Anyone willing to give serious critique?

D

DataDog

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Name
Steve
Edit My Images
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Hi folks,

If there is anyone here who is willing to provide me with some serious feedback on my work, please have a look at my website. I've not been at this game very long and I'm always looking to improve.

I'm not after specific critique on one or two pictures as such, hence I've not posted this in the critique section. What I'm looking for is someone who has more experience than me to impart their knowledge so that I can improve my work as a whole.

Is there a pattern of error in my work? Do I crop too close or neglect composition? Are my pictured too saturated etc? I would really appreciate your help if you have the time.

Cheers,

Steve.

http://www.donaldsonphotography.co.uk
 
Maybe it would be better to post a selection of images for people to see and comment on here rather than just a link to your site.
 
Just a couple of points.

You would be better off, IMO, splitting the portraiture from the 'tamelife' work. People will get confused as to whether you photograph people or birds. You are more likely to make money from the portraiture so have a version of your site that is dedicated to it.

Your site is too slow, mainly because the images are not optimsed. What is more important ? - people knowing that they can buy the product that they want or people being impressed with the quality of your photography ? moot point but, again, by splitting the service you will be able to show your bird pics to whatever quality you would like without compromising what I beleive is the main line of business, which is the portraiture.

You also have a mix of first person and third person and if there's one thing thay makes me guffaw it's someone writing in third person about themselves - OK, I do it myself occasionally but stick to a style and I think first person makes you seem more approachable.

You have to develop a USP - get your head around what sets you apart from everyone else who's doing the same things as you.

HTH
 
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I did take a look, honest I did.

But IMVHO the site was so difficult to navigate after a while I gave up.

If I had been a potential customer :shrug: I'd have moved on.

Sorry, just my 2p's worth.
 
This is just my honest opinion, first impression is that its a blog and not a showcase of your work, navigating around the site is a pain in the ass and please don't take this the wrong way but the child at the top next to your name is very unnerving and slightly cross eyed and doesn't make for a welcoming homepage. Its nothing personal and totally up to you how you present yourself and or business. But these are my first and honest impressions
 
Very confusing!! :shrug:
 
Agree. Very blog like which doesn't lend well to a commercial site.
Prices is just a long list rather than organised sections to point to.
Archives? Shouldn't even be there and what screams blog.

If the aim is to sell photography services the photo examples need to be more upfront and not searched by date or text based set.

Any reason you chose the particular style of template to base the site on?

Haven't looked at the photos as at work and a bit too obvious :-) so commented from a graphic design point of view instead but that is the first thing anyone sees.
 
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Thanks for all the honest feedback gents. I'll try and reply to the points raised as honestly as I can.

Andy - As I said in my original post "I'm not after specific critique on one or two pictures as such, hence I've not posted this in the critique section. What I'm looking for is someone who has more experience than me to impart their knowledge so that I can improve my work as a whole.". Thanks for your input though. I have in the past posted pics for critique individually and have had some useful advice on those occasions.


Chris - You've raised some important points regarding the site and the commercial aspects, which I hadn't really considered if I'm honest. Regarding the speed of the site, you're quite right. I was trying to strike a balance between quality of the pictures and speed but I guess I've gone too heavy on the quality for a fast enough site. I'll address that.

Again, I take your point about the 1st/3rd person comments. In time, I hope my wife will have more input into the photography so I guess I was getting confused on whether to write the site as it is being run now, or to look to the future. My bad. I also agree that it's better to be in the first person.

In terms of a USP and succeeding as a business, that's a bit more tricky for me. Fortunately for me, I don't depend on the business as my main source of income and hence, big business is not what I'm about (at this time!). I've got limited time available for photo shoots so the site is more to showcase my capabilities for the few clients I envisage taking on throughout the year. I understand the importance for a USP if I want to make this my main source of income, but at the moment it's just about taking photographs. I actually wouldn't have charged at all prior to joining this site but people get slated SO often on here for not charging, that I thought it was more reasonable to set up officially. Rightly or wrongly, that's what I've chosen to do. That might have some bearing on the layout of the site and the addition of the animal photography etc.

Great advice though and I really do appreciate you giving up your time to respon in full.


Dave - I'm sorry but I struggle to see how the site is difficult to navigate. Simple, drop down menus for the profiles and clear links at the top of the page.:thinking: Is it because of the "Archives" section?:shrug: What would you suggest I change to make it easier to navigate? Thanks also for your comments though.


Simon - Thanks for your opinions. Having read all the feedback in the posts here, I think you're right in that the site (entirely my fault obviously!) is confused. I have a presence on Facebook and now Flickr so I suppose I should use FB for the "blogging" side of things and Flickr for pictures that don't fit the bill in terms of commercial success of the business. WRT the banner at the top of the page, I'll look into it and possibly change the picture. ;)


Adam - See above reply to Andy regarding my posting of individual photos. :thumbs:


Rich - I'm guessing you're a man of few words...:D As you don't really explain what you mean, I can only assume that you mean confusing in the same way as suggested by Simon and Dave above??:shrug:


Ernesto - I guess I have a list of prices because it's a price list?:D In seriousness though, I'm not really sure I follow your point here. How would you restructure it to make more sense?

Point taken about the "blog" look and the Archives section. I guess it just seemed to be the way more and more people are heading with regards to getting their work out there. Again, I'm probably confusing exposure with commercial viability.:bonk:

With regards to the style of the site, I like the simplicity and ease of modification that wordpress sites allow. I've had previous sites written solely in HTML/CSS and they didn't look anything like as professional as (I thought) this site looked. You can imagine how they must've looked then, given the responses I've had here!! :lol: Thanks though - Again an insightful and helpful comment to help me improve!



I have to be honest, when I first read the comments I was quite shocked, believing this to be a big improvement on my last effort. When I actually digested the advice it seems to me that those of you taking the time to comment have hit the nail on the head and it's apparent that I have a lot more work to do yet!

Any suggestions on what I can do to improve the actual photography, now that I know what to change on the site itself?

Thanks again to all for your honest but constructive comments!:clap:
 
To me it isn't really a business website but a blog.

You mention above "With regards to the style of the site, I like the simplicity and ease of modification that wordpress sites allow"

Well Wordpress is essentially blogging software so it is not surprising that the site comes across as such.

You need to decide if you want a blog or business website. At the moment you have a blog. Nothing stopping you having both, but not on the same site.
 
Agreed that Wordpress is primarily blogging software but you'd be surprised how many sites out there use it as a commercial and viable option for displaying galleries, setting up shopping carts etc. I think I'll still use Wordpress, just look for a template that would be more fitting to my needs.:thumbs:
 
Steve,

What I was getting at with Price List restructure is to use a table format with services in left hand column and price structure on the columns to right of service. It would then all fit on one page and be clear what all the services are and their corresponding prices without having to scroll down and find the prices within the text of each area.

As for the photo's now on display. I don't mind tattoo's and piercings but this may put off a fair few prospective clients who may see it as 'specialist' and not for them (the majority of people are still very rigid and traditional!). All depends what market you are going for but could potentially narrow your scope inadvertently.
 
I did manage to look through your portraiture. I think you need to experiment with different shots and techniques. All your shots are quite simple and are lacking creativity. IMO.
 
DataDog said:
Andy - As I said in my original post "I'm not after specific critique on one or two pictures as such, hence I've not posted this in the critique section. What I'm looking for is someone who has more experience than me to impart their knowledge so that I can improve my work as a whole.". Thanks for your input though. I have in the past posted pics for critique individually and have had some useful advice on those occasions.
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Your work as a whole is only the sum of its parts. :)

Just so you know Andy and I where giving serious experienced advice.

Onwards and upwards. :thumbs:
 
hmmm Yes i believe my advice was based on my experience. Which may or may not be more than you.

You work as a whole has several problems and several good points. Without specific images to comment on its impossible to give more than that. If your after comments on your site then thats a different thing and this is what most have given you as comments on your work as a whole are impossible to give.
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Just so you know Andy and I where giving serious experienced advice.
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I don't doubt it for a minute that the advice has been sound - to the extent that I have already started working on the site. It's been taken down fully and getting rebuilt bit-by-bit.

I'm focussing on the portraiture, removing the blogging feel to it and will be fine tuning it for some time I'm sure.

For the benifit of anyone who views the site at the moment, you will see it in a horrible state now, as it's a work in progress but with Wordpress you can't do this offline (or if you can, I don't know how to do it).


Thanks for the reply Ernesto. A tabulated format would have been my preference too, however that's not aas straight forward as it soulds with the platform I'm using. I get where you're coming from though, so thanks for that.


Thanks for the critique Jarrrp. I don't know when you saw the site so I can't comment really on the work that you were able to view. I appreciate that it's not top drawer stuff by the standards on here, but I'm trying... and I'm asking for advice to better myself. Lacking in creativity is pretty harsh given some of the other shots that are on display here though (IMHO). Simple, yes (deal with the basics before getting fancy, walk before you can run etc).

I'll have a look through your work to see how I should diversify myself and increase my creativity.:thumbs:
 
DataDog said:
I'll have a look through your work to see how I should diversify myself and increase my creativity.:thumbs:
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Thats not a bad idea. Some really great stuff on Jarrrps flicker page. Great use of lighting and some great post production. It seems by the sarcastic reply you are not liking some if the negative feedback given and getting a little defensive. Take it on the chin.
 
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asphotographymk said:
hmmm Yes i believe my advice was based on my experience. Which may or may not be more than you.

You work as a whole has several problems and several good points. Without specific images to comment on its impossible to give more than that. If your after comments on your site then thats a different thing and this is what most have given you as comments on your work as a whole are impossible to give.
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Without a doubt you have a lot more experience than me! ;)

I'll post some specifics in the appropriate critique area as and when I get the time. Got to iron out all these problems with the site first though!:eek:
 
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