We love seeing what photographers build with Imagely, and Island Moose is one we couldn’t wait to share. It’s a wildlife photography site created by Alexander Debia on Santa Catalina Island, just off the Southern California coast.

Alexander’s galleries are full of the island’s birds, foxes, bison and coastline, and every one of them doubles as a print shop. When a visitor falls for a photo, they can order it as a print right there, and the order goes to the lab automatically.

Alexander expected building that store to be the hard part. It turned out to be simpler and quicker than expected, which left more time for what matters most to Alexander: photographing the island.

I asked Alexander to walk us through the whole journey: how Island Moose started, why the shop lives inside the galleries, how the first test prints turned out and what advice Alexander has for photographers who want to start selling prints.

Meet Island Moose: Wildlife Photography from Catalina Island

When I asked how Island Moose started, Alexander went back more than ten years, to when photography was still a hobby. Moving to Catalina Island is what made it serious.

“Living on Catalina opened my eyes to the incredible photographic opportunities all around me,” Alexander says. “From the island’s unique wildlife to its beautiful landscapes, I began noticing moments and scenes that were just waiting to be captured.”

Over time those photos grew into a collection of birds, deer, foxes, bison, squirrels and landscapes. Island Moose started as the place to share it: “a way to showcase my photography and share my unique perspective on Catalina’s wildlife and natural beauty.”

Here’s the homepage of Island Moose, which opens with one of the island’s ravens.

Birds, deer, foxes, bison and squirrels each get their own collection, and landscapes have their own page too. So a visitor who loves foxes can go straight to the foxes. All the screenshots in this post come from the live Island Moose site.

Why Island Moose Sells Prints from Its Own Galleries

When Alexander started researching how to build the site, one of the biggest priorities was clear. Print orders had to be handled and fulfilled automatically, “with as few manual steps as possible.”

Just as important was keeping buyers on the site. “I wanted visitors to be able to explore my galleries, choose their favorite photographs, and order prints directly from my website without being redirected to a separate storefront.”

That point matters more than it sounds. With a separate storefront, someone who falls for a photo has to follow a link, find the same image again and finish the order on a site that doesn’t look like yours. Every extra step is a chance for them to change their mind.

On Island Moose, the shop lives inside the gallery. Click a photo and it opens in the lightbox with the purchase options right beside it.

Visitors pick a product and a size, add it to the cart and check out, without leaving the photo they fell for. Behind the scenes, Imagely handles the checkout and sends the print order to the lab.

“Imagely offered the combination of gallery management, e-commerce, payment processing, and automated print fulfillment that I was looking for,” Alexander says. “It allowed me to focus more of my time on photography rather than managing orders.”

Setting Up the Island Moose Print Store

One thing that genuinely surprised Alexander was how the setup itself went.

From creating galleries and configuring print products to connecting payment gateways, the process was straightforward. I initially expected building an integrated photography store to be much more complicated.

Alexander Debia, Island Moose

Each collection on Island Moose is a regular Imagely gallery. Here’s the Birds page, where the photos sit in a clean grid under a short description of the collection.

Prices don’t have to be set photo by photo. In Imagely you build a pricelist once and apply it to a whole gallery, so the whole collection gets the same products and sizes.

The prints themselves are made by White House Custom Colour (WHCC), the professional lab built into Imagely. You don’t need your own WHCC account, because orders go through Imagely to the lab. That’s one less account and one less login to manage.

If you’d like the step-by-step version, our guide to selling photography prints with automated fulfillment walks through the whole setup.

What the First WHCC Test Prints Showed Island Moose

Before selling to anyone, Alexander wanted to see the prints in person and ordered test prints from WHCC.

My first test orders through WHCC turned out beautifully, honestly better than I expected!

Alexander Debia, Island Moose

Alexander went in with something specific to check. “The prints were clean, the colors were well-balanced, and the overall quality was impressive. They weren’t overly bright or excessively soft, which was something I was particularly interested in evaluating.”

The bigger lesson was about materials. The same photo can look different on different papers and finishes, and seeing that in person will shape how Alexander curates the galleries and recommends print options.

“Understanding those differences will help me make better decisions when curating my galleries and recommending print options to customers.”

That’s why I’d suggest ordering a few test prints of your own before you open your store. You’ll know exactly what your customers will unwrap, and you’ll talk about your prints with a lot more confidence.

Alexander adds: “Seeing my photographs transformed into physical prints was incredibly rewarding, and it gave me greater confidence in the products I’m offering through Island Moose.”

Results: What Island Moose Has in Place Today

Here’s what Island Moose has running with Imagely today:

• A print shop inside every gallery. Visitors order from the lightbox without being sent to another site.
• Print orders that go to the lab automatically. Orders reach WHCC without Alexander copying anything from one system to another.
• Payments taken on the site. Buyers can pay by card or with PayPal at checkout.
• Prints checked in person. The test prints confirmed the color and quality before any customer orders one.
• More time for photography. With orders handled, Alexander’s time goes to shooting and marketing instead of admin.

Next up is turning visitors into buyers, and that takes a different kind of work.

The Next Challenge for Island Moose: Getting the Print Store Found

Here’s the part that’s easy to underestimate, and Alexander put it better than I could.

I’ve also learned that building the store and getting people to discover it are two very different challenges.

Alexander Debia, Island Moose

Island Moose is “still in the early stages of growing an audience and generating sales.” So much of Alexander’s energy now goes into search engine optimization, social media and finding creative ways to reach people who love wildlife photography.

You can follow along on Instagram and TikTok, where Island Moose shares more of the island’s wildlife.

This is where an all-in-one setup pays off. When the store runs itself, your time goes to marketing and to new photos, not to copying orders from one system into another.

“Having the technical foundation in place means I can spend more time working on those challenges and, most importantly, continuing to photograph the island.”

Advice from Island Moose for Photographers Starting to Sell Prints

When I asked what Alexander would tell a photographer about to start selling prints, the answer was about nerves, not settings.

My advice to other photographers would be not to let the technical side of selling prints intimidate you. Getting your galleries and storefront running doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking.

Alexander Debia, Island Moose

If you’re about to open your own print shop, these are the lessons from Island Moose worth taking with you.

None of these need a developer, and most of them you can do this week.

FAQs About Selling Photography Prints with Imagely

Island Moose shows that the store can be the easy part, and that getting found is the work that comes next. Be sure to check out our post on SEO tips for photographers when you’re ready for that part.

Don’t have Imagely yet? Get started today!

For more photography tips and WordPress tutorials, check out our blog.