The Gallery is Open

Well, I’ve finally done it. I’ve been wanting to create a photo gallery separate from the blog for a while. I wanted a gallery because there are a lot of photos that I want to share, but not blog about and having a gallery is the best way to accomplish that. I tried hosting my own site using Gallery2 and it turned out to be more work than I was willing to do. I’d hosted my own site before, but that was when I had one kid and a little more time than I have now.

Since hosting my own site wasn’t an option, I started a 14-day trial of Smugmug and Zenfolio. Both hosting options were similar in a lot of ways and I’d heard some good things about both services. I liked the fact that I could upload RAW files directly from Lightroom 3 and it was easy to set up special galleries for clients and the general public. I also liked that I could upload as many high resolution photos as I want, without having to worry about file size.

I set up some public and private galleries on both and test a lot of the features that both offered. It was a difficult decision and both were really good products. But in the end I chose Zenfolio. What set them apart was the fact that I could get rid of the Zenfolio branding a lot easier than at Smugmug. For the annual price you pay, I just thought it was only right that I would have the option to hide their branding. Sure, if you’re familiar with their web templates you’ll be able to tell it’s hosted by Zenfolio, but with Smugmug it would have been too obvious. And despite how much I liked Smugmug, that wasn’t something I couldn’t overlook.

So “The Gallery” at theojohnson.net is open and ready for business (I might also start selling prints soon). Let me know what you think and leave comments. If you’ve used any of these services, let me know what you think of them. And if you’re looking for a place to host your photos and choose Zenfolio, use my referral code DYM-CAB-HB4 to get a discount.

http://thegallery.theojohnson.net