New Website/Need some Critique :)

[GenevaCathey]

I have been doing photography for a couple of years now, but have just recently made a business of it. About 2 weeks ago I started building my website, and now I would like some of you guys to take a look and tell me what you think on not only the website, but also some of my work. I welcome any comments and will take all things as learning experiences. Thank you guys. http://www.genevasphotography.com

[David_Buzzard]

Looks good. Nice pics. The only thing I would change would be to lose the collage on the home page and go with one or two stronger images. Clean and simple is a good rule for design.

David Buzzard

[JoyPetersKurtz]

I agree - simple and clean is best. But, I also find that on my monitor the home page is very dark.

Other than that - very nice.

You should cap the G on the weddings page, and this sentence doesn't need a comma: "Her 2 children, were the inspiration for her to begin studying photography."

It's sometimes best to show only your very best work on your website. So where you have 5 shots of the same child, narrow it down to the strongest shot.

Joy

[Shad_Reed]

Geneva,

First, I feel your pain and commend you for seeking out feedback from people who, because of the anonymity of the internet, can be as cruel as they want. I'm surprised at this point that the replies have been so kind because even the best of the best usually gets hammered. I am going through a very similar stage in my business...few clients, little experience, little money to invest in the business. I would offer the following advice that has been handed to me... Don't show anything to the customer that is less than perfect. This goes for the images that you present, the website that you maintain, the literature and business cards that you hand out...everything.

With that being said, I would reconsider whether you want to do your own website because what you have does not look professional. Rather than present a problem without a solution, I would point your attention to the following service, Marathon Press . They offer professional website design at a pretty reasonable startup cost. The difference between their sites and yours is quite significant. If you choose to keep doing it yourself, you've got to make some changes. First, I think you need to declutter the home page. I don't like the collage at all. Pick one picture and maybe some text welcoming the customer. Additionally, you should drop some of the pictures from the wedding page. For instance, the picture on the top of the left column and the picture on the bottom of the right column are not very good. Additionally, you say "Look at our photographs and I am sure that you see the love that a couple has for each other." but I don't see the couple's love in any but the three on the right.

In the end, only show what is perfect. If you can only afford one professionally designed and maintained page of a website, then so be it. If you only have a few great pictures, then so be it. Better to leave them wanting to see more than to leave them having seen enough.

Good luck,
Shad

[GenevaCathey]

Wow [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] Sounds like you work for that company you are plugging [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]. That being said, I accept your critisism. In this area a website at all is very impressive, and the portfolios of the other "competition" isn't all that great. Sure in comparison to the photo elites, my website sucks, but for my market I think that it is more than adequate. Giving someone else control of the look of my website isn't the answer. As I continue in my business and gain more experience, I feel I can be more selective with the pictures I show rather than having a website with a few pictures of my work now. I don't think that this is a "make-or-break" point. It all comes down to me having the eye or skill of captureing the moment of whoever I happen to be photographing, and maintaining some business skill. If I don't have that, than nature will take its course and I won't be in business long. I have already started booking people due to the existance of my website and have received nothing but good coments about it. Like I said at the begining, I do accept your coments and appreciate the reason in which you gave them. Thank you.

[LeeHammond]

GC

You have some nice pictures but probably show too many, imho. Many of us are guilty of this. As others suggest, fewer and better are better.

You did not ask but I would suggest your prices are way too low. This will put some people off and may lead others to categorize you. $500 for all day wedding coverage from two photographers? Your pictures, and I suspect your market, are better than that.

Lee

[john_Beardsworth]

Not too bad as this is a first attempt. Feel encouraged and push on, despite these quick thoughts:

1. Chunk of wasted space about the line of buttons. Buttons inconsistent in order and two rows.

2. On weddings.html and portraits.html, you should reduce the dimensions of the images themselves, not fix their size in the HTML. Even on a fast connection, they're slow to download.

3. On profile.html, the last sentence doesn't seem well-worded and seems rather disrespectful to other photographers. Same comment about weddings.html. I'm a customer and couldn't care less about other photographers - I want to know what you can do for me.

4. Do you really want to put your address online? Lots of nuts out there.

5. Do you really want to put your email address as a link? Spambots will harvest it. Your ISP may well have a form to email script.

6. Portraits.html "So whether its in our studio" - there should be an apostrophe "it's"

7. The page gallery.html is rather ugly.

8. Get your fonts consistent - the buttons use a different one from the text.

9. No point having links at bottom of page

10. Don't be too open with your prices - leave yourself much more wiggle room