My new site - DPChallenge Forums

06/29/2004 10:52:13 PM · #1

//www.pictureinfinity.com

It's getting there. :) I know it's not done and I know there are things a) missing, b) broken and c) a bit on the "huh?" side, but I just did about 7 hours of work on my site, so I want to show it off. (5 of those hours were on the g'd calendar if any html geniuses were saying "wtf did he spend 7 hours on this for!??!")

Thanks!

Mav

Message edited by author 2004-06-29 22:52:29.

longlivenyhc

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Canon

06/29/2004 11:05:55 PM · #2

in your portfolio, the second image in the portrait section links to your account in dpcprints

grigrigirl

Nikon D3

Nikon AF Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G IF-ED DX

06/29/2004 11:07:43 PM · #3

you need to raise your prices! Or...is that the standard pricing in your area? If not..raise them. Your work is better than that. :)

digistoune

Canon EOS-20D

06/29/2004 11:07:57 PM · #4

First the good news... Your site is very easy to navigate and I didn't have to hunt for information. Very important traits and you nailed it.
Improvements? Well, keep in mind this is just my opinion and taste but I would try to make the homepage a little less involved. Try a cleaner font to tidy things up a bit. Perhaps make one of your best wedding shots the first thing that people notice when the page loads. I know you worked hard on that calendar and it is WAY COOL but does it need to be front and center? For your portfolio pages, I would subtract the word "photography" - again, to tidy things up I would label the galleries as 'Weddings', 'Artistic', 'Portraits', etc. Finally on the past weddings page, is there any way you can password protect those galleries? Some folks are weird about their personal photos being on the Internet for EVERYONE to see. I know there's a pretty simple html code to do that but I'll be darned if I can remember it.

And let me just add that I love the graceful way you curse in your posts. See, I generally cuss like a sailor which has a tendency to put most folks off so I'm always on the lookout for tasteful ways to curb my directness ;-)

06/29/2004 11:08:49 PM · #5

Fixed the folio thing.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

06/29/2004 11:10:21 PM · #6

Originally posted by grigrigirl:

you need to raise your prices! Or...is that the standard pricing in your area? If not..raise them. Your work is better than that. :)

I've been telling myself when I complete my fifth wedding, I'll feel like I can raise prices. Right now, I'm in that "shouldn't be charging, but I am anyways" stage. lol Probably right, but ... I dunno. Right now I feel weird charging 1000 bucks for me to go to someone else's party! :)

(and thank you - I have looked at local photographers and I do think I can do what they do...I hope!)

M

Message edited by author 2004-06-29 23:11:04.

dacrazyrn

Nikon D300

06/29/2004 11:22:17 PM · #7

Your A la Carte is showing up twice on the page in pricing.
Is your links to DPCPrints for the actual weddings part of the new area of DPCPrints? I would love to do that with portriats.

Message edited by author 2004-06-29 23:25:50.

awpollard

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

06/29/2004 11:22:17 PM · #8

I clicked on Anderson on your calendar...and the On-line proofing and purchasing link seems to be broke. Otherwise pretty cool except for the banner ads.

06/29/2004 11:24:15 PM · #9

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Your A la Carte is showing up twice on the page in pricing

Thanks - actually there's a weddings a la carte and a portraits a la carte. I have blanked out the portrait packages but haven't blanked out the a la carte area yet for portraits. It should be there, just emptier. :) Thanks!

M

longlivenyhc

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Canon

06/29/2004 11:24:23 PM · #10

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Your A la Carte is showing up twice on the page in pricing

yup i was just about to mention that, u beat me to it

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

06/29/2004 11:25:49 PM · #11

Originally posted by awpollard:

I clicked on Anderson on your calendar...and the On-line proofing and purchasing link seems to be broke. Otherwise pretty cool except for the banner ads.

Banner ads are something we've planned to get rid of about when we can afford it. It's 120 bucks at once. :( But we WILl get rid of them.

As far as the link, I haven't uploaded anything yet. I just finished editing the pics tonight. :) I was editing and writing the page at the same time.

loz1

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

06/29/2004 11:26:23 PM · #12

Its horrible lol JK

I think you have done a great job. Just the work you have done today alone is awsome and something to be proud of :) Keep it up. I know you are a true perfectionist so I can just imagin that this site will keep on improving as you do :) GL

JPR

Sony Alpha a55

Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Super Wide Angle Zoom

06/29/2004 11:28:16 PM · #13

Thanks for reminding me I need to set up a website. I'm curious about the whole wedding photographer thing. It really seems like the only surefire avenue toward getting paid photo gigs. Is it possible to get hired as an "extra" wedding photographer that does their own artistic shots while the "pro" does all the traditional posed work?

Site looks alright BTW. You need more impact though, especially when displaying your images. Reading through your price lists boggled my brain. I think the name and the general style of writing throughout is fantastic.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

06/29/2004 11:28:52 PM · #14

Originally posted by loz1:

Its horrible

I know! It couldn't be helped!

loz1

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

06/29/2004 11:33:04 PM · #15

Originally posted by mavrik:

Originally posted by loz1:
Its horrible

I know! It couldn't be helped!

You just gotta realise that this is not your thing, you and computers that is lol We all know that in reality you wanna be a male ballarina lol You should be able to follow that dream without being scared lol

lelani

06/29/2004 11:46:24 PM · #16

is it me or are alot of these
blurry?

06/29/2004 11:48:36 PM · #17

A lot of the indoor ones are soft and even sometimes blurry. That wedding was shot for a friend before I got my Rebel. I didn't charge her for the shoot - she had no other plan though. :)

M

lelani

06/29/2004 11:55:20 PM · #18

what sort of equipment do use for your wedding shoots? eg. lens, speedlight, etc.

lelani

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

06/29/2004 11:55:53 PM · #19

btw your site is really kool

mandyp

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

06/29/2004 11:59:33 PM · #20

Hi Mavrik,

Here are my 2c - hope you see this as constructive critcism :-)

* Less text on the front page - I'd move the FAQ questions into a bulleted list that click through to the answers (get people moving into your site)
* Move the text down and have a row of 3-4 thumbnails right up under the menu. Your pictures are the drawcard to the site and they are excellent so show them off. Change them regularly.
* Consistent sizing in thumbnails throughout the site - I'd choose a "feature image" size and a "thumnail" size and use them throughout the site. If you optimise them well you can use a few on each page without the site loading too slowly.
* Consistent borders/non-borders on the images.
* The calendar is a great idea - it shows people how in demand you are and gives them a sense of urgency to sign up with you. Make sure you keep it up to date. If you aren't getting many regular bookings consider adding some "dummy" bookings to make it look like you are really busy.

I hope this is useful. I've been doing web design reviews at work all day so my critical side is showing.

Good luck with it. You've got the basis of an excellent site there.

Mandy

PhilipDyer

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

06/30/2004 12:10:40 AM · #21

Very cool of you to make this leap, Mavrik! I was about to post some feedback, but mandyp said exactly what I wanted to say better than I would have. I think her critique is right on. It's kind of a lot of work, though, so you might want to incorporate those suggestions whenever you have more time to devote to the site. What you have now is a great start.

Congratulations, Mavrik! Good luck with the new business!

mandyp

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

06/30/2004 12:27:35 AM · #22

Originally posted by PhilipDyer:

It's kind of a lot of work, though, ...

Yeah sorry about that, I wasn't thinking about that when I posted :)

06/30/2004 12:28:59 AM · #23

No, that's ok. I can actually do the html stuff pretty quickly. Damn that calendar! LOL

Thanks for the really thoughtful post! I can't wait to incorporate some of those suggestions. I will do more work on it tomorrow when my eyes aren't so blurry. I can't believe I finished editing that second wedding tonight. Two weeks, fairly dedicated work - 1400 pics down to 385!

Thanks all - keep the suggestions coming. I'll use a lot of them. I need the ideas.

M

EddyG