Photography Website

[Spadge]

Constructive criticism involves saying it like it is. Unfortunately I feel you have a way to go before you should offer yourself as a wedding photographer to start with.. the post processing is all over the place with some images over exposed and others with the white balance way off. there is no consistency. The website design is rather amateurish as well. Walk before you can run. Get experience by shooting as much as you can but first you need to be able to post process at the very least. There are a lot of tutorials available on Youtube as a start point for you. As for the website.. have a look at www.squarespace.com or www.photoshelter.com for some quality templates and excellent support. If you want more specific pointers please PM me..

Rather than be a complete random could you tell me who or what you are?

All advise is sought but from what experience do you offer it?

 

[Goldstone76]

Im a photographer..

 

[Spadge]

Im a photographer..

That helps, So someone that has an idea then.

Do you have a link to your own site or work?

 

[gripper stebson]

I would too suggest you look at the sites mentioned by Goldstone76. These Photographer specific sites can look really clean and crisp at not much expense... they can also be set up in an afternoon too.

I think if I were looking around for a photographer I'd expect a beautiful clean website with a real eye for detail and design... and seeing that would make me much more likely to pick up the phone.

Here is one I did recently for a make up artist that seems to be getting her some work. http://www.moreheadmakeup.co.uk. Happy to help with your site if you like at an Albion fan rate! PM me if you want.

 

[Dan Aitch]

My comment would be that it doesn't matter who, or what, anyone is when it comes to commentary on your website or the quality of your photos - we're all potential customers, no matter what you might think of the feedback we've given you. Unless you are prepared to accept commentary from everyone then there's little point in us trying to offer our opinions. They are merely that - opinions - but just because we aren't all fellows of the Intergalactic Organisation of Professional Photographers and Website Designers, it shouldn't make them any less valuable to you; someone who will need the approval and custom of a wide range of people before your business is a success.

Take the comments and ignore them if you feel they are irrelevant, but challenging people to 'prove' their expertise is not going to encourage anyone to help you much further.

 

[Spadge]

Constructive criticism involves saying it like it is. Unfortunately I feel you have a way to go before you should offer yourself as a wedding photographer to start with.. the post processing is all over the place with some images over exposed and others with the white balance way off. there is no consistency. The website design is rather amateurish as well. Walk before you can run. Get experience by shooting as much as you can but first you need to be able to post process at the very least. There are a lot of tutorials available on Youtube as a start point for you. As for the website.. have a look at www.squarespace.com or www.photoshelter.com for some quality templates and excellent support. If you want more specific pointers please PM me..

I assume you are refering to the wedding photos?

If so i will also assume you havent read the full thread where it clearly states that i am currently in the process of getting the layout of the site correct before i upload the right photo's, the photos currently on the site were just slapped in there for building purposes.

ignore the pictures at present as i am looking for feedback in regards to the layout etc.

What options should be available and what shouldnt.

 

[shingle]

Hello Spadge

There have been a lot of fair comments regarding your website by your fellow posters, none more so than Goldstone, who is pretty much spot on with his comments. Roz is also correct with regards to the heavy handed use of HDR's in your landscape section.

I would suggest getting yourself Lightroom 5 accompanied by Scott Kelbys excellent book (on Amazon) about how to get the best out of it. You can pretty much do all your editing with this software. I would also suggest looking at as many websites as you can to see a) what others are doing and also b) The technical standards required

Ps I am a professional photographer......here's my website http://www.grantrooney.com/

All the best
Grant

 

[Spadge]

Hello Spadge

There have been a lot of fair comments regarding your website by your fellow posters, none more so than Goldstone, who is pretty much spot on with his comments. Roz is also correct with regards to the heavy handed use of HDR's in your landscape section.

I would suggest getting yourself Lightroom 5 accompanied by Scott Kelbys excellent book (on Amazon) about how to get the best out of it. You can pretty much do all your editing with this software. I would also suggest looking at as many websites as you can to see a) what others are doing and also b) The technical standards required

Ps I am a professional photographer......here's my website http://www.grantrooney.com/

All the best
Grant

Nice site! Architecture is not really my cup of tea.

Love the hotel pics though, Were the Corfu pics taken as an assigment or just holiday snaps?

 

[shingle]

All taken on assignment

 

[Goldstone76]

I assume you are refering to the wedding photos?

If so i will also assume you havent read the full thread where it clearly states that i am currently in the process of getting the layout of the site correct before i upload the right photo's, the photos currently on the site were just slapped in there for building purposes.

ignore the pictures at present as i am looking for feedback in regards to the layout etc.

What options should be available and what shouldnt.

My feeling is that having a Rhino skin is as important as taking good images for all those aspiring photographers out there. All of the images shown need some kind of re working. Presentation is one thing.. the website template is in my opinion poor so a change of template is needed. Less is more when it comes to portfolios so I would suggest no more than around 12 images per genre. For weddings as an example.. the day should be split into 3 parts.. preparation, the ceremony and the reception so say 4 images shown per part of the wedding day is a good start. Of course the biggest problem with weddings is that you need experience and that normally comes from either assisting or learning through shooting documentary and portraits because todays modern wedding shoot is nothing more than a documentary style with portraits thrown in. Like I said.. choose a different template that has a style and is strong. Learn to post process better and this means ideally that your images have a similar post processing look and are not all over the place. Spot colour and HDR for example are like an overdose of cheesecake for many.. keep it simple and dont go over the top with special effects.

 

[Spadge]

The home page has now been re-done.

Does it improve the aesthetics?

 

[happypig]

Hold down Control and then + or - to adjust your screen.

It should all fit then.

Errr, no.
That bit of the site is poorly written and under-tested. You cannot expect potential customers to have to adjust their settings to be able to read bad HTML.
Faced with that, I would go elsewhere.

 

[Tubby-McFat-Fuc]

I make my pennies on the web and own and run a site, and have always disliked this style of site. Nothing personal, but it almost forces people to look at things in a certain order. Much prefer shingles style of site, where things are laid out in a far more simplistic order.

I know photography is an art form, and your site is trying to look arty, but online you have seconds to grab someone attention and keep them on your site, and I feel I could never get "lost" in your site, where I could on one like shingles, and I fear people would soon get bored scrolling through pictures, and the fact you cannot use the forward or back button is also a downer in my book. Although some people think this style of site is arty and a cut above, but I feel this style of template is so dated, and becomes a hindrance to users, a lot of people wouldn't bother and move onto the next one. IMO websites should be clean and simple to use and look at.

One other thing I would point out is your URL. Its very rare to see more than one " - " in a URL address. Could you not get panphotography, or even at a push pan-photography to use? I know that's sound picky, but people online are notoriously lazy, and p-a-n- is a lot more hassle to type into an address bar than pan, especially if the user is using a mobile device, which like it or not, more and more people are using to access the web. Think about it, if someone passed your website name onto someone and said its PAN photography, how many would type pan and not P-A-N-. People would need to explain how to type/spell your website address, and that can never be a good thing. If you are based in the UK I would also consider using .co.uk (after all your services I presume are local, and search engines are a minefield as it is, so using .co.uk would give you half a chance of targeting the UK audience.

Those comments are not meant to be negative for the sake of it, but whenever I ask people to look at my site and give me honest comments, I'm not really interested in the good points, only the bad points, because its the bad points that will stop people using your site IMO.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

The home page has now been re-done.

Does it improve the aesthetics?

Certainly looks much, much better!

 

[Triggaaar]

The home page has now been re-done.

Does it improve the aesthetics?

Yes, that's a lot better.

I'm not keen on the photo title being in the middle of your brand name - eg, 'PAN Worthing Pier Photography', but the layout is a huge improvement.

The portrait editing needs a lot of work though - maybe those aren't the shots you'll use, but if that's how you'd usually send images to your clients, you need some more training.

 

[Spadge]

I make my pennies on the web and own and run a site, and have always disliked this style of site. Nothing personal, but it almost forces people to look at things in a certain order. Much prefer shingles style of site, where things are laid out in a far more simplistic order.

I know photography is an art form, and your site is trying to look arty, but online you have seconds to grab someone attention and keep them on your site, and I feel I could never get "lost" in your site, where I could on one like shingles, and I fear people would soon get bored scrolling through pictures, and the fact you cannot use the forward or back button is also a downer in my book. Although some people think this style of site is arty and a cut above, but I feel this style of template is so dated, and becomes a hindrance to users, a lot of people wouldn't bother and move onto the next one. IMO websites should be clean and simple to use and look at.

One other thing I would point out is your URL. Its very rare to see more than one " - " in a URL address. Could you not get panphotography, or even at a push pan-photography to use? I know that's sound picky, but people online are notoriously lazy, and p-a-n- is a lot more hassle to type into an address bar than pan, especially if the user is using a mobile device, which like it or not, more and more people are using to access the web. Think about it, if someone passed your website name onto someone and said its PAN photography, how many would type pan and not P-A-N-. People would need to explain how to type/spell your website address, and that can never be a good thing. If you are based in the UK I would also consider using .co.uk (after all your services I presume are local, and search engines are a minefield as it is, so using .co.uk would give you half a chance of targeting the UK audience.

Those comments are not meant to be negative for the sake of it, but whenever I ask people to look at my site and give me honest comments, I'm not really interested in the good points, only the bad points, because its the bad points that will stop people using your site IMO.

I also own the same address but .co.uk, need to look into getting that domain pointing to the site aswell.

Unfortunately pan has already been taken by some indian company but i do hear what your saying and will look into it.

 

[tinx]

Hello Spadge

There have been a lot of fair comments regarding your website by your fellow posters, none more so than Goldstone, who is pretty much spot on with his comments. Roz is also correct with regards to the heavy handed use of HDR's in your landscape section.

I would suggest getting yourself Lightroom 5 accompanied by Scott Kelbys excellent book (on Amazon) about how to get the best out of it. You can pretty much do all your editing with this software. I would also suggest looking at as many websites as you can to see a) what others are doing and also b) The technical standards required

Ps I am a professional photographer......here's my website http://www.grantrooney.com/

All the best
Grant

A bit off topic but which of the Scott Kelby books would you recommend, I recently got lightroom and have been looking for a decent book to get into the real nitty gritty.

 

[Spadge]

A bit off topic but which of the Scott Kelby books would you recommend, I recently got lightroom and have been looking for a decent book to get into the real nitty gritty.

I have to be honest and admit I use Gavin Hoey for Photoshop. He is the UK's #1 for Photoshop and Elements. If you search around he also does a few seminars etc locally.

I havent read anything by Scott Kelby

 

[tinx]

I have to be honest and admit I use Gavin Hoey for Photoshop. He is the UK's #1 for Photoshop and Elements. If you search around he also does a few seminars etc locally.

I havent read anything by Scott Kelby

THanks I'll have a look at Gavin Hoey, I have books for photoshop but I really like lightroom so far so am trying to make the best use of it.

 

[Spadge]

A bit off topic but which of the Scott Kelby books would you recommend, I recently got lightroom and have been looking for a decent book to get into the real nitty gritty.

I just checked out Scott Kelby and he has some amazing images on his website, thanks for dropping the name, i will have to have a read of a few books myself now.