Your opinion please...?

I would like some opinions on my website please.

 

www.kiss-photography.co.uk

 

If you have any comments/recommendations please let me know.

 

I have NEVER built a website before and so I know it is not 100% professional!

I just wanted somewhere to display my work!

 

Please be firm but fair in your comments?

 

Thanks

 

K x

I would avoid using so much of your vertical screen real estate with that large logo at the top, and I would skip the animated flash intro... it just makes people wait in order to get into the site, and doesn't - by itself - actually communicate anything or add to the experience of the visit.

 

In your "statements" area, I would stay away from explaining how nervous you were, that you'd only shot (unpaid) your cousin's event, etc. If you're looking to build confidence in prospective customers, that's not helping. Let your work speak for you. Speaking of which:

 

Why the "slide.com" insert? It looks more like an add for a third party service. You'd be better off with static thumbnails and normal linked-to images than those small scrolling-by images that may or may not display on everyone's browsers. On the commercial/promo shots in particular, the image transitions (with the vertical bouncing around, etc) is pretty annoying, actually. You want people to LOOK at the photographs, not have to follow them around on the screen. Make sure that EVERY image you choose to show is something you could say is the best possible example of your work.

Thanks Matt. With regard to the large logo, That's hot it was put in, I didnt make it that big... I will get rid of the flash intro and re the pictures I didnt know how else to upload them but I am creating a freewebs space so I can have a proper gallery.

 

K x

Matt

 

Changes have been made, are there any pics you suggest I take down? I think my amateur status shows a lot in most of my work.

 

Also, how would I put in a proper gallery without using the freewebs site?

 

K x

Just an opinion here but the pink text on white is fairly difficult to read. No idea what it should be changed to. A number of colors/combinations would work.

Tony, Noted. I have changed the colour of the writing and it is still in keeping with my scheme.

 

K x

Kim, I have a suggestion (which is a follow up of what Matt has said above) and that is you re-write and make your front page blurbs/intro as 'strong' as posible, by making the content direct and to the point. You also have lots of other links listed on your front page which dilutes from your main gallery. My first suggestion is that you make another 'tab', call it 'Other Links' or something and list them there.<br><br>Have you tried some other fonts for your text? The typeface used now is quite run-of-the mill.<br><br>You also have not used any meta names on your site to enable search engines to find 'punters' for you ~ some suggestions would be to localise your photograpy too using words like Barnes, Putney etc... <br>Yes, if one taps in 'kiss-photography' into a Search engine they will find your site (amongst other sites with the same name), but what you want to do is use 'meta-tag keywords' so that people not knowing you or your name might find you, your site, and what you offer.<br><br>Talking about pictures/images, you might want to think about some photographs as banner ads on top of your 6 pages ~ Psssssst..you might have 7 if you decide to do the 'Other links' as suggested above.<br><br>You could also design and use your own 'favicon' to further personalise your site.<br><br>These are just some suggestions off the top of my head....<br><br>Best wishes ~ Mike

Kim, I don't know how old you are, but the pink makes this site really look girlish and not serious enough.

Karl, Thanks for your comment there. It is pink as that is the colour of my logo... I'm a real stickler for colour co-ordination!

You asked for opinions and I am willing to offer you mine, but know that I am honest and will tell you what I think but I don't want you to think that I am trying to hurt your feelings, I am simply giving what you asked for: my opinion. Your site looks very "MySpacey" and not at all professional. Specific things I did not care for on your site: The info about you (Your personal statement) in the first page was just plain silly sometimes...it screams amateur before we even see your work. It rambles on about at least 5 different topics and Potential customers don't need to know that you "haven't found your niche". Also, you jump around from talking about children, then nature photography, then modeling. Sounds very "Jack of all Trades, Master of None" to me. You also contradicted yourself by saying you don't like editing in Photoshop yet you "play around a bit". Not what I would say to a client. Overall it is too wordy and doesn't add anything of value. The added effects around your pictures were bad and just completely detract from the ability to see the actual work. (Very MySpace!) The pictures moving across was very distracting as well. About the actual work, I think you have too many shots of the same pose, just different color and crop. You tend to use the same poses over and over. Many of your pictures are soft or OOF (animals especially, which btw, I would not have on my wedding site). Many shots have composition issues and you have people looking off in different directions or with less than desirable expressions. Toss OOF and blurries. I would say you should maybe offer to be a second shooter with a pro in your area who has a style you admire and learn as much as you can from him/her. This is a good way to learn a lot.

Best to you.