Nick Klofkorn
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 p.3 #16 · This Guy Completely Stole My Website! | |
LAPhotoPro.com wrote:
Actually the two sites were virtually identical including word for word content at the time of my original posting. He has, since you've starting reading this thread, made a bunch of small changes to mask the fact that he flat out copied my site. David Harding the photographer from San Diego did not put his own twist on my style. He copied it. Then once he found out he was busted started to make the changes.
My question is for you, so what?
I don't mean it to sound rude. Honestly. But as a working professional, you have two options - you can sue, or you can move past it and get on with your life. This kind of thing happens all the time on the internet. Is it alright? Well, not really, but the question is what can you do? basically nothing. You can "bust him" or ask him to change it, or you can sue.
Obviously it isn't worth it to you to sue or you'd be doing it and not posting about it on the internet (which, if you were thinking about suing, would be a bad idea FYI.)
This guy doesn't care enough about his "internet reputation" to make his own site, he sure as hell doesn't care about what a bunch of random people on fredmiranda care about. Just move on man, he's not worth your time, none of this really is.
Marcus Watts wrote
Re the ads i thought thats exactly what everyone in this industry is doing. Look through any bridal magazine or yellow pages and it is almost impossible to distinguish between the mid range shooters from the complete low ballers. Same handful of layouts, same shots.
How many websites can you go to where you see an image that the photographer can genuinely call their own? something they actually created? Thats because most of the creatives in this industry are not creating, any evolution in their work is by copying the few that do work at new styles and imagery.
This guy should not have copied your site but doing so is not that inconsistent with what seems to be acceptable practice in all other areas of wedding and portrait photography....Show more →
As far as the web design / differentiation, well, basically, you get what you pay for. I have several friends who work in high end web design (doing product sites for firms like Nike and other big name brands you have heard of), and you know what, they come up with a lot of really interesting sites, and interesting ideas. Firms like Nike will pay HUGE money for one website to promote one product that uses custom graphics, html, flash, or whatever wingding happens to be popular that will support their marketing scheme.
Most wedding photographers cannot afford that. Even the "high end" ones, because they just don't generate that kind of cash flow. So they end up paying some douchebag with long hair, a goatee, and an atari t-shirt $5000 to re-make a template. Well, you get what you pay for and that's just kind of how it is.
I'll just add a few more things. Another reason sites get the template-y look is because a lot of ideas in design get recycled over and over. This is just part of how design works in general and artists have been doing it for hundreds of years. Part of it IS being unoriginal, but part of it is sticking to design paradigms because they work clearly.
Lastly, and this is mostly my opinion, a web design for a wedding photographer is not a critical part of the business structure as compared to a company like Amazon or Ebay or something like that. Is it important? yes. At the end of the day, how do you get most of your customers? PROBABLY from word of mouth or from bridal shows. The website is more of a support, or basic infrastructure that you need to have in place just to say you have it and so potential clients can browse it before they contact you and the real selling begins. I think you all are blowing this issue way out of proportion.
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