Hi James

Yep - I do all my proofing on-line now, although this has only just happened in the last couple of weeks. Using the template I have, you set up a list of sizes and prices for portraits in a "common" gallery and then just add the pictures for each shoot you do. Then when you want to alter something (ie put your prices up) all the individual galleries alter automatically.

I have always had the benefit of owning a high speed/high quality RA4 lab, so printing images has always been easy and cheap (if you take out the cost of the capital equipment) but never really found a happy medium for portrait work. If I print a contact sheet the customers complain they are too small and if I print a proof with copyright on it they try and scan it at home.

I love the on-line way as I can shoot more and generally be more creative (especially with weddings) and it isn't costing me more (maybe a little time). It has certainly helped with wedding reprints. Last year we did vertially no follow up orders (none worth shouting about - maybe a few for close family, mums and dads that kind of thing) now I get them to publicise the fact before-hand and at the speeches and reprint sales have gone up tremendously. I think with the advent of digital unless you get in quick they will make do with there own crappy pictures. As far as portraits go I even create a black & white version for all those people who want to see what they will look like in B&W. Again I run a photoshop action and its done - some even ask for a sepia finish.

That leads me on to your second point - nature sales.

I guess that with the wealth of sites out there on the www I'm going to be pretty lucky to get people to stop by and view my work - let alone buy an image. So I now hand out masses of business cards everywhere I go with the website on. At the summer school I printed (on photo paper) some postcards with images on that had been taken that day with the web site details on. My number of viewers has gone up and with it so have the on-line sales. This week for example I have over 1100 page views per day. (Do you track your stats? I appreciate 1100 may not be a lot compared to some but I figure that I'm doing ok at the minute) I'm trying to get the numbers up anyway I can. The summer school postcards worked well as I used good looking young adults in them - this way the boys all took the ones of the females and the mums usually took the ones of the handsome young men! As long as they take them home and then start looking at my site I don't care - hopefully they will then browse and buy.

I have looked in depth at your site - you seem to get lots of people who look but don't respond. Is this correct? I'm not bashing anyone I'm just surprised that lots of people view things but don't post.

Anyway enough for now