[Closed] So you've all flamed my website...

Buying a decent DSLR and a flashgun does not make you a professional photographer.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/for-you-design-types-and-photoshop-gurus ]Clicky for previous attempt[/url]
Comedy gold.

stilltortoise - Member

Interesting that Parris photography site. Half the photos - whilst impressive - would put me off using them. Not to my taste at all and I reckon Mrs Stilltortoise would concur.

Yep I know where you're coming from and maybe not his target audience as it's not your taste, however you did say [b]- whilst impressive -[/b] which is what counts for his target audience, if you get my drift...

For God's sake, take the advise given here. I've been taking photos for around thirty years, but there's no way I consider myself competent enough to do it as a living. I personally know a couple with a business in Bath, who have really good clients, but still struggle at times getting business. There are many people out there who can take a half-way decent photo, and reckon to do it as a business. It's bloody hard work, and you have to be very good, not just average. I have a friend on Fb who puts up photos on Bliphoto, as well as lots on Flickr and Fb, and she is a fantastic photographer, but refuses to even think about doing an exhibition in her home town. She is doing some photography for local businesses, and really deserves to do well, but she is a natural with a gift for composition.
Look at lots of photography books, look online. Above all, LEARN from what you see.
This is Alex and Billy's site: http://www.stonemanandmetcalf.com/
This is my friend Dotty's Bliphoto site: http://www.blipfoto.com/dotty
Look at what Dotty shoots; everything, and she really [i]looks[/i] at things, she's very observant, but when I worked with her she was an administrator looking after an account we had then for Quadriga, looking after their hotel in-house movies, I never had any idea 12 years ago she was even interested in photography.

Forget about the website and spend some time learning your craft. Your pictures were not very good even for a competent amateur. That doesn't mean that you should not pursue it as a career but if it is what you want to do then spend some time honing your skills/get some training before trying to entice people to pay you for your services.

nail on the head.
your work isn't that of a photographer but somebody with a camera. harsh but take it on the chin and improve, and don't stop improving.
failing that find another job, average photographers are 2 a penny.

probably a bit late, but I had no idea what that website was for until someone said what you do. content is king, and you have none...

To reiterate, a very very talented guy I know left the corporate world to pursue his dream as a photographer. He is back working part time to guarantee a regular income!

And he is very, very good. There are a lot of brilliant photographers out there....

Ooooo

http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/1729739

Sounds like you need to start subscribing to this mag....

[img] [/img]

While we're plugging mates-who-are-pro-photographers, here's my contribution.

Sam Hofman - http://samhofman.co.uk/ - based in London.

And another - Jacob Gibbens is a well respected (in the bike world) photographer - http://www.jacobgibbins.co.uk

[img] [/img]

is this a who you know thread now?
i know Geoff Waugh have you heard of him? evidently he takes pics of cyclists and is a handy location drummer with good rhythm.

and here's me [url=www.garysmithphoto.com]www.garysmithphoto.com[/url]
i don't do weddings or pics of your kids.

i don't do weddings or pics of your kids.

..or links that work properly 🙂

[url= http://www.garysmithphoto.com ]www.garysmithphoto.com[/url]

just missed the edit cut-off, there's i reason i leave the IT stuff to the geeks 😳

MrSmith I dont know why people use Flash websites and the navigation doesn't flow IMO. Clicking on one of the portfolio links brings up a single image, then you have to find the thumbnails link on the other side of the window that appears, not good.

Jesus, aside from 'WTF is it?', that square abomination made out of old jeans. Could not even be bothered to take it outside and stick it on the lawn or something? Those photos really are very very poor and no better than a very poor casual snapshot. There mess and clutter everywhere in the images. This shows something of a lack of imagination / creativity

Overall, invest your time in learning photography before tring to set yourself up as a 'pro'

Take big notice of learning some photography, you could self teach, learn from a friend who is a good amateur, work with a pro for a time or get lessons. Forget the site for now because if this is samples of your work then seriously you've just not got anything to offer.

http://www.jbmtbmedia.co.uk/www.jbmtbmedia.co.uk/Photo/Pages/Custom.html#4

MrSmith I dont know why people use Flash websites and the navigation doesn't flow IMO. Clicking on one of the portfolio links brings up a single image, then you have to find the thumbnails link on the other side of the window that appears, not good.

yes. it's a template site that i have just started using (literally last week) i might set it to autoplay? as i can change transitions etc but not layout, i'll use the site for a year and have something bespoke lined up. (in HTML5) the good thing is the image scaling so people see a nice big image on their 24-27in imacs. and it does come with a ipad/iphone mirror site that i have yet to configure properly.
the site can't be that bad as i'm shooting a poster campaign for canon that came my way because of the website refresh

I should have added that I did like the photos. 8)

Edit: Aimed at MrSmith not the OP 😉

What are you using to design your website? using something like wordpress would make it a lot easier for you and they have templates you can use to get a decent looking site out of the box - and they're free.

As everyone has said, you want to have a serious look at your content, get out there and practice and then when you're done, practice some more and that includes your processing as well. A horizon as wonky as the one in your 'overlooking' photo should have been sorted before anyone saw it, not to mention the dead space that is the blown out stained glass window.

You also need to look at what you call your pictures 'front blur' doesn't really cut it and also doesn't suggest you know the basics - it's depth of field by the way.

The rags to riches album is more of a photo story and I'd remove the whole thing, it also looks like some stuff you shot while playing with the camera.

I'd rename Scenery to something a bit better, Landscapes maybe and then have a separate gallery for nature and macro work. Get rid of the lights below the roofline in the lightning pic and you've got a keeper there.

But the over-riding issue is that of quality, I wouldn't hire you based on those efforts, you need to ask yourself if would you pay your hard earned money for them?

If you are serious about your photography then go on some courses, I expect your local college will have a few courses that'll give you a good grounding. I can also suggest joining the talkphotography forums as there's more advice on there than you'll ever get here, you can also see the standard of work in the critique forums - this is what you should aim for as a minimum.

Lastly, good luck and if you really want it, stick at it and remember that advice isn't meant to demoralise you it's meant to help you and improve your work. Even if it does seem harsh at the time.

If people are throwing in their own website links now.... 🙂

Here's my new weddings site I've been working on. It's not finished yet - need to add some more galleries etc but not had much time lately.

http://www.grahamwynneweddings.com/

I used Photium after a recommendation off someone on here btw, seems quite a good easy way to build a standard photography site.

Here's my other site which is based on a Worpress template, it seems to run quite slowly though for some reason and I think I'm going to move it over to Photium as well.

http://www.grahamwynnephoto.com/

I should have added that I did like the photos.

Edit: Aimed at MrSmith not the OP

😥 then 😳 after your edit

Here's my new weddings site I've been working on. It's not finished yet - need to add some more galleries etc but not had much time lately.

http://www.grahamwynneweddings.com/

Err Grum - where are the dodgy colours, gurning brides, and "humorous" captions?

That's more like it Graham. Unfortunately the OP's wedding photos are worse than most amateurs with a DSLR and half-decent eye could take, or indeed me and an Olympus XZ-1. I don't like to be harsh but it feels a bit like the tone-deaf people who turn up on the X-Factor hoping to be the next Mariah Carey (insert your own OTT singer who records technically adept but terrible music...)

Some advice on the photography front (I'm no professional, but I'm self taught and I've earned some fairly reasonable money doing stuff around my own area of interest which is primarily football crowds).

There are many ways to learn but here's what worked really well for me: Buy a cheap digital SLR from a manufacturer with really good backward compatibility with old lenses. I went for Pentax. You can get a good Pentax DSLR seconhand for not much - the *istDL2 isn't a high-megapixel camera by today's standards but it's a great little camera and a really good learning tool.

Then go onto ebay and get some old manual lenses. 50mm prime, 28mm prime, they should be your first point of call. With Pentax you can get a really brilliant old lens - the 50mm SMC-M f1.7 - for about 30-40 quid.

Turn the camera onto the manual setting. Don't go near the auto settings if you're trying to learn. Learn how to use it in manual.

Then, buy a book, and read a bit about apeture settings and how they affect depth of field and the amount of light coming into the camera. It's not rocket science, and with a DSLR you can experiment to your heart's content. To me, a good object (rather than landscape) photo should have deliberate depth, whether it's picking out a single person in a crowd, or at the other end of the scale, bringing everything into focus. Play, experiment, learn.

Oh, and one thing that really glares out at me on the wedding photos is the wonky backgrounds, particularly the altar shot. Take photos with straight backgrounds. If they're not straight, get Photoshop or GIMP (which is free, and great, and to my mind negates the need to pay for photoshop) and correct them.

If anyone's interested,

I think the OP stopped reading this thread about a fortnight ago.

fourcrossjohn is to photography what Realman is to distance selling - and I claim my £10....

PMSL @ GS

If anyone's interested,

I think the OP stopped reading this thread about a fortnight ago.

If anyone's interested,

I think the OP stopped reading this thread about a fortnight ago.

If anyone's interested,

I think the OP stopped posting on this thread about a fortnight ago.

.... thread to be continued in the classifieds - Camera for Sale 🙂 (will swap for [url= http://www.jbmtbmedia.co.uk/www.jbmtbmedia.co.uk/Photo/Pages/Weddings.html#4 ]spirit level[/url])

I have been keeping an eye on the thread, all this from asking one simple 'design a logo thread'!! Only on STW....... 😀

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/logo-design-1

This chap is a pro photographer and web designer, drop him an email he is very good at what he does... http://www.121webconsultancy.co.uk/

Got to give the guy credit for actually coming back and seeking advice though. Whether or not he acts on it is another thing - he may be crying in a dark corner somewhere. 😉

Get a copy editor. Costs you about £100 (assume £25/h)but it will make it look more professional.

You know, he's not come back yet has he?