So you've all flamed my website…

Dear god – every page is a giant image… that’s not going to do anything for your SEO.

AAAAHHHH!! That’s why the text is blurry!

I’ve not flamed it.

Is it rubbish enough for me to gain some amusement from?

In fact – is this a troll? If so, hats off because it’s a bloody good one.

How about this for a bit of inspiration?

http://yvettesbridalformal.com/index.htm

I too reckon you’d do worse than a WordPress gallery theme. Easy to maintain and look good too. Tie it to your URL and you’re away. The font for your logo is poor since you can’t actually tell what some of the letters are meant to be. I said it on the previous thread too, but get a proof reader to sort the punctuation, spelling etc. Definitely ditch the ads too. On the upside I quite like pictures on a black background; it says “this is a photographer’s website” to me.

I admire your get up and go but I must also echo some comments above that say the quality of your portfolio needs improving. Have you got any better shots you can use? If not, get out and take some. This is not just about the website but your work needs to stand up for itself too. I actually quite liked the MTB video you did but the stills are not pro standard in my opinion.

AlexSimon – Member
Another good thing to do, would be to volunteer as a Photographer’s Assistant with someone locally whose work you admire/respect.

They may not take you on (especially for a wedding), but if they do, the experience would be incredibly valuable.

Sound advice, but don’t ask local photographers – go further afield – be prepared to travel. You’ll find that strangely enough, the local pros have no desire to train their future competition…

I get at least one email a fortnight from would-be photographers, asking if I’m looking for an assistant. I (almost) always reply with the same advice and a warning that payment is very unlikely to be involved even if they can find someone to take them under their wing.

In fact – is this a troll?

I’ve wondered this before about 4XJohn… I reckon he is, in which case the person behind it must be one of the most depressingly sad forumites there is.

If it’s not then apologies, it’s just a naive young lad. But I’m waging on troll.

the person behind it must be one of the most depressingly sad forumites there is.

..and he’s up against some pretty damn stiff competition.

This guy Parris Photography may not have the best site, although his galleries are nive and simple presentations of his work…. but he is blooming successful at what he does, maybe his photos will provide food for thought…

Not a troll 🙁

then answer some of the questions boy!

This guy Parris Photography may not have the best site, although his galleries are nive and simple presentations of his work…. but he is blooming successful at what he does, maybe his photos will provide food for thought…

Agreed. The website is poor both technically and visually but the work has mass commercial appeal, is well executed and ultimately that is what matters above everything else.

have you considered a company logo featuring a dolphin?

have you considered a company logo featuring a dolphin?

Don’t tempt me, Frodo!

Hows this so far?

http://www.jbmtbmedia.co.uk/Site/Home.html

needs more dolphin

better but… lose the novelty names for photos, ditch the wire bound things, are you really set on JBMTB as a name? it’s not exactly catchy. what about JB Photography?

the header images are 140kb each – you shoudl be able to resize them down to less than 30 at that resolution and stil lhave them sharp – would speed up page load a lot.

also, and this is a minor point, but it’s not really a perfect kiss if he’s missed and is licking her eye…

One other thought, if you are going to specialise in wedding photography my advice would be to offer a reportage style, a lot of people like the informality of it and more importantly the likelihood of seeing the bridesmaids in their knickers in greatly increased.

You’ve cheered me up no end if I ever get binned by the paper I work for!
Thank
Mike

The main problem is that your photos are not very good.

Are you using Facebook and Google+ to publicise your work? Useful as a tool to drive SEO rating too. Small linking logos at the bottom of the homepage.
Get more photos up and try a different iWeb theme!

I think everyone would agree that the site could benefit from one of these..

Only 1?

OK then..

Better.

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.

This is definitely a troll… If it isn’t, theres far bigger problems than the website design!

I mean seriously, WTF?

Home page – Welcome is spurious and not needed.
SB

Going back to the OP. my one piece of advice – don’t redesign to ‘add more features’, redesign to focus on the content and user experience. You ain’t gonna get a commission because a potential customer likes some spangly feature, you’ll get it because that person thinks you can do a professional job for them.

Then learn some basic composition and technical skills.

Go here http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/48

Learn how to use your camera. Then learn how to use off camera flash. Then do some work seconding for a real wedding photographer. Then make a website.

Quality troll.

Looking at it via Safari, on a Mac.

You really do need your business’s name prominently on each page
The RSS subscribe thing… why?

But the main problem is the photos you have posted are not good. Just not good at all

A wedding is an important day. On ours half the official photos didn’t come out (rain and equipment issues we were told) But even those that survived were better than yours, and nowhere near as good as those taken by my brother who does this as a sideline.

Re-evaluate your plan… please.. before you make paying punters very disappointed.

The main problem is that your photos are not very good.

This is an understatement. He is a crap photographer.

Anyway, here is a bunny with a loo roll on it’s head.

Wow great picture. Ever thought about setting up a website and doing it of a living 🙂

Don’t let a bunch of middle aged bullies in dead end jobs put you off! If you want to be a photographer do it, learn the craft first.

learn the craft first.

This is true also.

Bunny website? ooh, I should…

“This is where the parties [i]sic[/i] at!”

Really? I don’t see cocaine or hookers.

Photos are really bad. Sorry dude.

On a more constructive note…

I’m not clear on what you want to do. Are you wanting to be a wedding photographer or a jack-of-all-trades?

No harm in the latter but you might want to set up different sites for different brands but with the same “umbrella” name. Crucially though, have a look at the competition and critically evaluate the quality that you need to achieve to succeed.

Good luck.