Probably the easiest form of HTML, especially for photographers and Photoshop lovers alike is the image map.  If you know the size of the image you need, then you can create your own custom image, or clickable page to be inserted onto your page.

To make this easier to explain, lets make a real world example.

On Ritzpix Pro, you can create your own custom image logo to go across the top of your web page.  This logo must be 825 pixels in width, by 73 pixels in height.  I am giving minimal instructions for Photoshop since that is what I use, but you are more than welcome to use any graphics software that will allow you to do the same things.

To start, Create a new document (File -> New), 825×73 and set the resolution to 72dpi.  This is not a high resolution file, but we are not printing it, this is only to be placed online, so the file SHOULD be really small.  In fact, the smaller, the better!

It is best to keep the back ground the same color as your web page so the logo doesn’t look like a cut and paste block on the top of the site.  Add the graphics for your site name and any other logos or graphics you wish to add.

Here, we are going to add a “Home” button.  Since the logo is on top of all the pages, the “Home” button will be as well.  Many photographers have their own site and utilize Ritzpix Pro for selling, so YOUR home button may take your customers back to your other site, I will just have mine take me to the home page of my current site.

You can add other buttons or “Clickables” but we will only work with one for now.
Now we need to ‘Map’ the image.  To do this, we need to find the pixel coordinates for every item we want clickable.  In photoshop, Go to View->Rulers and make sure they are turned on.  You also want the rulers to display pixels, not inches, so right click on the ruler and choose pixels, now we are ready to map!

You can map a rectangle or a circle.  For a rectangle, you need to know the coordinates for the top left point and the bottom right point.  (Marked with Green Dots)

To map the home button, you need 4 numbers.  Always start with the top first and move down.
(Top Left Red, Top Left Blue, Bottom Right Red, Bottom Right Blue)
Based on the rulers, our numbers for the home button would be ‘10,15,115,60‘

Now that we have the image(s) mapped, we can begin working on HTML code!

Insert the image using an image tag, and include the dimentions as well as the map name (just in case you have more than one image map on the same page).

<img src=”http://display.lifepics.com/images/FrostBytesPhotography/Imagemap1.jpg”  width=”825″ height=”73″ usemap=”#map1″>

Now that we have the image posted, and we named the map, “map1″ we can tell the map what to do:

<map name=”map1″>
<area shape=”rect” coords=”10,15,115,60″ href=”http://imagesoflight.lifepics.com/”>
</map>

Now we posted an image with a clickable button!  As you can see after the ‘href=’ I inserted the web address that the link will take you to.  Make sure you end the map by closing the tag </map>.

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Sometimes the most effective marketing tools are the simplest to initiate. Today we want to focus on the importance of creating a sense of urgency when selling your images. A common trap that photographers tend to fall into is the belief that the longer you leave your photos online, the more chances you have to make sales. In reality, most sales happen within 48 hours of notification, and after a month, sales drop to a point of insignificance.

Next time you post an online album, test out this selling technique by announcing the release of an album that is available online for the next four weeks only. Send your first email telling customers where they can find the event. Follow up 2 weeks later with a reminder and a promo code for a free 4×6 print. Then send one more email a week after that saying that the images will be removed from the site in a week.

Stick to your guns - if you say you are taking them down, take them down. The worst case scenario is that an enthusiastic buyer contacts you later and you post them again for a 3 day window so they can buy. If your customers ask “What’s the rush?” tell them that storage is a premium and you are juggling a lot of different events. You will be surprised at how effective this strategy can be.

By: Lifepics

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Would you like to get your customers to events on your site quicker and with fewer clicks? Utilize the links provided at the bottom of your “Event Settings” page in your admin site! By providing these links in your emails and personal websites, you will get customers right to your site, without the trouble of searching, searching, and more searching!

To add your own link to your email, blog, personal website, and more, please follow these steps:

1. Log into your admin site and go to “View Photos.”
2. Click on “Event Settings” (found beside or underneath each of your photo albums, depending on your album view).
3. Once at “Event Settings,” you will see a few different event options, including options for links to share with your customers.
   

   Let’s go into a little more detail of what each link does:

• “HTML code w/ Image” - After you add this link to your HTML site, your customers will see an image that they can click on that sends them to the chosen event. The image displayed is the first image of the album.

• “HTML code for Text Link” - You can create a clickable word (text) link on your HTML site. Your viewers will see the event title that is clickable; once they click on the text link, they are sent right to the event.

• “Link for Emails” - This creates a clickable link right in your email to customers. Once they click the link, they are sent to that particular event. This option is great for sending out “check out what is new” and “your album is ready to view” emails.

By: Lifepics

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Hello Everyone!
Hope you are all gearing up for the holidays, It’s already September, so it’s just around the corner!

One of the biggest requests I get at Ritzipx Pro is:

“Can I add my own watermark/logo to all my photos?”

Well, through our system, as you know, your images are right-click protected and watermarked, this is only protection on the site itself.  The unwatermarked images are still sent to the store.  Many of our Pros have requested a way to add their own logo or watermark to their images as an added protection when the image is sent to the lab for printing.  Unfortunately this has to be done prior to uploading to the site for selling.  If you have done this with Adobe Photoshop, as I have, you all know that batch processing can be a pain.

I have found a great FREE software suite that you should all try to help make your life a little easier.

FastStone.org

FastStone has FREE softwares that all revolve around image editing.  FastStone Image Viewer, FastStone Capture, FastStone MaxView, and FastStone Photo Resizer.  I love the image viewer!  It’s a great way to navigate your photos as well as quickly view the image metadata and apply various edits without actually reorganizing your current file structure.

FastStone Photo Resizer

FastStone Photo Resizer is a great software for batch processing folders of images.  You can resize a whole folder of images to low resolution emailable images, or you can up the dpi on a set of images with a few clicks of the mouse.  You can also apply your own Logos, Watermarks, and Borders.

Just choose the source folder of you images and choose a destination to save them to.  Check the “Use Advanced Options” box and then click on the “Advanced Options” button to adjust your batch settings.

The Advanced options of the software allow you to apply various changes to an entire album/folder (batch).  You can Batch Resize, Rotate, Crop, Adjust Canvas Size, Color Depth, DPI, add Text, Watermarks and Borders.  You can also rename all your photos to assist you with sequential ordering.

Using the borders function you have the ability to apply a wide variety of different borders.

Below is a sample of what the above settings will give you:

As you can see, there are a wide variety of borders you can apply to your images.  Borders are a great add on to your images to provide a customized look to make your prints stand out from anyone elses.

Through the softwares advanced features, you can also apply text, or a logo to all your photos as a way to brand your prints.  You can add simple text with your Lifepics web address across the bottom of all your photos, or you can add your own graphic to the corner of each of your images.

Ritz Camera, Ritzpix.com, Ritzpix Pro, & Lifepics are not affiliated with FastStone.  FastStone is a free software that is easy and offers many options to you providing a helpful tool for your image editing.

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We have two exciting releases coming within the next couple of months that we would like to share with you. The Shopping Cart is being overhauled and is due for release very soon. The new shopping cart will include a more intuitive integration with your product offerings that streamlines the ordering process, making it easier for your customers to place orders from your site.

We are also thrilled to announce the pending release of a new upload tool that will simplify your upload process significantly. LabCenter for Pros will be available to download from your admin site, providing another way to upload images to your site. This tool will allow multiple folders to be uploaded at one time with the ability to preset your price list, see real time download reporting, set an album as Public or Private, set your Event Code, and much more.

By: Lifepics

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The Lifepics Pro Solution houses many different types of photographers, and whenever possible, we try to pass along helpful marketing tips. Today we are going to talk about those of you who photograph events and sports. Whether you are photographing youth sports, non-profit events, performances, or local school events, you will always benefit by joining forces with your host. By donating a percentage of your profits back to the organization, you become a valued member of your community. You also encourage sales by promoting the fact that by purchasing photos, your customers are supporting the organization. You can then refer to the event as a fundraiser, which becomes a win-win situation for both you and the organization sponsoring the event.

We spoke with a photographer recently that photographed kids playing Little League baseball. He donated back a small percentage of his sales to the league, and at the end of the year, he was able to happily hand over a check for $1,000.00. That is real money for these types of organizations, and they in turn embraced the photographer as a sponsor and helped him to advertise whenever possible. This goodwill gesture also put him in a great light with community members; instead of being seen as the guy who was profiting from the kids, he was seen as a sponsor of youth sports, and extra work rolled in quickly and easily in the form of family portraits, senior photos, and additional events. Think about it and get involved with your events’ sponsoring organizations.

By: Lifepics

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One of the most challenging hurdles in online sales is getting customers to visit your site. Consider offering an incentive to attract attention and get customers in the door. LifePics recently launched our new and improved Promotion Engine to make the promotion process much easier. You now have the ability to offer Free Products, Percent Discounts, and Dollars Off on specific products. There is nothing that will drive more traffic to your site than offering a free print. It will only cost you pennies but the rewards can be tremendous.

By: Lifepics

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One way to make sure that your customers can move easily within any album is to utilize sub albums. Let’s use the example of a wedding shoot. Instead of creating one album and dumping all 1200 images into one spot, you might want to think about making your customer’s experience a bit smoother by creating sub albums.

For example, an event titled “Johnson Wedding” may contain sub albums titled “Pre-Ceremony,” “Ceremony,” “Posed Groups,” “Reception,” and so on. This accomplishes two things: first, it helps your customer select the exact shots they want to look at, and second, it keeps the load time to a minimum each time a new album displays as thumbnails. Loading 1200 images as thumbnails is going to take a lot longer than loading 250 images in a sub album.

One last piece of advice: create your albums in advance and then point your uploads to the appropriate sub albums. That way you do not need to shuffle images once they are loaded.

When you upload your images, make sure to point them into your pre-made sub albums. Once the uploads are finished, you are ready to roll.

By: Lifepics

*Note: If you liked this, check out our .pdf guide for “Image Management”

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Successful photographers understand the importance of on-site signage. Let’s go over a few reminders that you might find helpful. On-site signage is key for all online sales. The average customer is barraged with advertisements on a daily basis, so it is very important to use repetition and/or expertly timed promotions to remind them that your images are available for purchase.

For example, wedding or event photographers find lots of success by distributing Event Cards during the event. These can be 3×5 cards that you hand out on-site that states your web address and event code (if applicable). Many times they are placed on dining tables or near the Guestbook. Some wedding photographers will use a nice photo of the bride and groom from the engagement shoot, and possibly include a promo code that encourages people to view the photos and receive a discount or a free print when they place an order. Be creative and think about what would make YOU go to a website.

If you are working in a larger venue like a sporting event, you should consider sponsoring a team or buying space at the venue to post your web address. Remember, there is a lot of information flying around out there. Repetition and unique marketing are essential for success. Consider hiring people to help distribute flyers. A brief mention buried deep on a website is not very effective, but a clever promo can increase sales exponentially. Be smart, be original, and put yourself in your customers’ shoes. It works every time.

By: Lifepics

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Although the new user interface has been out for a while, we noticed that not every pro is taking full advantage of the new features.  We want to remind you of the new B&W and Sepia tool that allows your customers to change any image to B&W or Sepia.  With just the click of the mouse, this feature can increase your sales by giving your customers more options for their photos.

If you like to customize the look of your B&W images yourself, or do not want your customers to have the ability to convert images to B&W or sepia, don’t worry.  You can turn this function on and off with a click of a button under the “Settings” link in your administrative site.

By: Lifepics

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