Zenfolio is a popular client gallery that helps photographers deliver and sell their photos. Photographers can create and customise professional looking online galleries, which can be easily accessed in the browser without any app download. Clients can view and download the photos in different sizes, that the photographer can control.
In contrast to file-sharing platforms like Dropbox and Google Drive, which lack visually appealing galleries and control over download sizes, Zenfolio and similar services excel at their intended purpose—delivering photos to clients after a shoot.
However, we believe there is a better Zenfolio alternative to deliver photos, especially for events, weddings, and high-volume headshots.
There are a couple of limitations to how we deliver photos today:
- It’s too slow. People are the most excited to receive their photos while the event or wedding is happening, not days or weeks after it’s over. By delivering your photos slowly, you miss the most important time window.
- It’s too much work for guests to find their own photos, because they have to scroll through the whole gallery to pick them out. It’s also too much work for photographers or clients to send only the right photos to each guest.
As photographers ourselves, we felt strongly that there has to be a better alternative to deliver photos. Hence, we built Honcho to address these two limitations.
- Honcho helps you deliver the photos instantly, during the shoot. This is done by uploading photos from camera to cloud (by tethering the camera to your phone), while you shoot.
- Honcho helps you share the right photos with the right people, with AI-powered face recognition. Your guests can easily find their own photos by uploading a selfie. Honcho then matches the right photos with the selfie and delivers them in a personal gallery for each guest.
In this article, we describe how you can use Honcho as a Zenfolio alternative, to elevate your photography service. You can also sign up for a free account and get started immediately.
Upload Photos Instantly, From Camera to Cloud
Honcho enables you to upload photos as you take them, instantly making them available in an online gallery that can be shared with clients and guests.
This process works by tethering your camera to your smartphone via the Honcho app, which automatically detects your camera. As you capture images, they are transferred to the app and uploaded to the cloud.
Once uploaded, the photos can be accessed from any device, whether on another smartphone or a laptop, through either the mobile or web app.
Honcho supports wired tethering because of its speed and reliability, and it works with any data cable. High-resolution photos are typically transferred and uploaded within 5 seconds.
You can choose the resolution of the photos to upload, from full quality down to compressed images at 640px on the long edge. Naturally, smaller files, like those at 640px, are uploaded almost instantly.
The great thing about Honcho is that it requires no extra equipment. Many tethering solutions (such as the CamRanger) require investment in hardware, usually to extend the range of the connection. Honcho only needs your camera and phone, and it essentially has unlimited range. This allows you to move freely around the venue, without worrying about the connection.
As a photographer, I’m sure you agree that it’s frustrating when your photos are not distributed to the guests.
We understand that our primary obligation is to the client, whether it’s an event planner or a wedding couple, and they ultimately decide how and when the photos are shared.
However, we’ve all encountered situations where clients either don’t share the photos or delay in doing so, which often leads to guests approaching us directly, asking for their photos after the event.
We believe that our photos hold value not only for the clients but for everyone attending the event. We capture moments that are significant to guests, and they deserve to have access to these memories.
This isn’t about placing blame on the clients—they are usually very busy and have many responsibilities, so distributing the photos may not be a top priority for them.
The real issue is the lack of a simple and efficient way to distribute the photos. But now, with Honcho, that problem is solved.
Honcho allows guests to view and download all the photos in an online gallery. Since you’re uploading the images as you shoot, guests can view them in real-time. This enhances their experience by giving them access to their photos when the excitement is still fresh.
While guests enjoy seeing all the event photos, they also want an easy way to find their own. In the past, this would be a time-consuming process, requiring them to scroll through the gallery to locate their own photos.
Honcho eliminates this hassle with a simple solution—guests can upload a selfie, and through face recognition, the app finds their photos and delivers them in a personalised gallery. Each guest receives their own gallery, containing just the photos they’re in.
One of the main reasons clients hesitate to share photos with guests is due to privacy concerns. For example, wedding couples may not want their most intimate moments visible to everyone, and event planners worry about publicly sharing guests’ photos out of respect for their privacy.
As a result, photos often go undistributed, and their value diminishes over time.
Honcho solves this problem by giving you better controls over privacy.
The first option is to set a password for the online gallery, allowing access only to specific individuals. This feature, similar to what other services like Zenfolio offer, can be useful when sharing photos within a small, exclusive group.
However, we believe this method has its drawbacks, as our goal is to distribute the photos to all guests, not just a limited audience.
Honcho offers a more innovative and seamless solution: blurring all the photos in the online gallery. Only photos identified through face recognition are unblurred, meaning each person can only see their own photos and no one else’s.
This approach allows you to share the gallery with everyone, ensuring each guest receives their personal photos while safeguarding privacy. It’s a unique solution that only Honcho provides, allowing for both public sharing and privacy protection simultaneously.
Play Live Slideshows to Engage the Audience
We believe that photography can be much more than simply documenting an event or wedding—it can be an experience in itself. All the features we’ve mentioned so far are designed to enhance the overall experience of your photography service, taking it beyond just capturing moments.
Live slideshows are another tool to help you create a compelling experience. There’s something magical about showing beautiful photos on a large screen, because people love seeing photos of themselves. It energizes the room and sparks conversations.
It’s also a great opportunity for you to showcase your work to a captivated audience. And when they need a photographer in the future, guess who they’ll think of?
Honcho makes starting a live slideshow incredibly easy. Simply open the online gallery in any browser, click the “More” button, and select “Slideshow.” No additional software is required—it just works.
You can moderate the photos through the mobile app or any other device. For example, you can have an assistant moderate the slideshow from a laptop, viewing your photos in real-time without any need to transfer files manually. Depending on how you prefer to work, you can set the default status of new photos to published or unpublished.
Print On-Site Without Manually Transferring Files
All the features we’ve discussed so far help you upsell your photography services, allowing you to charge higher rates and earn more per booking. Offering on-site instant prints is another option that our clients love, which also helps boost revenue.
There’s something special about holding a physical print, and many of our clients appreciate the opportunity to give keepsakes to their guests. These prints can serve as meaningful, personalized alternatives to traditional party or wedding favors.
Typically, on-site printing requires the tedious task of manually transferring files from your camera to a laptop, which can be a hassle during a busy event. Honcho streamlines this process, enabling wireless printing from any device without the need for file transfers.
It also offers flexibility in how you manage printing. You can print directly from the mobile app, or have an assistant handle printing from a laptop. Since your photos are uploaded to the cloud in real-time, your assistant can access and print them instantly.
Conclusion
There are many missed opportunities in how we currently deliver photos. While services like Zenfolio are great for post-event delivery, we believe it’s far more impactful to share your photos instantly during the event.
Honcho is a Zenfolio alternative that empowers you to do just that and more. With features like face recognition, you can ensure the right people receive their photos while maintaining privacy. You can also run live slideshows and print on-site wirelessly, enhancing the overall experience.
We need to take a broader view of what we’re bringing to the table as photographers. Events are all about creating memorable experiences. If we continue with the mindset that we’re just there to record an event, we’re in danger of becoming obsolete—after all, everyone has an amazing camera in their pocket now.
It’s time to rethink how photography can elevate the event or wedding experience. By delivering more value to your clients, you’ll grow your business and increase your own success.
Take the first step by signing up for a free account with Honcho, and see for yourself how it can transform your photography business.
