There are a million and one different ways you can display your photos these days: on t-shirts, mugs, posters, stickers, rugs, traditional prints, and the list goes on and on. When I came across Snaptotes.com, though, I was intrigued. A photo handbag. Hmm. The initial uses that came to mind included things like “gift for my mother,” “Valentine’s Day for the wife,” even a cool addition to a bridal package. It never really occurred to me that I would ever have a use for one – I mean, it’s a handbag, and I’m a guy. But, when they arrived at my door, I must say, I was impressed.

Snaptotes Bucket Bag - My Cat: Yoshi

Before I get into reviewing the actual bags themselves, let me walk you through the entire process. First, you Choose a Bag, from a Bucket Bag, to a Backpack, to a Messenger Bag, to a Lunch Box, and even a Coin Purse (the photo above is of one of my Bucket Bags). They currently have dozens of varieties of bags to choose from - all of different shapes and sizes.

Next, you design your bag – liner fabrics options (a variety of colors to choose from), exterior trim options (including leather and microfibre), photo options (do you want your photo on one side of the bag, or both?), and even an option to do a collage of numerous photos.

Once you have designed your bag, it’s time to pick a photo (or more). If you don’t have a digital copy of the photo you want to use, you could just mail it in, but I assume most people will just upload a photograph. In the photograph interface (displayed below), you’ll see that you can adjust the image to line it up exactly how you want it on the bag – you can zoom in and out, and move it up, down, left and right. You can also do additional edits, like rotation, red eye removal, and edit the color of the photo as well (though I would recommend you do all that in Photoshop ahead of time).

Snaptotes Edit Screen

Once you’ve got your photo looking the way you want it on your bag, just click submit and continue through the checkout process. A couple of weeks later, you’ll receive you bag in the mail.

Now, when I received my bags, my wife was a lot more excited than I was (initially, at least). She couldn’t wait to take a look at them (I did one for each of our pets). And when we pulled them out of the box, I was really impressed. The quality of the bags are really fantastic - sturdy and well put together. Images are actually “baked” into the fabric through a sublimation process which actually embeds the image into the fabric. The result is an extremely clear image that will not fade, crack or peel.

I’ve used the bags as pet bags (obviously) for a couple of months, and they still look as great as when they first arrived. The thing that has amazed me the most, though, is how many comments we get on the bags. People love them. They’re so unique, and look so professionally made. People look at them and go “Where did you find a bag that has a photo of a Boston Terrier on it…?” And when they look more closely, they realize it’s actually MY photo of MY dog on the bag. It brings a smile to my face every time (mostly because my puppy is just so damn cute).

Snaptotes Bucket Bag - My New Puppy: Dax

While these bags aren’t cheap, they’re well worth the money. If you’re an amateur or hobbiest photographer, it’s a great way to show off a couple of your best shots (they make pretty cool gifts, too). If you’re a pro, Snaptotes has a wholesale program that could compliment some of the other products you offer your clients. For more information on the wholesale program, visit www.snaptotes.com/wholesale

For more information, or to order your own bag, check out their website: www.snaptotes.com.