Building My Own Flash Site - Help!

Nikon AF Nikkor 35mm f/2.0D

03/31/2008 02:42:52 PM · #1

Hi Friends,

I just downloaded Flash CS3, and I want to build my own photography site. I see templates online all the time for $200, but they have limitations that I am not fond of.

I have a solid background in html, css and php; however, my Flash background is minimal (one class in college, years ago).

So, what books or online sources would you recommend to help teach me how to make a great flash site to display my photography (weddings, events, headshots, etc.). I want to be able to add galleries; so, templates are not really useful (as they limit you to 4 or 6 galleries).

I know there are Dummies, Visually, and a few others that are popular; but, are there books or online tutorials on how to set up a Flash photo gallery website that any of you know of?

Thanks!
Arie :)

Prof_Fate

03/31/2008 03:15:47 PM · #2

I am doing this too- learning Flash. I googled and found some online tutorials (help in Flash will point you to some at adobe as well).
Went most of the way through the first one and couldn't get my thing to do what the tutorial's would do. I will have some time wed night to try again...and getting abook on Flash is now very high on my list!

zarniwoop

Nikon D50

03/31/2008 04:03:40 PM · #3

Don't.

Seriously, don't build a website in flash. You'll put people off, it's impossible to search through the text, people can't link to specific pages or photos, it's slow, some or even many people will not want to install a flash reader, and the interface, however nicely designed, is going to annoy a lot more people than if you just used a decent, unobtrusive html design. On a personal note, I find that flash websites don't respond to my text size, and window size preferences.

I'm not a website guru, so you may well know ways around all of the above problems, but if you're not sure then I'd beg you to stick with the html, css and php. Flash is sometimes indispensable for a part of a website, but please don't force people to use it: a significant number will not bother, no matter how compelling the content.

Of course, if enough people tell you that I'm wrong, it's probably safe to continue, and you can assume that mine truly is a minority opinion.

Nathanael_G

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

03/31/2008 04:21:54 PM · #4

//schoolofflash.com/ has some walk throughs on flash design. The guy who writes the blog, Craig Campbell also designs sites and does graphic design if you wanted to have someone do it for you. //www.craigsoup.com/index.php

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

03/31/2008 04:51:55 PM · #5

I def can't pay for someone to create my site for me; and i have the ability to learn Flash on my own... I am a self-taught web designer. I will check out schoolofflash, thanks!

As for not making a flash site... well, all the greatest and best photo galleries that I see online for wedding photographers are all in Flash. The ones that run well are my favorites. If I were a bride, and I was searching for a photog, I'd be much more impressed with a functional flash gallery than a standard html one. I can do a standard html one now, but after MUCH research.. I believe it would benefit my business to have a flash site for my wedding photography.

What do the rest of you think? I know Flash is a monster, and can be slow (which I hope to avoid with some optimization); but, do you think brides are more wow'd by Flash or non-flash sites? I asked a few dozen ladies (non-photogs) to pretend they are a bride and look for a local photog online for their "wedding" and they ALL came up with Flash sites! So, though it was minimal research, it has proven to me that I need a flash site to appeal to modern brides.

Prof_Fate

03/31/2008 06:05:19 PM · #6

The problems mentioned about flash sites are true - not everyone can access them (especially at work, mobile units, some cafe's, libraries, etc). And you run the risk of folks having old implementations of flash. I've seen flash work differently on firefox and IE, and differently on different computers running the same browser!

I too am of the feeling that every photog worth a damn is using a flash site, or an html site with flash bits in it. I plan to add flash animations, gallery, slideshows to my HTML site - that way it will get crawled, can be linked, etc. Not sure yet how to have a default BG image show if the flash won't run..i have some ideas on how to do it, but haven't tried them yet.

My issue is music. It sets a mood and many many many photogs, especially higher end and wedding photogs, use music on their site. I just don't know if I want music yet or not.

pointandshoot

Canon EOS-10D

03/31/2008 06:20:37 PM · #7

these guys had some of the best Flash resources a few years back:
//friendsofed.com/

Message edited by author 2008-03-31 18:21:17.

zarniwoop

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Nikkor 35mm f/2.0D

03/31/2008 07:02:22 PM · #8

Regarding Music.

I will put up with a decent flash site if the content is necessary and I'm in the right mood (by decent I must admit that I mean one that is as fast and easy to use as an html css etc site). I will not tolerate any site that has music on by default. If I'm not playing music already, I do not want to listen to any.

Again, this is merely my attitude, and in the end it's entirely up to you and whether you feel that enough people will be attracted purely by the gimmicks of the flash site to make up for however many people like me you lose. There are some beautiful sites with simple css design templates out there;I suppose I just don't understand the attraction of flash.

That said, wedding photography is a niche market, and I can imagine being prepared to look at obnoxious websites in that context, which I wouldn't on a day to day basis. So good luck to you, and remember that all I want is a simple, elegant and transparent browsing experience.

Don't fall into the mistake of trying to turn the site itself into a work of art: art tends to annoy more people than it pleases.

03/31/2008 07:10:51 PM · #9

I agree on the music aspect. Most people browse from work, and music would be a disturbance. I want a very simple, clean flash site (fast) and easy to navigate. I wonder if there are any books on building a flash site for the purposes of a photo gallery?

I want something like this (without sound):
Dave Richards Site

Simms

03/31/2008 07:18:47 PM · #10

Originally posted by mirdonamy:

I generally find they are wowed by great photos. Seriously, the average bride-to-be will not put preference on a Flash site with so-so photos over a site based in HTML with amazing photos. They are looking for great images of their wedding day, not a flash site.

The thing is you have to capture them from the first few pages, if they are waiting around for your whiz-bang flash menu to load and expand, retract whilst being forced to listen to your choice in music, then they are likely to hit that BACK button and gotto the next one that Google suggested.

Message edited by author 2008-03-31 19:20:00.