Website flash gallery

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I am designing my new website but have struck a small potential problem. I am using BananAlbum (Jalbum skin) for my galleries. This skin is very nice and simple, allowing one to play a slideshow, click the main image to advance to the next image, or use arrow keys to advance to rewind images. All very nice, but one cannot configure the gallery to display actual arrow keys for forward/backward navigation. All that gets displayed is the main (1st) image, thumbnails and a "play slideshow" piece of text which when clicked plays the slideshow - thus navigation options are not obvious. I guess the users can either play the slideshow or click the thumbnails, but it would be nice to make navigation a bit more obvious by having little left and right arrow keys which when clicked, will advance to the previous or the following image.</p>

<p>So, I am considering an alternative flash gallery and am asking for any suggestions. I am not keen on Simpleviewer as I don't like the look of it. If anyone could suggest another flash gallery which would satisfy the above it would be much appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>If you have LightRoom, you can create a flash gallery on there, however, one of them is the Simpleviewer. I think there are other options though. I had the same issue before trying to find a Flash gallery. There is also CoffeeCup.</p>

<p>i use slideshowpro.net - very nice.</p>

<p>take a look at http://www.entheosweb.com/Flash/flash_photo_galleries.asp<br>

lots of drop in flash galleries you can insert into an html site...<br>

prices from $10 to $50 or $60</p>

<p>Flash galleries slow your site down. Why assume that people will wait for the galleries to load. Hint: they may not.</p>

<p>Steve, with all due respect, I currently use a flash gallery and it doesn't slow my site down, in fact I have specifically asked numerous people to comment on this aspect and I have only received positive comments. For examples look at Jalbum, BananAlbum.</p>

<p>Hint: not all flash galleries slow sites down, lets not be generalists!</p>

<p>Thanks to all who posted suggestions! Please keep them coming.</p>

<p>SLIDESHOWPRO with SlideShowPro Director is the best Flash Slideshow Gallery tool out there, IMO. The web address was noted above. Additionally the Support Forum is great.<br>

LIGHTROOM: Also check out The Turning Gate for additional Lightroom galleries: http://theturninggate.net/lightroom/ I use quite a few of these, they work very well and are very easy to install.<br>

BluDomain is AWESOME if you just want to upload pictures and not have to worry about design, www.bludomain.com<br>

Regarding: "Flash galleries slow your site down. Why assume that people will wait for the galleries to load. Hint: they may not." from the previous poster:<br>

If your Flash gallery is made properly with web-optimized images, and light html, it will load as fast as an html-only page. Additionally, if you are using SlideshowPro, you can set it up so that it shows the first image immediately, while the other pics are loading.<br>

If there are any real concerns about using Flash, they should be concentrated on the cell phone / iphone / blackberry issue. People browsing your site with their phone cannot see your Flash content. Therefore you must have some sort of alternate content.<br>

Here is an example of an alternate content method using SlideshowPro and SlideshowPro Director: http://apps.visual23.com/ishowpro/</p>

 

<p>Thanks for the good info BC Photo. Am I correct in assuming I need Adobe Flash (editor) for SlideshowPro? I would prefer a stand-alone application such as Jalbum as I sadly do not have any flash design skills. I hope I am wrong as I have very briefly looked at SlideshowPro and it really does look very good...</p>

<p>That would be true, but the learning curve is not steep, and it is an invaluable skill, especially in today's environment. There may even be a tutorial on how to do it on the SlideShowPro website.<br>

In my years of experience, SlideshowPro is the best when it comes to customization. When used with Director (online photo management tool) editing and maintaining your galleries is a BREEZE.<br>

Alternatively, you could get the SlideShowPro for Lightroom Plugin, then you wouldn't have to know how to use Adobe Flash. Do you use Lightroom?</p>

<p>Also, make sure you check out the Turning Gate Galleries I mentioned before, there may be a solution in there for you...<br>

AND, check this out: http://www.monoslideshow.com/ MonoSlideShow is cool too...</p>

<p>The problem I would have with a flash web site is that most of the corporate headquarters (hint: a lot of my business) here in the Twin Cites have banned viewing flash web sites for various reasons. I was at the Corp HQ of Medtronic today and security is of concern, especially when working on the www whilst at work. General Mills has security similar what you would find at an airport. Where my wife works they cannot click on most links that are contained in an e mail and most of them have never heard of flash.</p>

<p>Maybe it's just my situation here in Minneapolis & St. Paul but I'll bet most other large successful companies operate the same way.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I agree with Bill. We cannot use the internet at work PERIOD. When I'm on breaks I use my iPhone, and I cannot view flash site with it. So anybody with flash gets ignored most times... :-/</p>

<p>Bill, according to Abobe, "Adobe ® Flash ® Player is the world's most pervasive software platform... reaching 99.0% of Internet-enabled desktops in mature markets as well as a wide range of devices... Mature Markets include US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan"<br>

I worked many years in the Corporate World and I have never heard of a corporation banning flash-based websites. They are used by huge corporations themselves...<br>

That would mean that you would be unable to browse... eg,<br>

Volvo (http://www.volvocars.com/intl/Pages/default.aspx)<br /> MiniCooper (http://www.miniusa.com/)<br>

And the most important note of all is this: as a photographer you must know your audience. I would assume that most wedding photographers are targeting potential and current clients, and I would guess that most of these people would be in the "99.0% of Internet-enabled desktops in mature markets."<br>

That is why I also stressed above that it is important to have alternate content. This means that you have an html-only site ready to go as backup in case a web browser does not have Abobe Flash Player installed.</p>

<p>And, I would think that someone like Ashley (post-above), who cannot use the internet at work, would research potential wedding photographers at home on a screen and platform that is MUCH bigger than the iPhone. I would also bet that she has the Flash Player installed in her browser at home.</p>

<p>Again, I stress, it is a good idea to provide alternate content for those who browse with an iphone or balckberry</p>

 

<p>LoL! I don't research wedding photographers at all, however in a world of PDAs, BlackBerrys and iPhones, you should probably provide an alternative way to view your sites, especially for the busy bride who has to look up stuff on her phone between appointments, and dress finding. ;)<br>

BC Photo- I do have a flash player at home, however, I don't particularly like viewing flash sites. I usually don't look at them long, especially if they are slow to load. That's just me, but I'm sure there are others who are like that.<br>

David- What are you using to design your site?</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Thanks for the good info BC Photo. Am I correct in assuming I need Adobe Flash (editor) for SlideshowPro? I would prefer a stand-alone application such as Jalbum as I sadly do not have any flash design skills. I hope I am wrong as I have very briefly looked at SlideshowPro and it really does look very good...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hi David, SlideShowPro has a Flash-based version, as well as a plugin for Lightroom. If you want ultimate customization, the Flash version is a must, but for basics, the Lightroom plugin is really good. Not expensive either which is nice.</p>

<p>Cheers!</p>

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<p>Let's distinguish between:<br>

1. Flash-based sites...(all flash) and <br />2. the use of a flash photo gallery (slideshow) in an HTML based site....<br>

Pro? and con?...<br />I like 2 because...it's easy, more visible to SEO,...?<br>

How do you see the difference? Anyone?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi all, thank you for your good repsonses. Just to clairfy, I don't use Lightroom but am slowly convincing myself to become a convert. I get by with Zoombrowzer, Adobe Bridge and CS2 quite okay but I see room for improvement so when I'm feeling flush I might get Lightroom.</p>

<p>My site is all HTML except for an embedded flash gallery, currently BananAlbum, embedded using an IFRAME. I am using Kompozer (html/wsywige editor) to design my site. I am avoiding templates as I want a unique look. I also started with zero web design skills and to be honest it has taken a substantial amount of time to arrive at what I consider to be a slick looking site, with the emphasis on simplicity and ease of navigation, minus painful bells and whistles such as music....</p>

<p>I am still considering my options, and have noted that SlideshowPro offer a standalone version not requiring a Flash editor or Lightroom - one just edits a configuration xml file but it seems a bit tedious. I am after simplicity in this modern age.</p>

<p>For those who may be interested, here is a link to my website:</p>

 

MODERATOR NOTE: Hopefully David had his url on his community page which can be accessed by clicking on his name.

 

<p>It is not finished by any means and at this stage contains only a home page and gallery pages, but I would welcome comments on what you think of the navigation in the galleries, ease of use, user experience etc.</p>