Girls (and boys) on Film. (photobox.co.uk)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	photobox.co.uk
Date:	30/03/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great products, very reasonable prices, quick turnaround

Disadvantages: One or two very minor quibbles about online tools and that's it.

Last year, during a trip to New Zealand, I took over six hundred photographs. I've never had a lot of interest in photography, but I was really pleased with some of the shots and I thought that I needed to investigate a way of doing them justice rather than sitting on my hard drive.

I investigated quite a few different websites that offered various services related to photography, but I was intrigued by Photobox offering a 2-for-1 deal on Photobooks. These are essentially hard-bound books with your photos printed in them.

I promptly signed up to the site which gave me 40 free prints (standard sizes only), just as a signing up bonus. Signing up was easy, just a few details followed by an email and my account was ready to use. The site is easy to use, nice to look at and, importantly, quick to use. I had an issue during my early days in trying to find the things I wanted to order, but I've either gotten used to the site or the navigation has been tweaked to make it easier to find items. It's probably a combination of both, actually.

In order to be able to order any of the items off of Photobox, you have to upload your photos first (or you can link to a Facebook or Flickr account). Uploading from your PC is one of the most time-consuming things about the site. I find that it's easier to make any decisions before doing a bulk upload and often copy everything I need into a temporary folder and just upload all the contents of this folder rather than try and browse through lots of folders making decisions on the fly. Additionally, do any photo manipulation you need before uploading pictures. Red eye reduction etc. needs to be done first, before any upload takes place. Luckily, the tools available for uploading photos are easy to use, but the transfer speed will be determined by your own internet connection. You might need a cup of tea and a book handy if you're uploading lots of photos!

When creating my Photobooks, I wasn't entirely sure what I hoped to accomplish. It was only after I'd uploaded my photos to the site and played around with the book creation tool that I began to see the possibilities. In the end, I created a book that told a story of my travels across New Zealand complete with as many pictures as I could get in with appropriate comments attached to photos or groups of photos. For the free book, I took my favourite pictures from the holiday and printed them, one to a page, in a bigger size for my enjoyment. In the end, because I'd not restricted myself in what I wanted to include, my photobook cost me approximately £37 including postage and packing (plus a free one) but they start at £22.99, if I recall correctly. When the package arrived through the door, I was astounded by the final results.

Until this point, I had kept my photos under wraps from friends and family. Now, with my Photobooks, I had something with which to do the shots justice. The reaction I got when I showed the two Photobooks to family, friends and work colleagues was nothing short of unbelievable. There was a lot of appreciation for the photos themselves, but in addition, a lot of people were asking about the Photobooks. Some co-workers are getting married this year and are considering Photobooks as an extra way to display their own pictures (as well as their 'official' wedding album).

The amount of tools and nice little touches on the site is really quite staggering. The photobook tool itself is extremely easy to use, offering lots of layout options, though I found that it could be a bit small at times, often making your text labels hard to read. If Photobox were to develop a desktop version that was a little easier to see, this would be a HUGE plus point. Luckily for me, some proofreading caught a couple of typos that could have tarnished an otherwise perfect product. When ordering prints, you get a little smiley face beside each picture that lets you know how the picture size will translate to your chosen printed size and this can change as you crop photos in real time. It's been my experience that even the medium smiley face (usually on photos taken with my mobile phone rather than a proper digital camera), the photos still turn out really well on 6 by 4 ½ prints.

Photobox also gives you plenty of storage for your photos and this increases with each order (a kind of loyalty thing, I guess) which means you can keep your photos uploaded for quick re-printing (and this goes for your photobook designs as well).

Since my original order, I've shopped quite a few times at Photobox. Some of my New Zealand pictures are now in full 16" x 12" glory, awaiting a suitable frame. I bought a female friend a photobook last year for her birthday, filled with her own photos from the New Zealand trip (that earned me quite a few brownie points, I can tell you) as well as many standard prints from my personal library (printed at 6 by 4 ½ inches to accurately reflect the resolution of digital cameras). There's much more available at Photobox than this small selection and new products are added all the time (and, naturally, some are removed).

Packaging is excellent with all photos coming in a cardboard envelope as well as a standard photo envelope type thing which makes it hard for Postie to bend (plus it's labelled 'Do Not Bend'). Bigger prints come in a solid cardboard tube that can be easily re-used to beat siblings over the head when they give cheek. Do not try this at home, kids.

I've given up on places like Jessops, Boots, Snappy Snaps and the like. I can order prints online through Photobox and have them the next day for a standard postage cost or go for something a little more extravagant at a reasonable price and be confident in the quality of the final product. Even during the weekend, it seems that printing continues! My last order, made on a Sunday at 2PM was printed and dispatched by 6PM. So far, I've nothing but praise for the service and final product from Photobox.

Summary: Online store for making the most of your digital photos