever happened to my business in 5 years! I feel like everything I do now is streamlined, efficient, inviting for my clients and convenient for all parties involved. My clients absolutely love the look, the ease, the convenience and overall delivery of their images. I love that Pixieset never made it about them, they put the control in our (the photographers) hands instead. Which is how it should be. We are paying them to use a service. I use to spend $50-$60 on EACH clients discs (shooting 50 weddings & 100 sessions a year), the packaging, mailing and postage and they were always so inefficient- sometimes discs worked, sometimes they didn't, sometimes the mail got lost, other times they would scratch due to their nature. It was a nightmare and a headache I couldn't afford to have. I used PASS a few times when it first came out but hated how it felt so intimating, their business model is all about them- monopolizing and their vision. Hated how they priced OUR prints. Hated how they would wait forever to showcase a new feature and would make so many people feel like they had to be VIP to even enjoy it. I hated the credit vs. real payment. It was a genius idea- the shoot and share model- but there were just too many things I didn't agree with. Pixieset revolutionized the way the modern photographer runs their business and I am so thankful for it. I love Pixieset and will continue to use it for years to come!
Absolutely LOVE Pixieset and my clients love it too!
Great article Trevor. You definitely make some great points and I love the flexibility Pixieset provides.
I wish you had written this article earlier! Then I wouldn't have wasted my time with other companies that weren't as perfect a fit for me as Pixiset is!
thanks for pointing out the very reasons I switched last year from PASS to Pixieset! Love my galleries and so do my clients!
I use Zenfolio, no monthly fees, and I can either sell through them or I self fulfill.
I absolutely adore Pixieset. I have been using it for almost a year now and cannot imagine my business without it. I am SO glad to see others I admire in this business using it as well. It's a no-brainer for me and my clients are super happy!
I just made the switch from PASS to Pixieset! Definitely works better for my business and my clients love it! I can set my own prices for prints which is AWESOME! Cover photo makes great for branding purposes!
Sounds interesting, as a happy Photoshelter user would there be any benefit of switching to Pixieset?
I started using Pixieset a few months ago. I love it for the all the reasons you laid out here Trevor and more. Its a perfect fit for my business model. I especially love the I have CHOICES.
I'ven been using this for the past six months for client delivery of proofs and final images. It's great, fast, simple and just plain works. My Smugmug account is getting less and less use. If only I could link ti to Lightroom.
Is there any similar service in UK ?
I'm having a hard time understanding why you would use this instead of Smugmug?
Good question, but with Smugmug, you have to create an event for each gallery so that your clients can choose favorites. And the event landing page is crazy ugly. Pixieset's client landing page is by far the cleanest and most elegant. By far. Having said that, Pixieset's back end is really, really limited.
great post, I do use shoot proof but always like to keep options open
By far the best design yet in terms of what your client sees first. That main image and title are great (although Id love to be able to hide that date).
HOWEVER....
it's a little mind-boggling that they would not have the ability to replace images in their collections. Imagine having a collection or gallery and wanting to do some edits to a few shots. When you upload updated images, they don't give you the option to replace or keep the original files. Instead, they just return an error that a duplicate file was found. Unbelievably inconvenient and such a weird omission in my opinion. Very weird.
I have been doing extensive research on client proofing sites.
I have accounts with Smugmug, Zenfolio, Photoshelter, Pixiset, and Pass.
My main account is with zenfolio, mainly because their admin area is the best of all of them. But their design team is a little weird.
Pixeiset finally created a client landing page that I would use, but their admin options aren't quite there yet. Leaving out the ability to replace images already in a gallery is a strange omission.
Hopefully, someday, someone will figure this business out.,
Top reasons I won't switch to 'Pixieset'.
1. No 'About/Contact' page functionality, which means I have to run two separate software's, which translates into more monthly costs.
2. You are forced to use 'Stripe'.
3. No client/user notification system.
4. Icons (the 'heart' light-box/favorite icon) that only compliment those in the 'wedding' industry and similar. Architectural photographers, designers and others are not catered for. This was confirmed by 'Pixieset' through communications.
5. Clients can not share their 'Lightbox/Favorites' with the photographer, the notification/communication system is poor.
6. No way to make individual images available for download/purchase.
The list goes on.
Pixieset is 'not' a platform for professional photographers. Pixieset looks great, but that is where it stops.
Check out www.snapzapp.com
PIN for downloading the whole collection, but no PIN for downloading individual images. Why more people dont see this as a huge issue is weird.
Update: Pixieset store seems to work OK
Quick question... when someone orders a print from this page (Pixieset.com) do they take care of print, delivery, frames, etc... or that will still fall in our hands?