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- About Votaphoto
- Registration
- Admins
- Clients
- Managing projects
- Photo proofing
- Sales & pricing
- Billing
- Custom domains & email
- Security
- Upload limitation
- About Votaphoto
- Registration
- Admins
- Clients
- Managing projects
- Photo proofing
- Sales & pricing
- Billing
- Custom domains & email
- Security
- Upload limitation
About Votaphoto (5)
What is VotaPhoto?
One central place to manage your clients and theirs photos. It saves your and your client’s time to select favours, publish an awesome online gallery and make profit by selling more.
Is VotaPhoto right for me?
Whether you run a photography business or work as a freelance photographer, we will have different plans to fit your needs. We offer you an easy way to manage clients, offer them proofing solutions and much more! Please see our features page for more details.
Does VotaPhoto support all browsers?
Yes, we support all modern browsers except for Internet Explorer 8 or under.
Can I access VotaPhoto using my tablet or smart phone?
Yes, VotaPhoto is accessible from everywhere and on all devices.
How much does it cost?
Votaphoto is absolutely free if you sign on for our Free plan. Almost all our features are available through the basic plan and you can upgrade your plan at any time to increase your earnings and project flexibility.
Compare the plans here.
Registration (2)
Is it free to register?
Votaphoto is absolutely free if you register for our Free plan.
Do I need to give you my credit card or payment information to register?
If you signup with our Free plan, which is free, we don’t require credit card information. We will only need it if you choose to upgrade your plan.
Admins (8)
How can I access my admin panel?
Simply use the subdomain you chose when signing up. For example if you chose “abcstudio” as your subdomain, to access your admin panel type “http://abcstudio.votaphoto.com/admin” into your browser. When you sign up we also send you a confirmation link to your email. This will also take you to your admin panel.
If you are using a custom domain simply type your domain name followed by “/admin” into your browser. For example if your website is “gallery.abcstudio.com” the link to your admin area would be “gallery.abcstudio.com/admin”
Help I forgot my password!
If you have forgotten your password you can always reset it by going to the sign in page and clicking the Forgot your password? link. Once you do that simply follow the instructions to reset your password.
Are there any requirements for the logo image?
Your logo will be displayed on top left of every page. Only jpg, gif, png file types are allowed. Max file size: 512Kb.
For best effects, the height of the logo should be no taller than 60 pixels.
Why do I need to setup my time zone?
The default timezone is Eastern Time EST (USA & Canada). For a smoother epxerience between you and your clients please adjust the timezone to your own and all dates and times displayed will be based on the timezone you have setup.
What is the “Background image for client’s personalized account sign in page”?
This image is used as the background of your client’s sign in page. Uploading a custom image can improve your company’s branding.
What is my “Contact page URL” and why is VotaPhoto asking for it?
Your “Contact page URL” is the link on your website with all your contact information. Instead of displaying information that could get outdated, we would like to provide your clients with a direct link to your own contact page.
How many team accounts can I create?
We don’t limit the number of team members you can create and manage, please create as many as you need.
Can team members change important settings like the business name, logo, pricing, etc?
No, only the main account that you used to signup can make updates to the business name, logo, email, pricing, etc on the settings page.
Clients (10)
How many client accounts can I create?
We don’t limit the number of clients you can create and manage, please create as many as you need.
Can I delete client accounts after I create them?
Yes, simply go to your client’s account page after you have signed in and click on the “Delete account” button. When you do this all data (including uploaded files and online galleries) related to this client will be deleted and cannot be undone, so please make sure you are ready to delete the account.
Help! My client forgot their own password!
If your client has forgotten their password they can simply click the “Forget your password?” link to reset their password.
Alternatively you can go to their account page and click the “Edit account” button to change their password for them.
Do my clients have personalised accounts that allow them to view my work and manage their online galleries?
Yes, when you create a new client you have the option of setting up a personalised account area for your client. You can also setup a client account for existing clients by going to the client’s account page and clicking the “Edit account” button. Here you can check the “Setup a personalised account area that this client can sign in to” to setup their account area.
I’ve setup an account area for my client. What’s the link to the sign in page and how can I inform them that I’ve done so?
Once you setup a client account area you can send out a welcome email to your client by going to the client’s account page and clicking the “Send welcome email” button. Your client will now receive an email containing a link to their account and password setup.
The link to your client’s sign in page is one of the following:
- If you are using VotaPhoto’s subdomain service please use the subdomain you signed up with in the following way: If you used “abcstudio” as your subdomain: “http://abcstudio.votaphoto.com/user” is your client’s sign in link. When you sign up we also send you a welcome email containing your client’s sign in link.
- If you are using a custom domain your client’s sign in link is your domain name followed by “/user”. So if your website is “www.abcstudio.com”, your client’s sign in link is: “http://www.abcstudio.com/user”.
My client would like to download the full resolution photos. How can I allow them do this?
You can easily release photos for your clients to download by following these steps:
- Setup an account area for your client (if you haven’t already done so, click here to instructions)
- Go to any project page and click on the settings icon to see more options. If you haven’t yet published this project then click on “Publish this project” to allow your clients to view all media in the published project. - If you wish to release all media downloads to your client, click on “Release downloads” and then select “Release all media”. - If you only wish to release one or more individual photos for download please mouse over the photo you wish to release and click on the lock icon on the tooltip. This will release that photo only for your client to download
- Optional step: – You can also notify your client by email that their downloads are ready by clicking on “Release downloads” and then selecting “Notify client”
Can I offer my clients more control over their online galleries?
Yes, your client can manage the following in their online galleries:
- The display order of their files.
- They can set a cover photo.
- The privacy settings of their galleries. (Please note that this feature is not available in the free plan)
How can my clients control the privacy settings of their galleries?
When your client signs into their account area they can click the online gallery link under the project. In this page they can click the “Privacy settings” button where they can select from the 3 following options:
- This online gallery is open to the public.
- This online gallery is private and can only be viewed by signing in
- This online galllery is private but can be viewed by guests using a universal password
Managing projects (11)
What other ways can Votaphoto help me profit from my work?
We have several exciting features in the works and one option we currently offer is for you to sell your work to clients after the proofing process.
If your client has selected and paid for 10 photos out of 100 during the photo process they can always return to their account area and purchase the digital download of any of the unselected ones.
To activate this feature go to the current project and click on the red “Enable selling” button. Setup a price per download and click on the confirm button. You can set different prices per project. Once you do this your clients can sign into their account area and a purchase option will be available for photos that haven’t had their digital download released to the client. All your clients need to do is click the purchase icon and follow the instructions to purchase the digital download. (Please note that the minimum price per photo is $5)
What does project expiration mean?
Depending on the plan you are signed up on your client projects may have an expiry date.
What happens when a project expiries?
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All original uploads are deleted from system and storage space will be recycled.
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If any online galleries are setup they will be deleted.
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You will still be able to view your projects and the photo thumbnails within it however your client will no longer be able to view the project in the account area. Product purchases are therefore also unavailable to them.
How many projects can I create for a client?
We don’t limit the number of projects you can create and manage, please create as many as you need.
After uploading photos to a project what do I do?
Once you have uploaded all the files for a project you can send a selection request to your client to start the proofing process.
Your client will now receive an email and link to the selection page. Once they have made their selection you will receive an email notification.
When you now view the project page the client’s selected files will be indicated with a red border. You can choose to move all un-selected photos to the scrapbook for easy deletion by clicking the “Scrapbook” button. Alternatively you can move individual photos one by one to the scrapbook by clicking the rubbish bin icon on each photo.
You can also view any comments left by your clients on individual files or for the project.
Based on your client’s selection and comments you may choose to upload new files and resend a selection request to them. Please note that the client’s previous selections will be reset.
What is “Release downloads”?
This means that we will release the full resolution files for your client to download. Depending on the files you uploaded these may be print quality, watermark free photos. Photos in the scrapbook are not made available for download.
If you have selling digital downloads enabled, you clients can only allow to buy unrelease downloads photos. Please follow the following steps to release or unrelease downloads,Go to particular project page and click on setting icon to see more options. Then, click on “Publish this project” if you haven’t published this project before, this will allow your client to view all your work in current project.
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If you want to release all photo downloads to your client, click the button “Release downloads”, and then click on Release all media.
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If you want to release individual or some of photo downloads, mouse over on the photo you want to release, and click on the lock icon on the tooltip
How can I re-upload a photo?
To re-upload a file, mouse-over the file you want to re-upload and click the “Re-upload” icon in the tooltip box. This wil trigger a upload dialog and the file you select to upload will replace the original file.
Can I temporary delete a photo? I may want to restore it later.
Yes, you may move files to the scrapbook temporarily. Files in the scrapbook are not made available to your client and only you can view them. To do so simply click the rubbish bin icon on the file’s toolbox that appears on mouse-over.
Alternatively, if your client has already made their selection you can move all un-selected photos to the scrapbook by clicking the “Scrapbook” button.
Items in the scrapbook can be restored or permanently deleted.
How can I permanently delete a file?
To permanently delete a file, you need to move the photo to the scrapbook first, and then permanently delete it from there.
Please see faq above for moving files to the scrapbook.
How can I delete a project?
On the project page, the “Delete project” button is located above the photos, as shown below. Please be sure you want to delete a project because it cannot be undone.
My client has made their final selection. What can I do now?
Once your client has made their final selection you can release the full resolution photos for them to download by clicking the “Release downloads” button. Please make sure you move all unwanted files to the scrapbook to avoid them being available for your client to download
You may also associate photos and videos with an online gallery and publish it for your client.
Photo proofing (6)
What options do I have for selling during the proofing process?
We offer two different options:
- If your client has already paid for a certain number of photos they can make extra selections by paying for them. Now check the box “Allow client to select more than the set maximum” and you can add a custom message that will display to your clients when they exceed the maximum selection. Now check the “Use our upsell feature and charge client’s when they wish to select more than your set maximum” and set the pricing plan for this project. When your client makes their selection they will be charged appropriately.
- Alternatively if you have not previously arranged anything with your client you can charge them for every selection they make. All you need to do is set the pricing plan for this project. Your client will be charged appropriately based on your set plan.
What’s client photo proofing?
Photo proofing refers to digital or online proofing where the photographer shows their clients softcopy images to allow them to make their final selection.
How does VotaPhoto protect my work during photo proofing process?
All photos are right-click protected to prevent clients from downloading them.
Photos are also resized before the client can view them so even if they take a screenshot the quality will not be high enough for them to print it properly.
Watermarks are also optionally added based on your settings to photos. To setup watermarks please see My client would like to download the full resolution photos. How can I allow them do this?
Can I limit the number of photos clients can select?
Yes, you are able to set the minimum and maximum number of photo selections a client can make. You may optionally allow clients to select more than the maximum and set a message for them if they do. For example if you have set the maximum number of photos at 10 and your client selects more you may add a message such as “Your package includes up to 10 photo selections. Each additional photo selected will incur an additional charge of…”
Will I get a notification when my client had made their selection?
Once your client has submitted their selection the project manager will receive an email notification. A notification message will also appear in the admin control panel. To see your client’s final selection go to the project page and selected media will be indicated with a red border.
Can my client leave me comments?
Yes, your client can leave comments on individual photos or videos. They also have the option of leaving you an overall general comment for the entire project.
Sales & pricing (9)
Do you charge commission?
Votaphoto takes transaction fee – 15% of your sale amount, when you are enrolled with the Free plan. For Premium plan members, the transaction fee is absolutely 0.
However, credit card processing fees will be charged by third party online payment service provider. We currently work with Stripe. (Click here to see the rates for United States users. Rates may vary depending on your country)
How do I accept payment from my client?
Votaphoto works with Stripe, a better and easier way to accept your client’s payments online and deposit directly to your local bank account on 2-7 days rolling basis (depending on the country you are located in). Votaphoto is in the role of displaying payment form interface to your clients before they can make the payment to you via Stripe while not getting involved to the transfer flow (except for the additional 15% transaction fee applied to the Free account users).
Stripe collects credit card processing fee of each of your sales. Click here to see the rate. Rates may vary according to the country you are located in.
To start this, login to your admin control panel and click on “Store” > “Accepting payments”. Then, click on the “Connect button” to complete the Stripe registration form. After that, your Stripe account will be connected to Votaphoto automatically. Now, you are ready to get paid from your clients!
To view sales transactions in your Stripe account, simply login to Stripe and click on “Payments” from left menu.
How do I refund my client’s payment?
You have to login to your Stripe account to deal with all sale transactions. When you refund a transaction, Stripe will return the entire fee to you. Click here to see “How do I issue refunds” in Stripe’s FAQ section.
What products/services can I sell to my clients?
Votaphoto currently supports the following two types of sales capabilities.
- Upselling during the photo proofing process. Click here for more info
- Selling digital downloads to your client. Click here for more info
- Selling self-fulfillment products to your client.
How do I charge sales tax from my clients?
Votaphoto can charge applicable sales tax on behalf of you from your clients. To setup your tax name and tax rate, please click on “Sales tax” under the “Sales & Payment” option from the top menu.
You can also set different tax rates for per client. To do so open the edit client account page and uncheck “Use system default” and enter the sales tax rate for that particular client.How do I setup pricing plans for upselling services during the proofing process?
First, you must create a price sheet by clicking “Store” -> “Products” from top menu. After a price sheet is created, make sure you add photo proof upselling price.
A default price must be setup and this is used when you choose to charge each extra selection at the default price. This is the most basic pricing structure you can setup.
To setup more advanced pricing plans simply click on “Add photo proof upselling price” again. We offer two types of pricing plans:
- Package Pricing (selections are setup into fixed packages)
- Tiered Pricing (each selection is charged but tiers can be setup to increase discounts to encourage clients to select more)
How do I charge for selling the full resolution digital download?
This topic is covered in “What other ways can Votaphoto help me profit from my work?”
Can I change the currency that I accept?
Yes, the currency is tied into your Stripe account. Change your currency in your Stripe account will change the currency you are accepting from your client.
Can I view the receipt sent to my clients for their purchases?
Yes, from your admin control area, click on “Store” -> “Sales report” from the top menu. Search the transaction you want and click on it to view the transaction details. You can then click the “Client receipt” link which is next to the transaction number.
Please note that your clients are sent their receipt link as well as payment confirmations via email.Billing (3)
Can I get a receipt for my monthly plan payments to Votaphoto?
Definitely, simply click on the “Payment report” link under “Sales & Payment” from the top menu. Select the payment transaction and click on it. *Does not apply to Free plan members.
If I upgrade my monthly plan during the middle of a billing period will I get a refund for the unused portion?
Votaphoto’s plans are prorated and you will be charged at the old plan rate up to the day you upgrade and the remaining will be charged at your new plan rate.
How does metered billing being calculated?
If you are a paid member and you used more space than the max storage limit that your plan gives you, additional charge will be added to your monthly fee. The rate of additional charge is $0.035 per 100MB of exceeded space. The exceed space is based on the peak usage from previous billing date to the day before next billing date. However, if you make a mistake by uploading huge amount of files, you have 24-hour grace period to delete your uploads and it doesn’t count it as a peak usage. (e.g. if you upload 10Gb over 20G free storage and delete 3Gb within 24 hours, you will only be billed for 7Gb.)
Custom domains & email (4)
I have my own domain and website, can I use my own domain instead of votaphoto.com?
Yes, if you already have your own domain, eg. abcstudio.com we can setup VotaPhoto services on your domain. Click here to learn how.
How can I setup VotaPhoto services on my own domain?
Setting up your own domain is easy and only takes the following two steps:
Step 1: Add a sudomain to your domain and point it to our servers
Let’s say your domain name is abcstudio.com, simply login to your domain registrar and add a subdomain. For example gallery.abcstudio.com, in this case, “gallery” is the subdomain. Here are some instructions for popular domain registrars:
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GoDaddy
- Sign in to your GoDaddy account
- Choose the domain name you want to use and click on the “Launch” button
- Under the “DNS Manager” section, click on the “Launch” link
- Click on “Add record” and select “CNAME (Alias)” from the drop-down menu
- Enter your desired subdomain in the textbox labelled “Enter an Alias Name”. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- In the “Points to Host Name” textbox please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Now click “OK” and save your settings
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Yahoo
- Sign in to your Yahoo Business Control Panel
- Select the “Domain Control Panel” link for the domain you wish to use under the “Manage My Services” page
- Click the “Manage Advanced DNS Settings” link
- Click the “Add Record” button
- In the “Destination” textbox please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Click the “Submit” button
- Click “Submit” again to confirm
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1and1
- Sign in to your 1and1 account
- Click on the “Domains” link
- Click on the “New” button and choose “Create Subdomain”
- Enter your desired subdomain in the first textbox. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- Select the domain you wish to use if you have multiple domains in your account. Then click on “OK” button
- You will now return to your previous page. Now check off the subdomain you just created and click on the “DNS” drop-down from the menu above. Click “Edit DNS Settings”
- Select “CNAME” from the “General settings”
- In the “Alias” textbox please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Check off the “Confirmation” checkbox and save your settings
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NetFirms
- Sign in your NetFirms account
- Access the “Domain Manager” by clicking the “Domains” menu tab
- Click the “Add” button on the top right of the Control Panel
- Click the “Sub Domain” tab
- Enter your desired subdomain in the first textbox. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- Check off the CNAME section
- Please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com” in the next textbox
- Click the “Add” button
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Hostgator
- Sign in your Hostgator account
- Click on “Simple DNS Zone Editor”
- Select the domain you wish to use
- On “Add a CNAME Record” section, Enter your desired subdomain in the first textbox. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- Please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com” in the next textbox
- Click the “Add CNAME Record” button
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FatCow
- Sign in your FatCow account
- Select the domain you wish to use
- Select the DNS tab in the domain settings dialog that appears
- From the Modify drop-down, select CNAME Alias
- In Host: enter your desired subdomain. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- In Points To: please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Click Add
- * If you have trouble setting anything up please send us a screenshot and we will be happy to assist you!
Step 2:
Once you have that setup please let us know what your custom domain is as well as the subdomain you created by logging into your admin area and going to the “Custom domain” section of your settings. Once we have verified that your subdomain has been setup correctly, that subdomain will correctly point to our system. Please allow for up to 24-48 hours for domain verification.
Can I use my own email to send out system messages?
Yes, you can. Votaphoto works behind the scenes and we can’t reply your client emails for you. We encourage you to setup VotaPhoto’s SMTP service in order to communicate with your clients more easily since your client can reply directly to your own email box.
Votaphoto currently supports gmail, hotmail and yahoo email accounts. If you are using another mail service provider please let us know, because we would love to help you out. To configure VotaPhoto’s SMTP service please go to system settings page in your admin control panel.
Can I still use my own email to send out system messages with Votaphoto, if my email account is not a Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo account?
Yes just drop us a line, tell us what email service provider you are currently using and we will try our best to assist you.
Security (2)
How does VotaPhoto protect my work?
All photos are right-click protected to prevent clients from downloading them.
Photos are also resized before the client can view them so even if they take a screenshot the quality will not be high enough for them to print it properly.
Watermarks are also optionally added based on your settings to photos. To setup watermarks please see My client would like to download the full resolution photos. How can I allow them do this?
Can I add watermarks to my work on selected projects or online galleries?
Yes, watermarks can be applied on a project or gallery basis.
Upload limitation (3)
What types of file formats does VotaPhoto support?
VotaPhoto currently only supports jpg/jpeg and png file types for proofing purposes.
Is there a upload file size limit?
Yes, the size of each photo should not exceed 25mb.
Is there a maximum storage limit?
No, unless your are using Free plan. If this is the case for you, you have the choice to delete unnecessary files or upgrade your plan in order to upload more files
How can I tell a photo has been selected by my client and if any comments have been made?