The SmugMug Blog

Holy moly, you guys rock!

In a single week after we debuted our free iPhone app, Camera Awesome, we blew right past 2 MILLION downloads.

(This means we averaged more than three downloads per second. And you’ve taken over 10 million photos with Camera Awesome. Wow!)

This review on AllThingsD sums it up.

The #1 Photo App in 55 Countries

We couldn’t do it without you – our friends and family and fans – who have cheered us on, fought for us, and gave us the smackdown when we deserved a good dose of reality.

Thank you to everyone who’s given our app a try. We hope that we’ve accomplished our goal: to make shooting and sharing your life easier and faster. More beautiful. More fun.

Here are some Awesomized pics you’ve been shooting:

It’s not our style to rest on our laurels, so we’ve got to get back to work making your photos look even more awesome here.

Talk soon,
The SmugMug Family

If you’re located in Europe, you’re going to want to sit down for this one:

• UK print lab, Loxley Colour, will be joining the SmugMug family of labs.

Print and Ship in Europe

We chose Loxley Colour for their impeccable quality, reputation and dedication to the professional photography industry.

We’re still hammering in the last few nails, but expect to start fulfilling your orders through Loxley Colour by March 23, 2012.

You know we never pre-announce features, but this one was just too good to keep mum. Our European Pros have been begging us for years for something closer, and you’ve all waited long enough!

Come See Us in Birmingham

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, come see us at Focus on Imaging this week. We’ll be at stand #C23, so drop by and show us your smiling faces.

Stay tuned for more details!

… it is by far one of the most full-powered camera apps I’ve used, and it marks an exciting advance for smartphone cameras.
– The Wall Street Journal

Here at last. Our baby. As you know, photography is our life and our passion. So we created the camera you never knew you always wanted, the camera we always dreamed of – a camera fit for the iPhone.

Camera Awesome is SmugMug’s new iPhone app. It lets you take beautiful photos using the camera you already have. No ads, no cost, no catch (seriously, it’s free). So go ahead, create those memories and share them on the sites you love.

Camera Awesome is the Future of Photography

As amazing as expensive cameras are, they can’t do at any price what Camera Awesome can for free:

• Be so simple anyone can use it.
• Provide advanced features like a level for the horizon and an easy way to focus in one spot and set exposure in another.
• Apply effects designed by pro photographers (like Kevin Kubota) to transform your memories from forgettable into stunning works of art.
• Share instantly on all your favorite sites.
• Auto-archive photos and videos to your SmugMug account.
• Precord video so that when you tap the record button, you record the past.
• Be fun and whimsical and… did we say fun and whimsical?

How is it different?

It’s FAST.  Simple.  Beautiful.  And so, so fun!

It’s loaded with gorgeous effects and filters that would cost a pretty penny in professional editing programs.

Share on the social networks you already use, like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more.

You Are SO Gonna Have Fun.

Here are some of the Awesome things you can do with this app:

• For moms - Catch those first steps or the winning goal. With hi-speed burst mode and 5-second video precording, all of those moments are yours forever… and safely backed up to SmugMug so you can print them big and bold.

• For adventurers - Capture your experiences anytime, anyplace, without weighty gear. Climb mountains, cross borders and leap from the sky with just your iPhone in-hand. Auto-archiving means you’ll never lose your photos when you’re on the road.

• For photographers - You’ll love the exclusive collection of filters, textures and frames offered by post-processing superstar Kevin Kubota. Apply stunning, Lightroom-worthy effects to your photos in just a few taps.

Are You Ready to Shoot Like a Pro?

Check out what you can do:

Ready?

Get it free now from the App Store and start Awesomizing your world.

The response we got from Pricelists warmed the cockles of our heart: Pros were thrilled with the ease, beauty and power of being able to price huge swathes of galleries with just a few clicks.

However, there were a few of you who said there was just one more thing you wanted: to be able to set the final price, not just the profit.

And we aim to please.

How to Set Your Final Price

Our inimitable Sorcerers just released an improvement that lets you set your pricing by price OR by profit. It’s your choice.

Open up your Pricelists manager and take a look at the fields here:

You’ll see that you can easily enter a value for your profit and sleep well knowing that’s the amount you’ll make.

But now the price field is changeable, too. Type in a number and you can print up ads, flyers and whatever else you wish, knowing that’s the price your customers will see.

See the green? We highlight the “active” field when you save the Pricelist, so you know at a glance which one is being used.

Which method should I use?

You should set your profit if:

• You want guaranteed margins on every sale. In the event of currency or base cost fluctuations, you may earn more than you set… but never less. The price displayed to your customers may change as a result of this, but the rounding tool is there to help make those numbers pretty.

You should set your price if:

• You have printed materials that require your pricing to stay fixed. We’ll switch over to profit-based pricing if the base cost ever goes higher than your set price. We’ll just use the profit amount you had when you first saved the Pricelist.

So go and play with your prices and make lots of money. Happy selling!

We know that photo pros build strong relationships with their print labs, and we kept hearing that White House Custom Colour has been a popular choice for wedding and portrait photographers.

It’s true: they’ve been dedicated to the success of professional photographers since 1977, and have quite a reputation.

Today we get to announce that they’ve joined our family, giving Pros who already know and love WHCC another way to turn gorgeous photos into gorgeous prints.

See the catalog now.

Why the addition?

We know that busy pros are hard-pressed to switch away from the labs they’ve used for years, and WHCC has been one of them. You don’t have to switch away from EZ Prints or Bay Photo, but if you’ve been waiting to fulfill your SmugMug orders through WHCC, now you can.

It’s our mission to offer you a huge selection of fabulous, perfect print options. And have it seamlessly integrated with your site and shopping cart so you’re not a slave to your clients.

How do I order from WHCC?

Fire up your Pricelists manager and make a new Pricelist. You’ll see the three labs’ logos on the popup box. Click your choice, add in products, apply your Pricelist to galleries and you’re ready to go.

Do I have to use Pricelists?

Yes. We’re doing everything we can to make SmugMug everything that photographers have ever dreamed of… and more. We know it’s tough to change your routine, but we hope that the benefit of great features like additional print labs is worth the fear of leaving your comfort zone.

Try it. We’re sure you’ll love it!

Can I offer both WHCC and Bay Photo Products on my site?

Absolutely. We love them both and bet you will, too.

You can set different galleries to print through different labs. Just create a Pricelist for each. If you want to offer Bay Photo products for just a few specific photos, make a Pricelist for Bay Photo and apply it to only the images you want.

Remember: You can always price and sell merchandise (fulfilled through EZ Prints) and downloads (fulfilled by SmugMug) no matter what lab you use.

Can I see prints in-person?

Our bulletproof guarantee ensures that you can buy some prints and see their gorgeousness up close. And if you don’t adore them, tell us why and we’ll fix it or replace it right away.

Check out the shiny new WHCC tab in our updated catalog. A special thanks to Monica Toohey-Krause for the stunning sample images!

There’s no coy way to announce this, so we’ll just say it:

SmugMuggers can now offer pricing for prints, gifts and downloads in one of five international currencies.

That’s right! Your visitors now get to pick their own currency when they buy stuff from your site.

How does it work?

Run (don’t walk) to your galleries and click the Buy button to bring up the shopping cart. At the top you’ll see a fresh new drop-down menu that translates your pricing to the five following flavors:

• USD – $
• CAD – CA$
• AUD – AU$
• GBP – £
• EUR – €

You can click through each one to see pricing in the shopping cart change. We’ll remember the currency that’s chosen and display it consistently when you view our catalog, as well as throughout shopping and checkout.

I’m a Pro. Will I make less money when the exchange rate changes?

No, your profits are safe. We talked about this when we debuted Pricelists, and this is one reason why SmugMug’s custom pricing is centered around profits, not the final price.

Market crash? No prob… you’ll still earn that $100 on those MetalPrints (as long as you’ve priced them that way).

What currency will I get paid in?

We’ve been paying international SmugMug Pros in various currencies since last May. Look here to see how it works so you can get paid in whichever moolah you love best.

Anything else I should know?

Here’s the quick list:

• SmugMuggers of all account levels don’t have to do a thing to start showing the five currencies on your site. We do the conversion automatically for each and every visitor that buys from you.

• The price your customers see on your site will adjust along with the exchange rate. This could happen daily if the market’s feeling feisty.

• Pros: Your customers will see the currency they’ve chosen while shopping and during checkout, but for now you’ll still have to set your prices in USD. We’ll be adding currency support to features like Pro pricing, Coupons, Packages, etc., so please hang tight and we’ll tell you when those are ready.

Whoopee! Now, where can I sell?

In case you were just too shy to ask, you’ve always been able to sell to anyone, anywhere in the world. We hope the new currencies will help your fans get a better idea of how much things cost.

If you want to see the full list of countries we ship to, take a look at this page here and bookmark our handy shipping info page.

What if I have an order problem?

We stand loud and proud on our 100% guarantee on all orders, and, as you know, we’ll refund you – or your customer – if we can’t make it right.

But if your sale doesn’t work out and it was purchased in a foreign currency, please remember the refund may not be the same dollar amount due to the exchange rate differences at the time of checkout and return.

Now, it’s your turn to grade us.

Questions? Comments? Feedback? You’ve asked for this feature for such a long time, we wanna know how we did.

This addition is just Part 1 of this year’s international goodies. We know that SmugMug Pros are dying to set prices in other currencies, too, so stay tuned! We’re building that next.

Calling all Adobe fans! We’ve heard that Lightroom’s built-in SmugMug uploader has been one of your favorite ways of getting photos into your sites. So we thought we’d let you know about our most recent update.

What’s New in the Latest Version

• Previously, syncing went in one direction only: from Lightroom over to SmugMug. Now it’s a two-way street. Lightroom will find any images you’ve previously uploaded to your SmugMug galleries and match them to existing images in your library. Synchronicity, baby!

• Pros who use Events will find that their clients’ Favorites get pulled into into a separate Collection in Lightroom.

• Movie shooters: You can now also upload video files in addition to still images.

• Finally, we’ve heard your cries about how your innovative, snappy image titles were getting left at the door. You now have the option to publish your Titles or Captions (or both) in the SmugMug image caption field for all to see.

No plugin? Get it now

If you’re coasting on an older version and want to upgrade to the shiniest version, look here.

Or, just click this link to start the download and follow the instructions on our help page to get started.

Enjoy!

It’s that time of the year again.

We rock it in Vegas for WPPI and we know you do, too. As per Sin City’s traditions, we don’t talk about what happens in the booth, but we have pictures to prove that we love meeting Pros like you.

Come visit. Talk to us. Tell it to us straight.

Plus, the event gives you the chance to pick the brains of amazing greats like SmugMug Pros Bambi Cantrell, Scott Robert Lim and more.

Why should this year be any different?

Photo Courtesy of Fotocabina.net

"You better come party with us."

Photo Courtesy of Fotocabina.net

Snag a Discount

Option 1. If you’re not the chancy type, go ahead and grab a discounted pass for just $95. Use the coupon code: WFREGR

Option 2. Want to skip the lectures and just say hi? Click here to get a free pass to the trade show floor.

See you in Vegas, baby!

A quick note just to announce that the Sorcerers of SmugMug have finally staked their claim on a place to totally geek out. Check out SmugMug’s new engineering blog right here:

http://sorcery.smugmug.com/

From the comments you guys leave here, we know that there’s a lot of you who will find it interesting and, hopefully, useful.

Here’s to SmugMug’s Sorcerers!

In protest to SOPA and PIPA, we’re rallying for action on our homepage and shuttering ADVrider, one of the largest motorcycle hangouts on the web.

We, like so many sites on the web, feel very strongly about web censorship. Today’s blackout could be a taste of things to come if you don’t take action now.

Congress has the power to kill the internet and all of your favorite sites: places that we all swap ideas and share opinions every day. Read about the Stop Online Piracy Act here.

If you value free speech, the internet, ideas and entrepreneurship, please take ten minutes out of your day today to contact your local representative. Visit SOPAstrike.com to see the many ways how:

  >>>>> http://sopastrike.com/ <<<<<