would you commision me?

  • Thread starter Thread starter digitalmaniac
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digitalmaniac said:
One thing someone said is take a look at your competitors-I did. Some of them have very poor websites-but seem to be doing ok. That is my point.
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Do you know for certain that it's your competitors websites that are generating sales for them?

digitalmaniac said:
Well often they have many portfolio sales images-but hey if people dont like it-I have to change it!
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Some portfolios might not necessarily reflect a photographer's work, if you know what I mean...

If you're going to be relying on your website as a marketing and sales tool then I'd suggest investing in it and hiring professional web designers to redevelop it for you.

You expect your customers to invest in a professional photographer. Why shouldn't you take the same approach with your website?

If it generates business for you then wouldn't it be a worthwhile investment?
 
digitalmaniac said:
To be honest if i had the spare cash I would pay for a bloody good web designer to design a site for me-but i dont as yet and also need one to be linked to my online sales.

I gota start somewhere
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You're right, everyone's got to start somewhere, but you don't have to take the route you're taking.

Have you tried contacting Business Link to see if they can help your business in some way? Perhaps get yourself to some business networking groups. Many will have web designers and you may be able to get a discount or make some sort of arrangement whereby you provide your services in exchange for theirs.

How about a business loan or even a grant to help pay for a website revamp?

What options have you explored?
 
DigitalRelish said:
Do you know for certain that it's your competitors websites that are generating sales for them?



Some portfolios might not necessarily reflect a photographer's work, if you know what I mean...

If you're going to be relying on your website as a marketing and sales tool then I'd suggest investing in it and hiring professional web designers to redevelop it for you.

You expect your customers to invest in a professional photographer. Why shouldn't you take the same approach with your website?

If it generates business for you then wouldn't it be a worthwhile investment?
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Yes you are quite right-but I am not spending too much yet-already have a couple of thousand to get branding done for cards and stuff for school promo and to get me out there-delivering thousands of promo cards via royal mail.

Maybe I should spend that on a website instead-but not sure which will give me bigger prescence initially
 
rh1944 said:
Under no circumstance contemplate Times New Roman, and avoid serifed fonts in general.
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Oops what’s wrong with times roman then I have it on my site.:thinking:

Anyway back to digitalmaniac’s question, firstly I can’t comment on the English as mine is terrible and there are probably more errors on my site.

My initial impressions from the home page are that it is not a wedding/portrait based photographer, the image should be of a relevant subject.

I am not sure on your logo on the top of the page, while I like it I don’t think if fits the bill for a wedding photographer IMHO :)

I think you need more photos in your portfolio, I have about 60 in my wedding gallery.

Just my opinions ;)

Julian
 
digitalmaniac said:
What is more professional doesn't mean paying Geoffrey Archer to write it for me LOL
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And oddly enough there is an author called Geoffrey, although his web site implies that he's a bit fed up with the confusion with J.Archer.

I have to say I don't rate the site. From the logo, the layout, the bullet points, the prose, the lists at the bottom of the page, the buttons, etc,etc.

The spelling, prose and grammar would turn me away.

It may be that other local photographers have terrible sites, but if they have an established business then the web site is less critical. It also depends on the photos on show of course.
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes you are quite right-but I am not spending too much yet-already have a couple of thousand to get branding done for cards and stuff for school promo and to get me out there-delivering thousands of promo cards via royal mail.

Maybe I should spend that on a website instead-but not sure which will give me bigger prescence initially
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A few £k is more than enough to get you something that will pay for itself and you would still have funds left over for handouts.

A website can be a very powerful sales tool that works around the clock. Done well, people will find you.
 
who? said:
And oddly enough there is an author called Geoffrey, although his web site implies that he's a bit fed up with the confusion with J.Archer.

I have to say I don't rate the site. From the logo, the layout, the bullet points, the prose, the lists at the bottom of the page, the buttons, etc,etc.

The spelling, prose and grammar would turn me away.

It may be that other local photographers have terrible sites, but if they have an established business then the web site is less critical. It also depends on the photos on show of course.
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LOL yes silly me well i suppose we are lucky it wasn't written by bungle
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes but its early days-has only been on google for a few days
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That's fair enough. Your domain is still very young and age is an important factor when it comes to ranking well on Google.

Whilst on the topic of rankings, I'd strongly suggest you remove the keywords you're stuffing into the footer of every page and try to work those keywords into your main site content. They're very easy for search engines to ignore as keyword stuffing.

Also, you should target your metadata for each webpage so that your search listings don't appear as lists of words. Often, your website isn't the first point of contact; your search result listings are and if they don't generate interest then you may lose a potential visitor.
 
To anyone's who's interested in website marketing, Seth Godin, a well-known marketer, offers a free ebook on how to make your website work for you. It's called Knock Knock and is available for download from Seth's blog.
 
DigitalRelish said:
That's fair enough. Your domain is still very young and age is an important factor when it comes to ranking well on Google.

Whilst on the topic of rankings, I'd strongly suggest you remove the keywords you're stuffing into the footer of every page and try to work those keywords into your main site content. They're very easy for search engines to ignore as keyword stuffing.

Also, you should target your metadata for each webpage so that your search listings don't appear as lists of words. Often, your website isn't the first point of contact; your search result listings are and if they don't generate interest then you may lose a potential visitor.
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sorry not sure what you mean- I appear on google top of page 1 for portrait studios slough and am on about page 4 for wedding photography slough within 1 week. Which as we all know with google is amazing.

Thats also a reason I dont want to change the site-except maybe a new skin
 
digitalmaniac said:
sorry not sure what you mean- I appear on google top of page 1 for portrait studios slough and am on about page 4 for wedding photography slough within 1 week. Which as we all know with google is amazing.

Thats also a reason I dont want to change the site-except maybe a new skin
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Perhaps "portrait studios slough" will work out to be a good search phrase for you (i.e. people search for it, land on your website and make contact with you), but it's not a competitive phrase and very few website are targeting it.

That would suggest that there's not much demand for it, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.

Page 4 for "wedding photography slough" is certainly a good foot in the door, but keep an eye on that ranking as it may fluctuate in the early period. You've still got to convert any visitors you might get from that ranking.

I would still suggest looking at the copy used in your search result listings and ask yourself whether or not it would encourage you to click if you were the searcher.
 
jpd300 said:
Oops what’s wrong with times roman then I have it on my site.:thinking:

Anyway back to digitalmaniac’s question, firstly I can’t comment on the English as mine is terrible and there are probably more errors on my site.

Julian
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Julian

A web designer told me that the current consensus is that you use serif fonts for printed matter and san serif fonts for web material; something to do with readability and media. So Times New Roman for printed matter not web sites.

I reckon that a complete beginner can put together a web site with 400 shots on clikpic in less than 2 days. Also you get to control the layout which is a lot better than having some computer jockey, who wouldn't know a wedding from a football match, tell you what your customers want.

The English Language is simple, so it's amazing that we can make such a mess of using it. Read Politics and the English Language by George Orwell, The essay contains six rules for writing English - follow them and people will know you mean.
 
rh1944 said:
Some of the posts have identified that there are errors in the text. You do need to put all the text through Word and correct the errors - there's too many errors in there, both spelling and grammar. Also please change the font, try Verdana, Lucida, Tahoma and Comic Sans which are more fashionable than Arial. Under no circumstance contemplate Times New Roman, and avoid serifed fonts in general.

I don't like scrolling down the page so please make the pages shorter to the point of no scrolling necessary. One page per type of wedding deal would work better for me.

Good luck with the wedding.
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Don't use comic sans, unless you have quite a lot of time to give everything on the site a comic edge and feel, it will just stand out like a sore thumb. Century Gothic is very clean looking and probably your best bet.
 
rh1944 said:
A web designer told me that the current consensus is that you use serif fonts for printed matter and san serif fonts for web material; something to do with readability and media. So Times New Roman for printed matter not web sites.
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There is no reason that you can't use Serif on the web, or Sans Serif in print but it will take far longer and be far more committing to produce a finished product that is pleasing to the eye.
 
DM - dont be downhearted, just get a pal who's good at the art of writing to give you a hand. I do think you should aim to have correct grammer and spelling etc, and I think you need to sell yourself 100%, do not let your doubts be picked up on my potential clients or they will not trust you.

If I can give you ANY advice, it is, take the comments on board, do not take ANY offence at them (you did ask afterall), and post the URL again after you have dealt with some of the issues.

Does not look like a huge amount of work to be honest, so good luck :)

Gary.
 
I think you're on the right track, but rgardless of how good a 'tog you are,the spelling and grammatical errors, coupled with the stilted prose would put me off, long before I made it as far as the sample images.

Moving on to the images themselves, those that you have as examples don't have a "wow" factor, nor are they significantly different from every other wedding tog's pictures, so it might be worth having a look at some of the wedding photographer groups on Flickr, or sites such as trashthedress.com for inspiration.

Oh, and whatever you do, DO NOT use comic sans for your font. Keep your font plain and simple, "trendy" or "fancy" fonts will only make your text harder to read and the site look unprofessional.
 
Based on my website-would you, if you were looking for a portrait or wedding photographer, think my work and my site was good enough and then commision me.
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Stripping away the warm fluffy stuff. No, I can't say I would.

I find the website quite unwelcoming and heavy going to read through. I feel there is too much explanation there and it starts to look like you are always justifying what you do. The print sizes are just an example of that, if you want to use full frame ratios as opposed to the more old school crop ratios, just do it.

The bump to one package, people will know that it's going to be more than one sitting, you don't need to justify the cost.

As a rule, I would never add any justification for costing.

Do you think the image usage warning on each image page really needs to be quite how or where it is? Again, you have to create the site in an inviting way aimed at your prospective clients. They will not be stealing random images from the galleries and don't need to see searchlights and gun towers.

In terms of the images you've used, sorry but I think you need to aim for something better. As you may have read on here, I value fun and passion above all when it comes to making images but there is no room at all for that sort of attitude in the arena you're looking to enter. it's tough and you need to stand out from and rise above the competition if you ever want to do more than get by.

Go take a look at this guy's site. This is where I feel a snapper needs to be to take on the wedding/portrait market.

www.paulrolandwilliams.com/

No-one I know btw, I just happened to see an album he shot at a clients the other day.
 
dazzajl said:
Stripping away the warm fluffy stuff. No, I can't say I would.

I find the website quite unwelcoming and heavy going to read through. I feel there is too much explanation there and it starts to look like you are always justifying what you do. The print sizes are just an example of that, if you want to use full frame ratios as opposed to the more old school crop ratios, just do it.

The bump to one package, people will know that it's going to be more than one sitting, you don't need to justify the cost.

As a rule, I would never add any justification for costing.

Do you think the image usage warning on each image page really needs to be quite how or where it is? Again, you have to create the site in an inviting way aimed at your prospective clients. They will not be stealing random images from the galleries and don't need to see searchlights and gun towers.

In terms of the images you've used, sorry but I think you need to aim for something better. As you may have read on here, I value fun and passion above all when it comes to making images but there is no room at all for that sort of attitude in the arena you're looking to enter. it's tough and you need to stand out from and rise above the competition if you ever want to do more than get by.

Go take a look at this guy's site. This is where I feel a snapper needs to be to take on the wedding/portrait market.

www.paulrolandwilliams.com/

No-one I know btw, I just happened to see an album he shot at a clients the other day.
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so ok you think im *****-well ok nuff said.

Ive seen olan mills and dont feel i have to be the no1 photographer in the country to compete.- will always try to better myself but am in no doubt I can do some good work

Also with regard to fun pics like youve said-there is a company sporting this kind of work-pebbles, who seem to be doing fairly well for themselves. They have a relaxed attitiude to photography and try to use natural light in a natural location. I am trying to do a bit of both and have as yet to do the formal stuff for the site.
 
digitalmaniac said:
so ok you think im *****-well ok nuff said.

Ive seen olan mills and dont feel i have to be the no1 photographer in the country to compete.- will always try to better myself but am in no doubt I can do some good work
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Taking a guess at what is behind the 5 stars, I did not think or say any such thing. I do not think that you will carve much room in the market with your home made website and some pics of your family though.

It's not meant to be nasty but you did ask and to reply with anything less than what I actually believe would be pointless and rude.

Surely to do this, you need to aim as high as you can, produce the best work you are capable of and want to be the very best you can be. I cannot stress how tough it is in the market you're looking at. It makes the commercial world look like a tea party sometimes and there are no shortage of wedding snappers driving cabs right now.


And for what it's worth, my local Olan Mills went bust last year. :(
 
To be honest bud, you did ask for opinions, that is what you are getting.
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes I did and I think some are justified and some are just plain bitchy
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Ok then, sometimes words written are forums can be read in a different way to how the poster wanted them to be, i`m sure people are just trying to be helpful.

Quick suggestion, and i`m not being bitchy, all the town names should start with a capital letter.....:thumbs:
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes I did and I think some are justified and some are just plain bitchy
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Well I can assure you that mine are not meant to be. I have a very good pot of coffee here that would quite happily take up my attention if I just wanted to amuse myself.

As someone who has dragged a photography company through a painful childhood, I was trying to be helpful.... and that's not going to happen by saying "oooh, that's lovely martin. Well done."

You have hit upon something else that I do personally feel quite strongly about and that's finding a niche. The company that you mentioned, you mentioned them and what they are known for. I do think that's always a good thing to have on your side, to be known for a style and way of working is great. Much better than just trying to fit in and take work from the gaps in-between the specialists.
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes I did and I think some are justified and some are just plain bitchy
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I presume you are referring to dazzajl who I thought gave some very good advice and pointers and for what it's worth I agree with him. He is a very experienced pro 'tog and whilst I have never met him he has some great work and more importantly, the right attitude. Yes, your website does need some work as others have pointed out (as did mine when I started) and I think it is important to take on board other people opinions which you did ask for.

If you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question.
 
ok . as me and the wife have photographed a LOT of weddings, i'll give my opinion of what i think clients would say.
while the images you have are very good, i feel there need to be quite a few more of them to tempt in client enquiries.
the down side of the web, is clients can look at pages from lots of photographers.sadly the cleint will shortlist you, or not, based on the opinion of your site.unless they are coming to you on recomendation.
unless you have a fair few images to look at, clients assume you havent done many weddings , and are putting just a few of your best in.
again, i realy dont mean to have a go, just putting forward my opinion.
we have had discussions with clients about why they chose us.
most have said that they like the style of work and the quality of pictures.
because we have a lot on our site, they can decide for themselves how they view us.
it works for us.
mark
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes I did and I think some are justified and some are just plain bitchy
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your attitude will only push customers away , would you talk to them the same way if they didnt like your pictures?

Talk of deposits usually put people off , i would find that you should mention them upon them contacting you for quotes.


This statement doesnt need to me made , the first part is enough up to image world

"""""All images on this site are copyright of Image World ( Martin Fry ) Any unauthorised usage in any way shape or form will meet with the respective legal action being taken"""""



as for the site i think it looks very un-professional :-

font
layout
grammar
punctuation
too many family shots
too much writing
not enough that shows your main area (wedding)
Prices are to high and to many wedding packages , jump between 1st and 2nd package is big.
you cant call yourself a professional if you have only just started

why call yourself a company?
maybe a picture of your studio??


also what is it you actually want to be a director of a company or a photographer?

can i ask how old you are aswell? and what camera gear you use?

i dont mean to sound harsh but why are you wasting your time sending out leaflets by post? the internet is your biggest marketing area and leaflets through doors go in the bin.

you sound like you are selling time shares or something
 
I think you are very lucky to have been given all the replies and comments. This kind of brain storming can cost thousands, trust me. Take the advice on board, go and get some clients, and be happy :D

I hope one day to take the plunge and do some part time togging, and you can count on me using this place for tips, advice, crit, comments and anything else - the last thing I will do when I get it, is complain! Before anyone slaps me down, I have a long, long way to go before I am sufficiently skilled to do it :D.

Seriously mate, you have been given a lot of good, and free advice, your lucky.

Gary.
 
Quick impression of the main page, the "image world" picture at the top doesn't work at all. It looks like something done with the photoshop filter list. It could work, but it would work better if you made it fade into the background colour. Yes this can be hard because of web colours, but use the web colours and fade it to whatever your page bg is. You will have to make the picture larger or the text smaller.

When photographic websites are shown to me I always like the simple, subtle and clean looking ones. The "image world" logo just looks too messy.

The type (the font) on a document or logo can mean I lot, and give a great deal of impression to the type of pictures you create. Maybe you could try something different without the lens flare.

If you want I could knock something up if you are not too proficient with photoshop.


One more thing, just out of interest, do you have many sales on the photos in the stock? Also, how much on average do you get currently with the website?
 
As I have said-there is a lot of posts to answer to since i last looked.

My prices are too high - not for the product im offering-reference framed portraits as I have checked withing the area. Weddings - not too high imho for our area.

Others I have taken ideas on board-but it gets a bit much when some say this and some say that and you dont know which to do for the best.

Some have started out themselves and have found it hard as has been said - but this is not the first time I have started a business. im a driving instructor who has to market myself and has built many websites and have done well from this.

I know things need changing and of course I will be working on this.

Someone said would you talk to your customers like this-like what. this is text. How do you know how im saying it. Frustration-hate-guilt-despondency. you dont so don't guess.

:shrug:
 
rgrebby said:
Quick impression of the main page, the "image world" picture at the top doesn't work at all. It looks like something done with the photoshop filter list. It could work, but it would work better if you made it fade into the background colour. Yes this can be hard because of web colours, but use the web colours and fade it to whatever your page bg is. You will have to make the picture larger or the text smaller.

When photographic websites are shown to me I always like the simple, subtle and clean looking ones. The "image world" logo just looks too messy.

The type (the font) on a document or logo can mean I lot, and give a great deal of impression to the type of pictures you create. Maybe you could try something different without the lens flare.

If you want I could knock something up if you are not too proficient with photoshop.


One more thing, just out of interest, do you have many sales on the photos in the stock? Also, how much on average do you get currently with the website?
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Sorry mate-what lens flare. im not a pro website builder. Some of the things you say I just cant do.

With regard to the stock-ive just started the site give me a chance LOL
 
digitalmaniac said:
Someone said would you talk to your customers like this-like what. this is text. How do you know how im saying it. Frustration-hate-guilt-despondency. you dont so don't guess.

:shrug:
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well this "TEXT" portrays you and it represents your business

so in full answer , no i would not hire you sorry
 
I dunno what else to add so will probably bow out after this. I reckon a few things have come out...

1: You are a good photographer
2: You have good ideas, and a potential market available to you
3: Your web site is poor and needs a lot of attention

Nothing wrong with being a good tog and crap designer, I mean why take offense? I have been designing sites for 5 years or so now, and ALL my income comes from MY self built sites, every last penny. Saying that, when it came to designing my company home page, the "flagship site" so to speak, I paid a FORTUNE to get it done properly.

Good luck mate, whatever you decide to do.

Gary.
 
digitalmaniac said:
im not a pro website builder.
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But you are wanting to market a VERY PRO service? I think you know the issue, and how to rectify it :)

Stick to taking good photos, and get a pro to build you a site you can be proud of, something slick and confident which will make your clients say "wow".

You have a talent and the potential to make bucketloads, just take the advice and enjoy your new venture when it all starts kicking off :)

Gary.
 
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