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08/17/2012 07:24:29 PM · #1 |
Guys,
Please have your eyes on my website too! Your opinion would help me and matters so please feel free to drop and share!
Girish Pandit |
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08/17/2012 08:33:14 PM · #2 |
Girish,
That's an excellent looking site, the colors and logo are both very nice, and the layout is good too.
I am sorry to say, because I do not want to hurt your feelings, but the content of the site is somewhat unrefined.
If you are targeting mainstream Americans as your clients, I would consider hiring a college student or a proper copy editor to help you on the content.
The photos are generally nice photos, but you should ask yourself a question about every picture "Would someone hire me to take a picture like this?" In the case of the fireworks photo the answer is almost certainly no, so unless you're selling prints I would concentrate on photos that showcase the skills that your customer will care about - when they see a picture like the one they have in mind they are more likely to hire you.
Also, I have no idea where your located, or what area you service, if someone just comes upon your site through Google, they won't know where you are at all, so they'll probably not hire you. Are you willing to travel? 20 mile radius? Metro area? What's your service area.
And you need a picture of a baby, or cute kid(s) on the main portfolio page, moms eat that stuff up and are more likely to hire you on that basis.
I hope this helps,
Cory B.
Message edited by author 2012-08-17 20:36:36. |
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08/17/2012 11:28:38 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by Cory:
Girish,
That's an excellent looking site, the colors and logo are both very nice, and the layout is good too.
I am sorry to say, because I do not want to hurt your feelings, but the content of the site is somewhat unrefined.
If you are targeting mainstream Americans as your clients, I would consider hiring a college student or a proper copy editor to help you on the content.
The photos are generally nice photos, but you should ask yourself a question about every picture "Would someone hire me to take a picture like this?" In the case of the fireworks photo the answer is almost certainly no, so unless you're selling prints I would concentrate on photos that showcase the skills that your customer will care about - when they see a picture like the one they have in mind they are more likely to hire you.
Also, I have no idea where your located, or what area you service, if someone just comes upon your site through Google, they won't know where you are at all, so they'll probably not hire you. Are you willing to travel? 20 mile radius? Metro area? What's your service area.
And you need a picture of a baby, or cute kid(s) on the main portfolio page, moms eat that stuff up and are more likely to hire you on that basis.
I hope this helps,
Cory B. |
Thanks Cory! This definitely help! I will take some necessary actions and will update the website!
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08/18/2012 05:54:43 AM · #4 |
I am no expert as I only do this stuff for fun.
I have just looked at your site and the thing I saw first was the mono image of the little girl in the slideshow thingy and am sorry to say that it looks out of focus.
As it was the first thing I saw it would put me off slightly.
funny as elsewhere on the site the same image is sharp.
You have some real nice images but thought I would mention this as it hit me straight away. |
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08/18/2012 07:21:50 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by Tiny:
I am no expert as I only do this stuff for fun.
I have just looked at your site and the thing I saw first was the mono image of the little girl in the slideshow thingy and am sorry to say that it looks out of focus.
As it was the first thing I saw it would put me off slightly.
funny as elsewhere on the site the same image is sharp.
You have some real nice images but thought I would mention this as it hit me straight away. |
I also noticed and looking into that on why I have two different aspect of the same image. |
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08/18/2012 07:30:06 AM · #6 |
i think your site is a great starting point for collecting your images and ideas. you still have a lot of work to do before you are ready for prime time. i would suggest looking at with  mike_311 did and read through his website development thread. he wound up with a very targeted site based on a solid collection of images that each represent the type of images a client could expect to receive if they hired him.
before you shout, "Hello, World! I'm a photographer, hire me!" you will want to make sure your website carries your business's message. |
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08/18/2012 07:41:33 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by Skip:
i think your site is a great starting point for collecting your images and ideas. you still have a lot of work to do before you are ready for prime time. i would suggest looking at with mike_311 did and read through his website development thread. he wound up with a very targeted site based on a solid collection of images that each represent the type of images a client could expect to receive if they hired him.
before you shout, "Hello, World! I'm a photographer, hire me!" you will want to make sure your website carries your business's message. |
make sense and reading the thread! |
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08/18/2012 09:31:36 AM · #8 |
Girish, I like it. Its similar in layout to mine, which summarizes nicely what you do on the main page and draws them inside with the links, i have found its a very effective tool.
some thoughts in no particular order:
I do agree with Cory, refine your focus. You need to determine if you are selling/showcasing images or selling services. The site is layed out to sell services and i imagine that's the intent. I would remove any images that aren't contributing to your focus. On my site I wanted people to be able to see my other work, so I just placed a 500px chicklet and left it at that. you could also make reference to it at the end of your bio or somewhere else you what to try to sell prints, but I wouldn't put it out in front.
You need to lay out the site as if you were looking for a photographer. What would you want to see, what would you expect to read?
You are selling yourself, so make sure you do that, differentiate yourself, show what makes you different and if you cant show it, say it. removing any items that contribute to a lack of experience, for instance hide the client section, its alarming that there is only one client there.
I kept my bio short and sweet and made it read more like a pitch. Someone gave me the great advice that you don't want to come off as a hobbyist, be professional and convey that. The reader doesn't really care why or how you got into photography, they want to be confidant that if they give you money you are going to give them great photos.
I would also agree to rewrite your Bio. It is very poorly written in that its not written how most native English speaking people speak, and it will hurt you if they feel they cant communicate with you.
you are also typecasting yourself into a specific ethic group with your limited portfolio, you really need to expand it.
i would also suggest taking the site down until its done, you don't want Google crawling an unfinished site. your host will provide you with an IP to share for comments and help.
if you have a Facebook or any other social media page, link to it and vice versa.
pricing, either show it or tell me people how they can get it.
i think you have a good start but like me you really need to expand your work, you can only say so much and to summarize, right now your site has no real focus, its part landing page/online portfolio but seeks to be more and doesn't give a path how to get there. its confusing to potential clients that they have no idea what to expect from you and i would expect most would just move on instead of trying to figure it out.
Message edited by author 2012-08-18 10:02:18. |
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08/18/2012 01:12:58 PM · #9 |
Done! disabled the site for now.
Thanks guys really appreciate your response! I am following up on the things and will get it back on soon!
Originally posted by mike_311:
Girish, I like it. Its similar in layout to mine, which summarizes nicely what you do on the main page and draws them inside with the links, i have found its a very effective tool.
some thoughts in no particular order:
I do agree with Cory, refine your focus. You need to determine if you are selling/showcasing images or selling services. The site is layed out to sell services and i imagine that's the intent. I would remove any images that aren't contributing to your focus. On my site I wanted people to be able to see my other work, so I just placed a 500px chicklet and left it at that. you could also make reference to it at the end of your bio or somewhere else you what to try to sell prints, but I wouldn't put it out in front.
You need to lay out the site as if you were looking for a photographer. What would you want to see, what would you expect to read?
You are selling yourself, so make sure you do that, differentiate yourself, show what makes you different and if you cant show it, say it. removing any items that contribute to a lack of experience, for instance hide the client section, its alarming that there is only one client there.
I kept my bio short and sweet and made it read more like a pitch. Someone gave me the great advice that you don't want to come off as a hobbyist, be professional and convey that. The reader doesn't really care why or how you got into photography, they want to be confidant that if they give you money you are going to give them great photos.
I would also agree to rewrite your Bio. It is very poorly written in that its not written how most native English speaking people speak, and it will hurt you if they feel they cant communicate with you.
you are also typecasting yourself into a specific ethic group with your limited portfolio, you really need to expand it.
i would also suggest taking the site down until its done, you don't want Google crawling an unfinished site. your host will provide you with an IP to share for comments and help.
if you have a Facebook or any other social media page, link to it and vice versa.
pricing, either show it or tell me people how they can get it.
i think you have a good start but like me you really need to expand your work, you can only say so much and to summarize, right now your site has no real focus, its part landing page/online portfolio but seeks to be more and doesn't give a path how to get there. its confusing to potential clients that they have no idea what to expect from you and i would expect most would just move on instead of trying to figure it out. |
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08/18/2012 01:22:58 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
Girish, I like it. Its similar in layout to mine, which summarizes nicely what you do on the main page and draws them inside with the links, i have found its a very effective tool.
some thoughts in no particular order:
I do agree with Cory, refine your focus. You need to determine if you are selling/showcasing images or selling services. The site is layed out to sell services and i imagine that's the intent. I would remove any images that aren't contributing to your focus. On my site I wanted people to be able to see my other work, so I just placed a 500px chicklet and left it at that. you could also make reference to it at the end of your bio or somewhere else you what to try to sell prints, but I wouldn't put it out in front.
You need to lay out the site as if you were looking for a photographer. What would you want to see, what would you expect to read?
You are selling yourself, so make sure you do that, differentiate yourself, show what makes you different and if you cant show it, say it. removing any items that contribute to a lack of experience, for instance hide the client section, its alarming that there is only one client there.
I kept my bio short and sweet and made it read more like a pitch. Someone gave me the great advice that you don't want to come off as a hobbyist, be professional and convey that. The reader doesn't really care why or how you got into photography, they want to be confidant that if they give you money you are going to give them great photos.
I would also agree to rewrite your Bio. It is very poorly written in that its not written how most native English speaking people speak, and it will hurt you if they feel they cant communicate with you.
you are also typecasting yourself into a specific ethic group with your limited portfolio, you really need to expand it.
i would also suggest taking the site down until its done, you don't want Google crawling an unfinished site. your host will provide you with an IP to share for comments and help.
if you have a Facebook or any other social media page, link to it and vice versa.
pricing, either show it or tell me people how they can get it.
i think you have a good start but like me you really need to expand your work, you can only say so much and to summarize, right now your site has no real focus, its part landing page/online portfolio but seeks to be more and doesn't give a path how to get there. its confusing to potential clients that they have no idea what to expect from you and i would expect most would just move on instead of trying to figure it out. |
I will say, typecasting yourself into a single ethnic group could be a GREAT idea, and it would also mean your website's writing could stay much the same. The question you need to ask is "who is my customer" do you want to target your own ethnic group? No doubt that is a powerful marketing tactic. So, make that choice consciously..
As for the images, just make sure you're sending the right message..
You've got a great start, now just take it that last 20%.
Cheers!
Message edited by author 2012-08-18 13:35:51. |
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08/18/2012 01:31:02 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Cory:
I will say, typecasing yourself into a single ethnic group could be a GREAT idea, and it would also mean your website's writing could stay much the same. The question you need to ask is "who is my customer" do you want to target your own ethnic group? No doubt that is a powerful marketing tactic. So, make that choice consciously..
As for the images, just make sure you're sending the right message..
You've got a great start, now just take it that last 20%.
Cheers! |
specializing is an interesting idea, i'd make sure 1. the market is viable and 2. you aren't alienation any potential clients from any other ethnic groups in the process, I would think that last thing you want is to have a willing paying customer be turned away because you are too focused on another market. |
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08/18/2012 03:23:11 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
Originally posted by Cory:
I will say, typecasing yourself into a single ethnic group could be a GREAT idea, and it would also mean your website's writing could stay much the same. The question you need to ask is "who is my customer" do you want to target your own ethnic group? No doubt that is a powerful marketing tactic. So, make that choice consciously..
As for the images, just make sure you're sending the right message..
You've got a great start, now just take it that last 20%.
Cheers! |
specializing is an interesting idea, i'd make sure 1. the market is viable and 2. you aren't alienation any potential clients from any other ethnic groups in the process, I would think that last thing you want is to have a willing paying customer be turned away because you are too focused on another market. |
hummm...definitely interesting idea!
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