Snapfish (Snapfish)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	Snapfish
Date:	21/05/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See review

Disadvantages: See review

Snapfish:

I love taking photos, I'm not the world's best photographer but I enjoy it and sometimes I take really good photos. I have to admit I do like quirky photos, ones that capture the spirit of the person or thing you are photographing. For instance by favourite picture of my brother has him pulling a stupid face, my favourite of the other half is him really laughing and my favourite of my Mum is with her smiling naturally. Digital photography is great for this as you can just take loads of photos and pick the ones you like and delete the rubbish!

The main problem with digital photos is that people seldom get them printed and this is a shame because a beautiful photo album makes a lovely family heirloom and a great piece of social history. The other problem is that people think that their photos are safe on a memory stick, disc or PC but no matter how many back ups you make digital storage is flawed and you can loose all that in the event of a fire or even a burglary. I don't want to freak you out but these are reasons I think sites like Snapfish are important and well worth considering.

Now I found about Snapfish through www.pigsback.com which is a cash back site, there are loads of reviews about it if you'd like to find out more. It seems a lot of cashback sites have offers to give you cashback, points or whatever for having 20 free prints from Snapfish, (you have to pay 99p postage). There are lots of these offers and I am currently working my way through all the different photo printing/cashback combos at the moment! Snapfish also offer you free prints for referring friends and your friends get free prints too so you really can maximise the benefits from each site!

For me Snapfish has too main uses; online photo storage and sharing and of course photo printing.

> Storage: This is a great way to back up your photos online so if anything happens to your PC etc you can retrieve them. It's also a good way to have access to them when you are away from home as you can log into your Snapfish account and view them there. I personally upload my photos from my phone monthly, (I put them in a folder called something like "May 2009" which I find useful as I can easily locate my photos and it reminds me of when they were taken), and then upload them to Snapfish.

> Photo printing: There are a range of sizes available for you photos from 6"x4", (what I think of as a "standard" size photo), for 9p each to 12"x8" for £1.20 each. You can also get a wallet set of four 3"x2" photos for 99p. When you have selected the photos you wish to use you will be taken to the orders page and if the photos you have selected have a resolution too low for the size you wish there will be a little orange triangle next to the photo name to let you know. This is a good feature as it prevents you from getting blurry photos of poor quality.

These are the two things that I use Snapfish for but they offer others services such as photo gifts, (mugs, t-shirts, mouse mats etc) and albums, (your photos ready printed in an album - there is a nice range of albums and this is something I will be getting in the future). The prices all seem very reasonable and these items mark a special occasion nicely. Something I really like is the kids art section where you can have your kids, (or your own, or anyone else's), art work made into great items like coaters and jigsaw puzzles. The other half and best friend are always leaving little sketches lying around and I am thinking of having some made into coasters, what a great thing to have! This is a great idea with Father's day coming up and imagine the joy of your child if you gave them a jigsaw showing their favourite drawings!

Uploading your pictures is easy peasy and Snapfish kindly guide you through the process so you can do it without even thinking. You can then name all your photos, (if you haven't already), and organise them into albums, (i.e. one of the cat, one of Christmas etc). Uploading does take a little time but you can set it off and go and make a cuppa if you wish although if you are just uploading one or two pictures then it is quite quick.

The whole site looks very professional and photo like if that makes sense. It is bright and cheerful and easy to use which is great.

I have always received my photos within three days of ordering, even the free ones, but reading a few reviews it would seem that is best to make orders for Christmas very early to avoid disappointment. The photos I have received are really lovely and I was very pleased with the quality. I had to order more though because my Mum knicked some!

Summary: A great site with several uses that is thoroughly recommended by me!