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ViewBug

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Germany
1 review
1 helpful vote
Follow Betty H.
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I have not been a member very long. I really enjoy looking at other pictures. However I am surprised that I sometimes see members who have posted hardly any pictures (less than 100), which aren't very spectacular, sharp or otherwise outstanding and still they have thousands of followers and awards. So I really do wonder how to get more followers, I like, award, vote but still it remains a bit low. HoResPhotography

Date of experience: December 4, 2017
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hi Betty,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. ViewBug is a community comprised of members from around the world with varying photographic styles, experience level, and their approach to interacting. We have some members who invest time in engaging within the community, which allows them an opportunity to build a following, increase their exposure, and create their own "photography tribe" within the larger ViewBug community.

We encourage you to engage with other members, give peer awards and like their photos, leave comments and interact with others whose photos and approach are of interest to you. Participate in photo contests and join photo challenges, as both are great ways to get more opportunities for impressions on your images/profile. These can be effective ways to increase exposure to your work and build your network in the photography community.

If we can be of any assistance, please do reach out to our member support team directly, by going here: http://bit.ly/EmailVB

Warmest regards,
Your friends at ViewBug

New York
1 review
19 helpful votes
Follow Carl B.
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Nothing. Not a single win, not a single mention, nothing. I've even suggested regional competitions, so that you wouldn't necessarily always feel that it you against the entire world, but the competitions the way they are now? C'mon. I'm not going to base my exposure on how much money I spend on the site. It's a waste of time. And o yes, of money.

Date of experience: March 11, 2019
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hi Carl,

Thanks for your feedback. We do understand that when it comes to contests seeing some winners might be frustrating. The judges and many of the voters take their selection process very seriously. Art is in the eye of the beholder and the judges as well as voters each has a different interpretation of the techniques and creativity behind each photo submitted.

We see the contests as a great tool to explore our creativity and expertise behind specific themes. We also have photo challenges, which allows members to create their own photo competitions and attract similar photographers and photography styles of interest.

The ViewBug Team

GB
1 review
8 helpful votes
Follow John S.
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Misleading Marketing
March 16, 2021

Haven't used Viewbug in maybe four years, still doesn't stop them sending emails being like "AWARD winning PHOTO!" and other $#*!e nye on weekly. They just trick people into thinking their photos are amazing to lure them into buying premium etc.

Date of experience: March 16, 2021
Pakistan
20 reviews
1 helpful vote
Follow Hailee S.
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I have an top notch tremendous and excellent involvement in you and i like your operating style and you are the most reliable, but i'm no longer content with you due to the helpless behavior of your consumer.

Date of experience: January 2, 2021
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hi Hailee,

Thanks for your feedback, rest assured that we will take it under consideration! We are so happy to know that the community is providing a great tool to showcase your portfolio online.

Have a great day,
The ViewBug Team

Texas
1 review
8 helpful votes
Follow Tre R.
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A friend signed me up for Viewbug and all I get is spam... all BS like 'you've been chosen!' and 'your views are going up!'... when I've got nothing on the website.
I've unsubscribed and STILL get email spam from them. Very unprofessional.

Date of experience: April 12, 2018
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello Tre,

Thanks for the post! We're very sorry to hear you're receiving unwanted emails. We definitely want to assist you with this. Please contact our Member Support Team at bit.ly/EmailVB and be sure to include the email address that is attached to your ViewBug account. Our team can help you resolve this as quickly as possible.

Thank you,

The ViewBug Team

Canada
1 review
15 helpful votes
Follow Paul L.
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Of two minds...
December 4, 2015

I joined, but thankfully only the free version. I thought the contests were a great idea, until I noticed the same images placing high time after time, many of them winning contests. There is obviously no filter on resubmitting images that have won a contest, which for me is disappointing. It brings the contests down to the point where the winning pool can keep winning, and new images don't have a great chance to win. Like other reviewers here have said, there are also no filters on the kinds of images making it into contests. I thought about getting a paid membership, but I think I am going to pass as I can always join a club to get feedback if I want it.

Date of experience: December 3, 2015
Australia
1 review
5 helpful votes
Follow Leanne W.
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I have been with ViewBug for nearly a year now and I absolutely love it. The people are great, the competitions and prizes are absolutely amazing. I highly recommend them to all those that have a passion for photography, love entering into competitions and want to get some feedback on their works.

Date of experience: June 29, 2016
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello Leanne,

We very much appreciate your positive feedback We are glad to hear that you enjoy being a part of the community.

We value your membership and are honored to have you as a member of the ViewBug family.:)

Have an lovely day!
Your friends at ViewBug

Texas
1 review
6 helpful votes
Follow april S.
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I looked at the website was a free user for a while but decided to upgrade. When i did i was going for a monthly subscription. The validation process and the screen was confusing. I ended up with my credit card being charged for the whole year. Not only that but some of the pictures that i submitted to contests were not fairly judged. Some of the pictures that were blown out and with terrible color won over mine! And if you submit your pictures to a contest they never tell you where you placed. Misleading and confusing! I want a refund!

Date of experience: March 21, 2018
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello April,

Thanks for your post! Based on your post, this situation sounds like a billing issue that our Member Support Team can assist with. Please do reach out to them at bit.ly/EmailVB, you'll receive an automatic confirmation email letting you know your email has been received. Once our live agents review it, someone replies within 24 hours (usually less).

Be sure to include the email address and username that are attached to your account. Keep an eye out for the automatic confirmation email letting you know your email has been received and that an agent will reply to you within 24 hours.

We look forward to assisting you with this,

The ViewBug Team

Arizona
1 review
1 helpful vote
Follow Steven M.
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I have been a Pro+ member since 2018. This site is fine to view other photographers' work, but their contests are a joke. My latest contest entry was ranked # 1 out of 12k entries when the contest initially closed. Within a couple of days, the rank changed to # 3. The contest then went 'In Review' for a week or so. The final results came in today. My photo is now # 2,783. WTF? Contests are a joke.

Date of experience: April 30, 2023
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Dear Steven,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We apologize for any misunderstanding and would like to clarify our process. Please note that our weekly rankings are determined solely by the number of votes received during that particular week, without taking into account previous weeks. Therefore, it is possible to rank in the top 10% during two separate weeks and not ultimately have a ranking in the top 50%, as the ranking is determined by the total number of accumulated votes received over the entire voting period. We hope this clarifies any confusion and thank you for your continued participation in our contest

GB
1 review
3 helpful votes
Follow eric w.
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Rip off
January 22, 2018

I have my own web page as well for four year now I can get ******* views a week on it with out a sale. What a lot of people don't think about how much photographers that there is in the world. Now on ViewBug I have come in under a 1000 views a few times with my pictures that's fine with me for being a bit of fun lets you know you are doing something right So think every one a lot of people thinks there the best but a lot of people gets sales with bad pictures its the luck of the draw its a 24/7 learning curve there not such as I think am the best. https://www.ericwatt.co.uk/ that's a link to my own page its a professional page this takes a lot of work for no sales.

Date of experience: January 20, 2018
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello Eric,

We really appreciate you taking the time to share your honest feedback. We truly are happy that you're enjoying and find value in the community.

Thank you for your participation!

Warmest regards,

The ViewBug Team

Washington
1 review
7 helpful votes
Follow Jonah L.
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Gotta love a place that promotes art in such a creative way. The people I've met are awesome, give feedback on my shots and welcome me as a friend. The contests are AMAZING with the best opportunities I've ever seen and even though I may never win a prize, I've won ideas, skills and an appreciation eye through the winners. I have the free subscription and may upgrade if I get some $ as I recently lost my job.

Date of experience: November 12, 2015
California
1 review
3 helpful votes
Follow orland g.
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I joined viewbug because a friend recommended me to check out the contest. I was very much impressed with the contests, they are fun and with great prizes.

I had a small glitch in the sytem but customer service was very quick and friendly. I truly enjoy my time at ViewBug and recommend it to other photographers.

Date of experience: March 1, 2012
New Jersey
1 review
3 helpful votes
Follow Carol S.
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Great Experience
March 4, 2016

A few weeks back I contacted Viewbug to up grade my status to Pro. I was given a wonderful young lady to help me with my transaction by the name of Seda. She helped me through the entire process without a problem. In my book she is a keeper, she is a great asset to your company!

Yours Truly,

Carol Simmons

Date of experience: March 4, 2016
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello Carol,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and being such a valued customer. We greatly appreciate your kind words about Seda and will be sure to let Seda know how outstanding her service was.

Have a wonderful day!
Your friends at ViewBug

California
2 reviews
16 helpful votes
Follow Gerard M.
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I have been a ViewBug member for over a year now and I feel that is time to write a review. I finally won my first Amateur prize in a contest, feel so so happy about it and even more inspired to continue working on my photography. Many people that I have talked to feel that it is hard to win contests and indeed it is hard but that is what makes it challenging. I was discouraged at the beginning but now I found a new light and want to continue shooting.

Date of experience: May 4, 2016
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello Gerard,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and congratulations on your winning.:-)

We are happy to hear that you didn’t give up at the beginning and kept trying. It appears that your hard work finally paid off.

We value your membership and are honored to have you as a member of the ViewBug community.

Have an great day!
Your friends at ViewBug

Wyoming
1 review
10 helpful votes
Follow Patrick S.
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I personally think it's ridiculous that you can't display on the cover page the pictures you wish. They say that only certain pictures are allowed to be displayed.
If I am paying to have my pictures displayed than I should be able to choose the pictures I want to display, not view bug.

Date of experience: June 4, 2013
Oregon
1 review
11 helpful votes
Follow Greg N.
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I think it's a fun site, to see where you're at personally in the world of photography, mostly. One of the drawbacks is that most of the time the photos that win are the most edited and altered. It's a bit of a bummer that in that way, that a great, more pure image isn't held in the same regard that a good image that has been extremely modified is. But it's a good place to get some feedback and see lots of great photos and photo illustrations.

Date of experience: June 11, 2014
Indiana
1 review
18 helpful votes
Follow Kayla L.
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I think everyone just submits and submits for nothing. Have any real participants with nothing to do with the site ever won anything worthwhile, or at all? I have uploaded and entered the contests and when I see what photos win, I can't help but realize it's a scam.

Date of experience: December 24, 2015
California
1 review
9 helpful votes
Follow Ankit C.
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I bought the PRO+ membership and returned it within two weeks as I wasn't using it. They have mentioned on their website that they would return it within 30 days but when I ask for a refund the reply saying my deal isn't included in refund as it has links with some third party which wasn't even mentioned initially.

Date of experience: June 5, 2019
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hi Ankit,

Thanks for your post. We do information on our 30-day refund policy as well as specific details on promotional upgrades that include free services and offers with the purchase. Our Member Support Team is available 7 days a week via email to assist with member concerns. Please feel free to contact Member Support at members@viewbug.com. They will do their best to assist with all member concerns.

The ViewBug Team

New York
8 reviews
32 helpful votes
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Online sharing
March 15, 2009

Online sharing - Here is another site that I've come across. This is similair to the Site Jabber site in many ways, yet different. I like it, like I like this site, as you get feedback from other photographers. It's very user friendly and recommended by me. Take a looksie.

Date of experience: March 15, 2009
GB
2 reviews
7 helpful votes
Follow Mike G.
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Only been a member for a month or so, at this stage I don't pay a subscription so have limited number of uploads. I appreciate the opinion of other members but don't shed any tears. A lot of the entries are, in my opinion, over processed but, each to his own.

Date of experience: January 7, 2017
ViewBug T. ViewBug Rep
over a year old

Hello Mike,

Thank you for your positive feedback. We are glad to hear that you appreciate the opinion of other members. We understand everyone has a different opinion when it comes to photography and we are doing our best to provide a great experience to all styles of photographers.

We greatly appreciate your contributions to our community and are honored to have you as a member.:)

Have a nice day!
The ViewBug Team

Overview

ViewBug has a rating of 3.9 stars from 248 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with ViewBug most frequently mention photo contests, amateur photographer and amazing photos. ViewBug ranks 2nd among Photo Sharing sites.

service
52
value
53
shipping
21
returns
20
quality
48
This company responds to reviews on average within 6 days