Graduation season is almost here! It’s both an exciting time of celebration and a unique opportunity for photographers to reach new potential customers. PhotoDay is the perfect solution for your upcoming commencements. Get photos online faster with a quick and easy setup process. Effortlessly connect families to galleries using our smart text marketing feature. Promote and spread the word with our free design template resources. And if you haven’t already tested out PhotoDay’s amazing FaceFind feature, now is the time! Get ready for the easiest commencement season ever.
Now, which gallery type do you choose? The options go from easiest to easier to easy (so there’s no wrong choice), but allow us to break it down for you.
The EASIEST Option - Public Gallery
So why a public gallery? Because you get the best of all worlds. Public galleries allow you to provide open access to all of the attendees. A direct link to the gallery is the simplest route. With a direct URL, parents can enter right into the gallery. In the gallery, customers are greeted with the option to enter their phone number and subscribe to receive updates:
Next, they will be able to either make an AdvancePay purchase (if your gallery is in AdvancePay status) or find their photos once the gallery is published. Read more about how and why you should rock AdvancePay on every job here. In addition to the direct link, you can also create an access code that customers can text to 90738 to subscribe to the gallery.
Create posters, program ads, yard signs, and more to collect even more subscribers before and during your event. PhotoDay’s Commencement Resource Kit makes it a breeze and is available for free download to all PhotoDay users!
When you’re ready to upload your finished photos, we recommend sorting them into folders prior to uploading so PhotoDay can automatically tag them accordingly and thus narrow the data set for customers to find their photos.
Public galleries have three customer-facing search options (pictured below), but for large events with tons of photos, we suggest you turn off “All Photos” and allow customers to use both “FaceFind” and “Tags” to find their images.
When building your price sheet, be sure to offer multi-digital packages, print + digital packages, and plenty of specialty items for photo gifts!
Ready to see how it looks from a customer's perspective? Check out this sample public gallery.
The EASIER Option - Group Gallery
Group galleries offer all of the same things as public galleries, except for the direct URL to the gallery. Instead, customers can text the access code you advertise to 90738 to subscribe to the gallery and receive a direct link. Or they can skip the text and go straight to galleries.photoday.io to enter their access code.
Follow the rest of the steps outlined above for public galleries, and you’ll be selling in no time! Learn more about all of the different ways you can communicate with customers before, during, and after picture day to encourage sales.
The EASY Option - Private Gallery
Ready to experience the magic of Capture + FaceFind? PhotoDay’s private gallery workflow allows you to provide each person with their very own private gallery featuring only their own photos. If you choose to go this route, you have two options:
- Capture photos during the event just like you usually would.
- Add subject data — either before picture day or on the go at the event.
- Use the Capture App to snap reference photos. You can do this before, during, or even after you take their professional photo.
- Let FaceFind work its matching magic. Capture syncs the reference photos and data to PhotoDay, so all you have to do is upload your professional photos and watch FaceFind match the right face to the right data.
- Recycle your fall images and data for graduation!
- If you already have subject data and reference photos, add a column to your CSV titled “Image Name.” Then add the reference photo's filename to each subject accordingly.
- Upload the CSV and reference photos to the new job, and it will populate and match everyone accordingly.
- When it’s time to upload the professional photos, let FaceFind work its matching magic as usual.
Since private gallery jobs require data to create each subject’s private access code, PhotoDay has an additional feature exclusively for private galleries. Automated email campaigns help you clearly connect with customers. Much like the automatic SMS campaigns (for all job types), customers receive varying series of automatic emails based on the status of the gallery, any special offers, upcoming expiration, etc.
While each gallery type is easy to set up, our Customer Success team is here to help you every step of the way. With online galleries, automated marketing, and a streamlined workflow, we know PhotoDay will make your upcoming commencements the best yet! Create a free account and get started 🚀 If you’re already a PhotoDay user, sign in to access our free resources.
