Off season is killing me...

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Archive 2009 · Off season is killing me...

ksmahgrts
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p.4 #1 · Off season is killing me...

jofoto photo wrote:
Lets see your take? Help is good no ? oh the pain

ksmahgrts wrote:
please don't let jofoto write your bio. that was painful to read.

painful.

i don't know a thing about the guy, so i'm certainly not fit to write his bio. but i do happen to enjoy the english language, and i'm interested in attracting intelligent brides.

seriously, read these aloud. these sentences are pitiful:

Living in a suburb of Chicago affords me to be able to cover many locations throughout the US. (affords me to be able to cover? what??)

I love travelling to new locations, meeting new people and capturing their most special day. (sounds juvenile. it's what mom writes in the christmas letter. "shannon is 4 years old now, and he loves transformers, traveling in the car, and meeting new friends" - yuck)

I feel honoured that my passion for photography incorporates weddings as i love the buzz and excitement of weddings. (punctuation. embrace it. and again, what does that sentence even mean? passion incorporates weddings? brides see right through this schlock.)

I love interacting with people and capturing their lives so am most happy when working with you whether that be family portraits or seniors. (again with the random words thrown at a wall. "so like people when picture taking with people in the camera time babies portrait their face." at least you used the word "their" properly.)

so yea.

Nov 16, 2009 at 06:13 PM

Saad Syed
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p.4 #2 · Off season is killing me...

lol burnnnn... gg... I'll get the popcorn =P

Nov 16, 2009 at 06:18 PM

form
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p.4 #3 · Off season is killing me...

Yes I'm in Henderson NV, why?

Nov 16, 2009 at 06:18 PM

ksmahgrts
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p.4 #4 · Off season is killing me...

Saad Syed wrote:
lol burnnnn... gg... I'll get the popcorn =P

no offense intended (to shannon or jofoto) but if we want to help, there's no sense tiptoeing around

Nov 16, 2009 at 06:25 PM

jofoto photo
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p.4 #5 · Off season is killing me...

Excellent, I'm sure your input will go far, extremely constructive and helpful stuff.

ksmahgrts wrote:
jofoto photo wrote:
Lets see your take? Help is good no ? oh the pain

seriously, read these aloud. these sentences are pitiful:

Living in a suburb of Chicago affords me to be able to cover many locations throughout the US. (affords me to be able to cover? what??)

maybe weddings?

I love travelling to new locations, meeting new people and capturing their most special day. (sounds juvenile. it's what mom writes in the christmas letter. "shannon is 4 years old now, and he loves transformers, traveling in the car, and meeting new friends" - yuck)

Agreed could do better? But what?

I feel honoured that my passion for photography incorporates weddings as i love the buzz and excitement of weddings. (punctuation. embrace it. and again, what does that sentence even mean? passion incorporates weddings? brides see right through this schlock.)

I'm doomed then

I love interacting with people and capturing their lives so am most happy when working with you whether that be family portraits or seniors. (again with the random words thrown at a wall.

"so like people when picture taking with people in the camera time babies portrait their face." at least you used the word "their" properly.)

Gosh my takes sounds a little better here, yours is a little aggressive, ever so slightly worried that it might be a bit off the rail,

so yea.
Evan, a sticky on about me/us please I'm edit spellcheck illiterate dumb..s

Nov 16, 2009 at 06:38 PM

gravygraffix
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p.4 #6 · Off season is killing me...

ok well I am doing all I can... taking all of this in...

I dont know what to do about the length of pictures... Im not going to show 1 or 2 bests from each one.... that tells me.. "thats all he got" if i see that on someones site.

Plus I like the fact that I can send a link to their "page" to all the family and friends which IMO is better than a generic gallery done in light room...

I cant figure out how to even make it a one pic post with a link to the rest... Word press to me isnt exactly "intuitive"... I have to trudge thru all the html to try and decipher what it what. I dont have the cash to pay someone to do it.

as for the size of the pics... i went with 960 as it was recommend by the blog designer, if there was a way to easily sort portrait pics in LR and export them slightly shorter i would.

Nov 16, 2009 at 07:23 PM

MPLS_photog
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p.4 #7 · Off season is killing me...

I'm not sure the blog style is your weakness, since I know Ed Pingol does it the same way.

Nov 16, 2009 at 07:29 PM

ai3x
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p.4 #8 · Off season is killing me...

gravygraffix wrote:
ok well I am doing all I can... taking all of this in...

I dont know what to do about the length of pictures... Im not going to show 1 or 2 bests from each one.... that tells me.. "thats all he got" if i see that on someones site.

Plus I like the fact that I can send a link to their "page" to all the family and friends which IMO is better than a generic gallery done in light room...

I cant figure out how to even make it a one pic post with a link to the rest... Word press to me isnt exactly "intuitive"... I have to trudge thru all the html to try and decipher what it what. I dont have the cash to pay someone to do it.

as for the size of the pics... i went with 960 as it was recommend by the blog designer, if there was a way to easily sort portrait pics in LR and export them slightly shorter i would.

It's the wordpress more button. All you need to do is put the following tag in and everything else in the post will be after the link:


Easy!
Alex

Nov 16, 2009 at 07:32 PM

gravygraffix
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p.4 #9 · Off season is killing me...

ok I figured out a way to "break" the weddings apart...

http://shannonpricephoto.com/?page_id=786 still working on adding the links.

Nov 16, 2009 at 08:36 PM

weeums
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p.4 #10 · Off season is killing me...

note: I didn't take the time to read "everything" posted by everyone else... so this might be a repeat.

While this is hardly the "fix" to the "problem" - I'll say it's something.

About me page is sterile. Tells me nothing about you.. tell me a story, paint a picture... be relational.. what's unique to your story? don't make an offer on your "bio" page.. (ex: if you like my work I'd love to be your photographer) ...

scrap what you got..... make it new. let someone proof read and help you with it.

- travis

Nov 17, 2009 at 07:32 AM

William Wilson
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p.4 #11 · Off season is killing me...

Regarding the amount displayed on a page go to the Settings for your theme , change the Reading setting for the number of posts to a lower value, that will reduce the amount displayed on each page.

Nov 17, 2009 at 09:38 AM

TheHoff
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p.4 #12 · Off season is killing me...

ksmahgrts wrote:
Saad Syed wrote:
lol burnnnn... gg... I'll get the popcorn =P

no offense intended (to shannon or jofoto) but if we want to help, there's no sense tiptoeing around

i fully admit i'm a language snob. i am instantly turned off by poor writing - especially when it's so easy to fix. not to mention the fact that talking about the joy and passion for capturing fluffy bunnies and all that nonsense tells me ZERO about the photographer. yea. you like photography. cool. that's why you're a photographer and not a subway sandwich artist. now tell me about YOU.

ooh ooh do me next, do me next!

Seriously, your advice in this thread about branding for brides has been excellent.

I've been working with Shannon a bit in email and one thing we've come up with is a lack of traffic on the keywords he is targeting. He is doing well with them (Joliet) but they aren't worth enough... so more marketing needs to happen after the site they land on is fixed.

Nov 17, 2009 at 10:24 PM

AleksRachael
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p.4 #13 · Off season is killing me...

Sorry dude I just read your about section on the blog your second sentence in one MAJOR run on sentence. I am picky about grammar.

Nov 18, 2009 at 12:22 AM

MarcyJillGood
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p.4 #14 · Off season is killing me...

.

Hi, Shannon - I can't speak to your pricing, but I do agree your bio ("About" section) could be greatly improved, and the picture would be a turn-off for me. It's okay to look casual, but the picture is not compatible with what a bride might imagine a wedding photographer would look like (which is silly to say, but it's true).

I also thought "Shannon" was a girl, and this was even more my thought when I saw your great images. You are really good, and I hope you jump this hurdle and market yourself in a way that keeps people clicking and contacting you. Here are my thoughts:

1. E-mail link rather than the fill-in-the-blank thing. Those are a huge turn off for me, but if I am interested and I see an e-mail link, I will click on it.

2. Update the photo - no hat. This has already been discussed.

3. Forget the "I've always like this & now I get to do it & I am so thrilled" sort of crap on the bio. Who cares? (I am being blunt here). I know you're having your GF help re-write that portion, so that will probably help.

4. Consider putting your mug shot, preferably with you holding a camera, in some unobtrusive but noticeable place on the home page of your website. When I saw the name, I briefly thought you could be either a guy or a girl, so if you have a nice shot of you in a casual Polo shirt (if you like casual), holding your camera, they will know right off the bat you're a guy & you're the Shannon they clicked on. Your work is artistic, so it speaks for itself. You can also put the same mug in the "About" section, or another shot of yourself, if you like.

5. Pricing - aside from whatever you decide to do about the price point, I don't like the layout and the way it reads. I had trouble noticing your 'lowest package' amount because it is in small characters & toward the top. Because of that, I had a disconnect when reading the price for travel & the price for 'full equipment.' It sounded like someone could contract for you to travel cheaper than a shoot with a lot of equipment. Also - the 'equipment' phrase may not mean anything to a non-photographer.

6. Also related to pricing - I like websites where it tells 'what you get' for various price ranges. That will give more info to the bride and tell her the value for what she is paying.

Good luck!

Marcy

Nov 18, 2009 at 12:35 AM

gravygraffix
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p.4 #15 · Off season is killing me...

ok I will look over that some more...

I seriously considering just going back to my better v i s i o n s site...

I have only seen a few girl shannons my whole life but a ton of males...

I have revamped my flash site, and I will update my current blog to reflect the BV name...because it is evidently a big issue.

It is still not paid for so there is a "trial" logo real small near the top... if you people like it ill buy it. www.bettervisionsphoto.com

Nov 18, 2009 at 01:21 AM

DavidCZ
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p.4 #16 · Off season is killing me...

You got very nice work there!

I would suggest that you improve your website when possible. The first page is too long and there are too many pictures out there.

Nov 18, 2009 at 07:38 AM

ksmahgrts
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p.4 #17 · Off season is killing me...

gravygraffix wrote:
ok I will look over that some more...

I seriously considering just going back to my better v i s i o n s site...

I have only seen a few girl shannons my whole life but a ton of males...

I have revamped my flash site, and I will update my current blog to reflect the BV name...because it is evidently a big issue.

It is still not paid for so there is a "trial" logo real small near the top... if you people like it ill buy it. www.bettervisionsphoto.com

honestly i think going with "better vision" will just sap you of personality even further. this is not about the fact that your name is shannon. it's about the fact that your BRAND is non-existent.

better vision is the name of an eye glass store or a lasik vision correction center. not you! rushing around and changing things isn't going to yield any more bookings - a well thought out plan of action WILL. ok, changing the atrocious language is a good thing to change immediately, but beyond that, take a deep breath. slow down and get your head wrapped around who you are as a BRAND. if you want some good book suggestions, i'd be happy to drop some names your way

Nov 18, 2009 at 02:20 PM

ksmahgrts
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p.4 #18 · Off season is killing me...

Photo Guy wrote:

Says the man whom apparently does not have a shift key to start his sentences with proper capital letters.

a. i'm a chick.
b. it's a stylistic choice. just consider me selective coloring.
c. i'll be teaching a class on objective pronouns later this week. feel free to join. yea. whom.

Nov 18, 2009 at 03:25 PM

gravygraffix
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p.4 #19 · Off season is killing me...

OK "Flo" I am reading up on branding.... who here or can you show me a wedding photog site that it branded well...

Since I have gained NO ground should I use my middle name? Troy? the URL is avail. You say its not about my name, but when half the people here were completly OFFPUT by me being a dooooode...

maybe ill change it to n0t sHaNN0n.

Nov 18, 2009 at 03:34 PM

ksmahgrts
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p.4 #20 · Off season is killing me...

my point is that if your aesthetic, your logo, and your message are all decidedly masculine - your name won't make a difference. or not even masculine - just decidedly YOU. i don't think people are put off by "shannon" but by the mixed signals that lead them to be surprised when they discover you're a man.

off to a shoot but will reply when i get home.

Nov 18, 2009 at 03:38 PM

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