i haven't posted in a long time but still been lurking occasionally. hoping to get some feedback on my updated website-- i used to have a separate domain for my wedding stuff but considering i do virtually no commercial work anyways (and i didn't want to pay for another aphotofolio site) i decided to consolidate everything.
I also raised my prices (first to 3k + then wimped out and brought them down a bit) and i was really selective about the main section of photos, but also included a featured wedding for some breadth-- at least this was my intent.
any feedback and/or comments welcome. i still need a nice pro photo of myself in the about section which I realize, and i'm considering doing a FAQ but I'm not sure yet. thanks in advance
Great advise jneilosu, noted. And thanks to everyone else.
Wondering if anyone else is distracted by the grain? The website applies somewhat aggressive sharpening which makes it stand out more than usual I think.
I would prefer HTML 5 but it's aphotopholio template so I don't think I have a choice. Something I plan on lookin into though. They do offer a new template in HTML 5 but I like the design of the one I use now
I like the grain on the opening photo. In my own processing I don't add grain to color photos and if it were me I'd feel like it was overboard to deliver but my gut reaction was that it gives it a nice texture and a warm fuzzy feeling. Also, for that reason I think it's a good opening photo.
Navigation was a little funny. Loaded fast but trying to click and flick through the images on the homepage was slow to respond, maybe loading images in the background?
Loved you 'other work' portfolio, very nice use of studio light
It's a common oversight: you don't tell the viewer where you are (where you live, where you work) either on the home page or on the contact page. I think we sometimes miss this because we know where we live, so it doesn't occur to us that others finding our web site might live a thousand miles away.
You should recite your location (and desired shooting locations, if they differ or if you have a target range of locations) as many times in text on your site as you can.
I noticed the grain, but I can't rule out the possibility that I noticed it only because I glanced at the first response saying it was distracting, so I'm not sure I would have called it out. I don't think brides are going to shriek in horror, run to the corner, sit down on the floor, and mutter "the grain, the grain, the grain" while they rock and suck their thumbs. But it does seem to be a prominent aspect of your processing style based on that sample.
Page looks great! My only comment is to word wrap the text on the about me page.
Like this:
Thanks for visiting my website. I'm a native New England photographer, having grown up
in southern NH, and I studied photography at Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls,
MA. When I photograph a wedding I look for great light, emotion, and unexpected moments--
I want your photographs to be natural and to tell a story that you can relive whenever you look back at them.
I try not to take myself too seriously, but I am serious about taking superb photos of
your wedding and making it look easy.
I'm available for a limited number of weddings a year and will travel just about anywhere.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
As oppose to it running the length of the screen kinda difficult on widescreen just my 2 cents.
I like the site and really like your chef photo. You do have nice images showing. Really think you need to be seen on Ipads and phones. Drop the flash and find something in HTML. Over 50% of my clients are using Ipads/phones. Face it if someone has extra money they already have an Ipad and are using it. Those are your future clients.
right off the bat, I thought your website was broken, but it finally loaded after 10 seconds. could be a deal breaker. I'm not a fan of flash sites but it looks great; simple, clean, easy to navigate.
you could look into a wordpress.org site and purchase a portfolio theme from Graph Paper Press. They have a lot of clean themes and they are responsive for mobile devices.
