Background: I have a web site that is a daily surf report. Every day, several times a day, I trip on over to the beach snap some pictures then via iPhoto and my MacBook I upload them over the local wifi. I then log into flickr and drag and drop the latest imports into a "Surf Set" that is connected via Flickr API/JSON to my surf report web site. Occasionally I will use my iPhone to take the pictures (particularly when I'm on a lunch break) and upload them via MobileFotos which automatically puts them into the "Surf Set" this is hands down the easiest fastest way that I've found to get new pictures up.

On a few occasions people have asked to purchase the photos of themselves or sunrises etc. So naturally my thought was - why don't I just hook it up so that when the photo display's on the site there is a 'buy a high res version or print of this picture' option.

First question: do I have to prove that the person buying the picture is the person in the picture? Is it legal for me to sell pictures of surfers on a public beach?

Second question: I have a site design I like and really this is not a photography site but any revenue stream is welcome point is I don't want to try and shove this into a smug mug template and was wondering if I can use the smug mug API to do something like this?

Third question: as I have never used smug mug before is their integration with iphoto etc? I really need this to be a somewhat seamless process again because the with this site while the photographs are vital they're not the driving force.

Fourth question: anybody have any other ideas that don't involve me having to hand code this whole thing for the functionality I want?

Which country are you located in? Not surprisingly, the legal position is likely to vary from one country to the next...


If you wish to make profit from the photos that you sell, then you will need a Pro account at Smugmug. This comes with the ability to customise the site in many ways, and I'm sure that plenty of people will be willing to help you make your site look like the design you are aiming for (you should post your needs on the the "Smugmug customisation" forum on dgrin). Most likely, it will involve copying-and-pasting various codes into the customisation section of your smugmug site.

I live in the US state of Florida