First, there are many different types of pictures you can sell online. When selling wedding pictures or wedding photos online it's best to have an e-commerce online storefront set up. The easiest way to setup a storefront online is to use one of the companies that already offer e-commerce solutions for online posting of wedding, portrait or special event photography. Sometimes referred to as online proofing or event pictures online or just event photography or event photos, companies like Pictage, Pictage.com, Collage.net, Print Room, Lifetime In Focus in Boulder, Colorado, Lifetimeinfocus.com, Morephotos.com, photobiz.com, photoreflect.com, backprint.com and others do a great job for you. They have invested huge sums to develop e-commerce solutions for online selling of event, portrait and wedding photographs online.

The secret to making money online is not to sell cheap pictures but to show your work to a lot of people. That is the beauty of the internet; you can get you photos in front of a lot of people by simply gathering as many email addresses as you can from the event you are photographing. Harvesting email addresses is easy; put a signup sheet next to the guest book at the wedding, offer the bride a free enlargement for providing email addresses of family members, hand out cards with a convenient URL, on school pictures and seniors offer a sheet of wallets in return for email addresses of aunts and grandparents. The key is to put images in front of new people and encourage them to share images with others. Sharing wedding pictures with friends and relatives is the best way to get people to buy wedding photos online. Pictage, Pictage.com, Collage.net, Print Room, Lifetimeinfocus, Lifetimeinfocus.com, Morephotos.com, photobiz.com, photoreflect.com, backprint.com and others all do a great job of emailing people and reminding them to go online to buy event pictures. You can improve your odds of making the sale if you actively gather email addresses and send out invitations to view event pictures also. Selling wedding photos online can be fun and profitable. The great thing is that your online storefront is working for you 24/7/365.

Whether you are a professional photographer with years of experience or somebody just getting into the business you can make money selling wedding photography online using an online storefront or online proofing service. Even non-profit organizations can make extra money by posting pictures of their events online, but what should photographers look for in an online store if they want to sell wedding pictures, engagement photos, special event pictures (bar mitzvah pictures, bat mitzvah pictures, birthday party pictures, dinner party pictures, sorority and fraternity pictures, sports event photos, cruise ship photos, graduation pictures, sweet 16 photos, etc) and portraits?

Look for Lifetime In Focus ( lifetimeinfocus.com ) in Boulder, Colorado, which offers a service similar to Pictage, Collage.net, Digilabs, Printroom, Labprints, LifePics Pro, and other online storefronts. Lifetime In Focus works strictly on a commission basis. Why pay for the service if you aren't selling anything? New photographers especially should use a service that charges only when you make a sale. Most, except for LifetimeInFocus.com, charge a monthly or annual fee plus a percentage and print charges. Some online services do not have their own photolabs. LifetimeInFocus.com does all of its own printing in its own lab on Fuji Crystal Archive photographic papers. Digital wedding pictures should be printed on true photographic papers. Digital photos should be printed on true photographic paper. Most online services connected to a photo lab print on true photographic paper. Many photographers that print their own work use inkjet printers which may not be very archival. Make sure to go with an online service that keeps your images. Some services let people order, and then contact the photographer who then has to find the files and send the order to the lab. The problem is that sometimes the files don't make it to the lab, they have been lost, or the images online don't match the files the photographer has, or the photographer is on vacation, or, or ,or ,or, the list is endless. When you use Lifetimeinfocus.com you are assured that when an order is placed the picture is available and will be on its way to you within 48 hours. That's security. Also, use a service that allows you to keep images up all year. Most services just display pictures for 60 to 90 days. Lifetimeinfocus.com allows you to extend your hosting indefinitely. Images can go through the complete cycle of the wedding season, Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day, Valentines Day, Father's Day, etc.

Use a professional photolab like Boulder Pro Photo that has developed its own online ordering service after years of experience. Some labs like Boulder Pro Photo, Millers, Express Photo, Digilabs, WHC, and McKenna Pro Photo have their own online ordering service and some let you use a third party service which feeds work to them. The problem with third party services is that there is little accountability. Also, you want an online storefront that can support you with products like albums, album binding, photo books, proofing, canvas and fine art paper, custom enlargements, blowups, mounting, framing and most important customer service. Of course, if you are doing wedding photography in Boulder or Denver or anywhere in Colorado, Boulder Pro Photo is your neighborhood pro lab. For wedding photographers in Boulder, Colorado, it is super convenient.

Customer service can be the key to a successful online shopping service partnership. Many issues can be quickly dealt with by your photolab or online storefront without the customer having to contact the photographer. Lifetime In Focus has a link to contact us right on the front page. Let's say the bride sees a picture she wants removed from the viewing site; she can contact us directly and the image can be instantly removed without bothering the photographer. Many customer questions are resolved without contacting the photographer. Even if the photographer is on vacation the online storefront keeps selling, printing, shipping and handling customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long.

To summarize - what should you look for in an online partner if you want to make money selling your wedding photography online:

1. An online service that only charges you when you sell work. No annual or monthly fees to erode your profits.
2. An online storefront that handles all the e-commerce - securely.
3. A service that prints pictures on true photographic paper - no inkjet
4. A service that prints the photos as well as takes the order - no finger pointing
5. An online store that handles customer service so your customers get taken care of even when you are busy or away.
6. Use a service that hold the image files, not just an order placing service
7. Make sure you can keep images up for a full 12 months.
8. An online storefront should make it easy to email potential customers and for them to Share images with friends and family.

Your wedding is one of those times when you must hire a professional wedding photographer. Don't take a chance on Uncle Fred; just because he has a fancy camera doesn't mean he is experienced in professional wedding photography. To find your wedding photographer you have to be ready to look at some pictures. Not just any pictures, but wedding photography from actual events, not just pictures from the photographer's web site. Photographers only use the best shots they have on their web site. What you want to see is the hundreds of pictures from an actual wedding. At Lifetime In Focus ( lifetimeinfocus.com ) you can search for and find a photographer in your state or city, then look at actual weddings that photographer has photographed. Some photographers shoot fewer pictures but better pictures. Some photographers take a thousand images but you have to shift through all of those images to find those you want to keep. Some people like seeing thousands of pictures. It is a personal decision.

There are lots of questions to ask your prospective photographer. Do you shoot digital or film or a combination of both; do you shoot alone or do you have an assistant who photographs with you; do you give us the digital files; do you post online; can we view our pictures on our computer; can we share pictures on a computer; can we buy pictures online; can friends and family buy pictures online; do you have an online store for sharing and viewing photographs; do you offer albums; does your online storefront have a slideshow; can I get pictures in black and white or a sepia tone; do prints in black & white ( B/W ) cost extra; do you photograph in a traditional style or a photojournalist style or a combination of both; does your standard package include pictures on-line; do I get a complete set of proof prints; how many hours do you shoot; do you come yourself or do you send someone else; am I looking at pictures you took or those from someone else in your company; and are my pictures true photographic prints or inkjet, because you want to make sure you are getting true photographic prints that will last a lifetime.