And don't let the blog drop. I see lots of people start blogs on phot sites and give up after a month when it doesn't seem to work. It takes months but stick with it and remember to link back into galleries rather than adjust embedding photos in the blog
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I done a photography website
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Posted 1 year ago #
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Thanks leffeboy. This is all really useful stuff, wasn't expecting such good feedback.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Dont take it personal just constructive crit - not reading the above comments but.
frame in a frame in a frame doesn't set the photo up in the best space - use of negative space is important but I feel this is too impacting
the grey is a bit too light for my liking and because of this looks a bit dated - a darker shade would look a lot cleaner and timeless
your logo using grey and black doesn't flow very well - id standardise the colour of think about how they are working with each other
not sure why photo and graphy need separating with a box? cliche logo thats been used the world over
have a look at these wordpress themes for inspiration - some are dire and some are good but all are customisable
http://themeforest.net/searches?term=photography&type=files
re seo-
have a read up google place marker helps and crudely choosing a relitive domain name will help ie "weddingphotographylondon.co.uk"
repeat the keywords and descriptive words as many times as possible on your site without just blagging text for the sake of it.. and make sure the coding is clean with few errors - submit sitemaps to search engines and try and get some referral links setup from other site to and from or just having your domain name in your signature of your forum posts or profile...Posted 1 year ago # -
Question for you grumm. How much tweaking of the colours do you do post processing? Most of the pictures I take look quite flat in comparison.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I quite like it.
Bit grey IMO
The DOG is far to heavy and distracting.
Zone Alarm whines about this being suspicious site.
Are you using Word Press ?
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and I must get around to flogging some of my pix.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thanks alexx, more good stuff. I've added some keyword stuff in the footer on the home page and had a play with the colours. I'm also trying out a logo a mate did for me but I can't decide if I like it. It does seem to say 'photography website' more somehow but is maybe a little cheesy? I know my logo is carp btw, just a stopgap really.
leffeboy - I often do a fair bit of tweaking I suppose - I find it very quick/easy to do in LIghtroom, it's actually one of my favourite bits of the process. I rarely open PS. Shooting in RAW gives you lots of leeway to boost contrast and bring out richer colours without making things look weird ime. I also tend to add a slight vignette in LR to pretty much everything - not sure why but I just like the look.
Might do a little blog post with some before/after shots on processing - not that I am an expert but I think I can improve pictures a lot with just a few simple tweaks.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Another print .. sucker for landscapes me, so keep putting stuff up! You have a big range on there now no 4. in misc, really like that - should be flogging it to a mag or specialised! Lots of brilliant comments from people above, and would agree with the blog points. It's always telling when a site has blog/news sections and they are months old. If you keep regular contributions going it brings some life and personality to a site that helps to connect you to potential buyers. IMH and completely lay O of course
Posted 1 year ago # -
Cracking pics and nice site.
The first time I look at each of the galleries the second image fails to show in the slideshow. Once I go and click on it it then works the next time I see the slideshow (as it's cached)- i reckon it is still loading the thumbnails of the other images before it has time to load the second pic. Increasing the time on each pics would prob fix.
For info using Safari on a fast connection.
Linking from this forum will boost your SEO.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Might do a little blog post with some before/after shots on processing - not that I am an expert but I think I can improve pictures a lot with just a few simple tweaks.
Thanks for that. Also that sort of thing on a blog, along with locations, info. about the ride is the sort of thing that makes a blog popular, increases it's rank and gets your photos found (plus it's the sort of thing I like to read). Just don't forget to link back into your galleries as well, not just your home page, or the effect can be lost.
I've added some keyword stuff in the footer on the home page
Brilliant, that will be the "Landscape, Scenic, Architectural Photography based in Lancashire - covering Lancaster, Morecambe, Arnside, Silverdale, Kendal..." stuff. To really make it work though you want each of those keywords to be clicky and link into photos deeper in. For extra points you want to get rid of the space between your email address and those keywords so they appear without scrolling down - it really makes a difference.
ok, off to find some info on Lightroom, see what you've started...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Don't like the logo tbh.
Your work on Flickr is great but somehow gets lost here. I'd ditch the watermark. It's such low res that you'd not get much out of each image.
Too much text on the homepage for me. I'd keep it as simple as possible and have any info on your about page. I also have to scroll down on my laptop to see the bottom of the page. It looks a bit cluttered.
I'd focus on displaying your work as well as possible and think about the business model after. Show your talents and I think you'll attract more people.
This is mine.. although I add too much to it I think. I change the landing image about once a month to try and keep it fresh as well as adding new content. I used indexhibit after finding Wordpress a bit limiting for a portfolio site - great for a blog though.
http://www.andymatthewsphotography.com/This is a friends which is of higher quality..
http://www.garysmithphoto.com/Also as part of research for mine I compiled a list of other Architectural Photographers. Might be useful to see some other layouts.
http://goo.gl/lists/LVKHPosted 1 year ago # -
Thanks again everyone
sniff I'll have a play with that, ta
The logo I have up now is one a friend knocked up for me but I don't really like it - too cheesy I think.
I will certainly get rid of the watermark - just will take me a bit to reupload all the pics and remake the galleries.
leffeboy - think you can get a 30 day trial of LR.
Andy - thanks for the comments. I have to say I find your site a little too minimalist for my tastes, and I don't like having to scroll sideways. I think that stark kind of look probably suits architectural/design stuff - whereas mine is mainly landscapes which kind of seems to demand a 'friendlier' look, if you know what I mean. Pictures are excellent though.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Andy - thanks for the comments. I have to say I find your site a little too minimalist for my tastes, and I don't like having to scroll sideways. Pictures are excellent though.
Yeah still undecided on the horizontal format but it's work in progress. It is very minimal but then that goes with the market I'm aiming at. Thanks.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you have a little time check out Zack Arias' critique of some folks photo websites:
http://www.zarias.com/category/critique/
Its suprisingly helpful seeing what other folks haven't done particularly well and what they look for in a good website.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Neil - cheers - ploughing through them now.
Andy - you see to me a lot of those are overly flashy. Some of the photography is incredible, but a lot of them take a while to load and have confusing interfaces. IMHO.
I also sort of feel like my website shouldn't look too poncy, given that I am not a big time international photographer. Is that daft?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Agree 100% - keep the site simple and standard, let the pics do the talking.
BTW your site works from iPhone which most poncy sites don't. Too fancy means I just go somewhere else.
Posted 1 year ago # -
looks like a very profesional looking site, clear easy to navigate and some really good stuff on there
Posted 1 year ago # -
sniff - cheers, yeah just tried it on my ipod touch, not too bad at all really.
Thanks jacko
Trying out a tweaked logo atm - slightly less cheesy?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Andy - you see to me a lot of those are overly flashy. Some of the photography is incredible, but a lot of them take a while to load and have confusing interfaces. IMHO.
Totally agree. Not saying they're all good, just lots of other approaches which might help. Too many are done in Flash too.
Agree with other sentiments that photos should take centre stage and design should fade into background.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've updated mine a little - got rid of the watermarks and slimmed down the homepage slideshow.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Looks good - I like the simple, clean layout and the logo is to the point.
In terms of getting yourself noticed by the search engines, it's worth making your user name a link to your site - I get about 50 hits a month from STW stalkers
Every hit counts!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thanks - how do I go about doing that then?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hmmm. Can't remember
I must have done it post-hack, but after a quick look at my profile, I've no idea. Quick email to STW maybe?
Posted 1 year ago # -
That logo looks fine. Who's going to be that bothered about a logo except people that have been asked to critique the site?
Some lovely photies, I must say.By the way, you're probably aware, but the camp fella from Changing Rooms is the top Google result! But you do appear on the first page of results which has to be good.
Posted 1 year ago # -
OK no worries user-removed, will try that
Thanks Dezb - yup I'm aware of the camp guy, also someone from the RSPB.
But on the first page already isn't too bad. It's going to be getting anywhere near the first page of searches for 'lancashire photography' or whatever that's going to be the tricky part.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Don't forget to add your Google Analytics code to track where users came from, keywords etc.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yup ta, done that.
712 visitors from STW!
Posted 1 year ago #
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