Photo Archive
Our Photo Archive at SmugMug
We maintain an online photo archive at SmugMug.com. It mostly includes photos of family and friends, travel, and various hobbies and activities we are involved in. You can access our SmugMug site using the link directly below or using the link in the footer of all MontgomeryCrew.net pages.
http://www.montgomeryfamily.smugmug.com/
Portions of our SmugMug site are password protected for reasons listed in our privacy policy. Chances are if you don't have a password to a given area of the site you wouldn't be interested in its content anyway.
A Word About SmugMug
I have used many of the online photo sharing sites and have had accounts at about a half a dozen different ones. Each had its strengths and weaknesses and most worked fine for the occasional sharing of photos with family and friends, but there were ceratin features I wanted that were just not offered. Then in late 2006 I decided to create a more comprehensive online photo archive. After some research, I decided to start using SmugMug. I was not sorry. I really, really like this company and their product!
Before starting to use SmugMug, I did extensive research on the features offered by all the photo sharing sites (I included more than 20 in my research). What I found was that for the way our family uses a photo sharing service, SmugMug was the clear winner. I say for the way "our family" uses a photo service because SmugMug is clearly not the best choice for everyone. Actually, one of things I find most refreshing about SmugMug is their willingness to admit just that – they have a target audience and they are not the best choice for everyone.
Below is a list of some of the great SmugMug features. Many other photo sharing sites provide some of the same features, but no other site I am aware of offers all of them.
The Upside:
No visitor registration for viewing or downloading photos
Full resolution downloads
Unlimited storage/unlimited bandwidth
Flexible security features (passwords, private galleries, download blocking, print blocking)
True archival of photos – full resolution storage on multiple servers and backup disks available
Excellent full screen slideshow
Keyword search capability
Ability to customize the look of your galleries
Statistics on photo and gallery hits
Automatic use of IPTC keyword and caption fields if you already use them
No advertising
Excellent print quality
Great customer service
They listen to customer suggestions - really, they do!
Ability to host photos for other sites (forums, blogs, personal websites, etc.)
Of course there is always a downside – it’s a short list for SmugMug though.
The Downside:
Annual fee of $39.95
Print prices are more expensive than some sites
Many competing sites are free and for many people one of the free sites will clearly be the best choice. In my case however, I find that the features offered by SmugMug are more than worth the modest yearly cost. If you are interested in more information, you can find it at SmugMug.com.
If you haven't already figured it out, I am a big fan of SmugMug and their busness model. I think the thing I like the most about SmugMug is that fact that they really listen to their customers. They make it easy to make suggestions, they respond to your suggestions, and they are constantly coming out with updates to their site that address many of the most requested changes. You can get a good feel for the company culture by simply visiting the SmugMug site or by viewing the blog of SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill.
Lastly, if you are interested in a SmugMug site of your own and want to save $5 on your subscription fee, enter my personal coupon code (SxUSHxi0j80fA) in the “referred by” field when you sign up to get us both a discount (you on your subscription and me on my renewal).
Last Updated: 28 Dec 2007