rebeccaskinner Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hello. I am considering booking weddings. I have shot a handful myself in the past. I am working as a 2nd shooter this entire summer. I have assisted and 2nd shot for 4 years. Not recently though. I would like opinions on my site. It is always scary to ask such a question but I suppose I can take it. I am just having anxiety about taking the plunge. I shoot with a Canon 20D and have a full back up. If you have the time please take a look. My portrait-children section is definately lacking. I know that but what about the rest? Any comments appreciated. Thanks. www.skinnerphoto.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_barrett2 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Rebecca, Your black and white images have no pop. Flat, very flat. Just go into levels and increase your black point. In addition, your home page is the first impression your site offers. I like simple look but all black and white? Check out http://www.expressionsbymichael.com to see what I mean. It is simple, as well. Not perfect, I know. Your strongest 2 images need to be on your home page. And, if only 2 they really need to pop. Color too, in my opinion. Overall, you have some good photos in your wedding gallery. But, if I were just surfing photographers, I may never even bother to look. Best of luck to you in your pursuits. Mike<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_myers Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Here's my honest opinion: I love it - I think it's one of the best sites I've seen linked to on PN. Don't touch your "black point", it's perfect. If I were in the market, you'd definitely get a call from me. I especially like the simplicity - I *hate* all that overdone widgetry. I do think you could choose a better pair of pics for the front page though. (And the picture of the couple jumping of the wall is great.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccaskinner Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 I do see what you mean and agree. The color on the home page does look nice and does pop out at you. I will consider doing some swapping. My question is more about the images than the site design. I know I need to change some things with the site. I am sticking with the simple look but do need some excitement! As far as the b&w photos needing some correcting... You are probably right. I do not see my photos as accurately as I need to on my current monitor. That is a whole other question... problem.... Your site looked lovely! If you have the time, what do you consider my better images. The one currently on the home page is shot to close with a wide ange and therefore distorted. I don't like it anymore. I have alot of weddings coming up as second shooter and will be able to replace alot. I know my camera alot better than I did when most of the shots on my site were taken. None of the shots on my site are recent. I have been locked at home with children for a few years. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccaskinner Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Thank you Alec for your response. I don't like alot of action either. I need to look at the B&W's on a good monitor. I typically go higher contrast so I would be surprised if they are flat. My school has calibrated monitors. I will take a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_barrett2 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Rebecca, As far as the black and white's are concerned, decide for yourself. They look very muddy on my monitor and it's a color corrected Lacie. As far as the best pics, this one is what I would put on the home page. I added some black point and dodged a little. I would make it square, but that is just me :) Mike<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_barrett2 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 I would love this one if it were in color.... BTW, did you know that all your black and whites are saved in grayscale instead of RGB? Mike<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccaskinner Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Thanks Mike. I like that wedding picture best too that is why it is up first on the wedding page. The girls needed some fill flash or a reflector. I didn't like it in color.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gina_marie1 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hi Rebecca, I have to agree with Mike regarding the BWs. Only a few of them seem to have true whites/blacks. I would up the contract just a bit (obviously not as far as our style tends to go, but I think they could use more pop.) Also I would recommend sharpening some of these as it looks like they have gotten soft from resizing. Would agree to change the homepage images as well, possibly even larger. Believe it or not, larger sized images really make a big impression on brides (if they are good of course). We started booking a lot more weddings when we resized our galleries. I say go for it and take the plunge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_barrett2 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Actualy, it looks like poor white balance. Try shooting in raw or doing a custom white balance. It may be fixable and worth the trouble as a sample...Here is a 30 second fix, I'm sure others could do better. A much bigger file would help. Mike<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckry Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 I like the site design, it's simple and to the point. You don't see that very often in website design. The only thing that is missing is some detailed information on the contact page. A bio or artist statement or something would be much better than a mailto link. You might even put this info on the index page and have your gallery be one click off of that. All in all it's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Rebecca, I think you have a very good eye and with a little refinement you should do very well. I'd agree with the above comments regarding the B&W shots. Some of the pictures need sharpening and they need to be larger. I'd also suggest a different background colour for the web page. The white doesn't help the B&W's or even the colour shots for that matter. Have a look at this wedding photographers page (I don't suggest you copy his work but just as a reference). The burgundy background really makes his pictures stand out. If you have any pictures there that you remotely feel are not your best then delete them. It's better to have 10 great shots than 20 with half not showing your best work. Have a look at the site. http://www.harvardphoto.com/weddingphotogallery/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_andrews3 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Rebecca- Take the plunge. I FEEL your anxiety as I am in the same position. Your stuff is better than a lot of work I have looked at. There is no pricing info, so I don't know what your market is. Who does your web design and hosting???? I do not like mine and will probably change to an entry level Big Folio account in a week. I like clean and simple; it should always be about the photos, NOT a whiz bang site with mediocre content! Two MINOR crits: get closer, work on flash technique (an issue for me too!) Mike: who does your web design and hosting?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_andrews3 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Mike: why is converting RGB to grayscale a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_barrett2 Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 My website was designed and is maintained by www.digitalcaldwell.com/ Well actually, the original design was by myself, but John has tweaked it and made improvements so he deserves much if not all the credit. I use register.com for hosting. 24 hour customer service is worth the additional cost to me. I pay 14.95 per month. My lab requires everything to be submitted in RGB, as do most other professional labs. That is why I commented on the grayscale. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccaskinner Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Mike... Better. I like the square format as well. I don't love that shot but your the second person who singled that one out to me so maybe I need to work on it in photoshop. I am going to go on and on for a minute. My site definately needs help. I would like the images larger, possibly frame them with a black artsy edge. I like the white background but wouldn't object to having a pattern in it or a cream color. The burgandy color is nice but isn't me. I feel it is too masculine. I could go for pink :)I agree with the editing out the shots that I don't like so much. I have a ton of weddings as 2nd shooter this summer and will hopefully have alot to work with. I need to do the bio. I am just so horrible at writing that I have put it off. My site design is done by a friend. She does it for work. She did it for me for free. The problem with that is I felt like I couldn't ask her for too much. I should be able to do it myself within the next year due to school so wish me luck. Thank you again everyone for your comments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.withheart.ca Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 I won't repeat all the useful advice and ideas given above. One thing to add however! I LOVE the navigation! So easy to look at your pictures!! A bit of a pet peeve of mine. ;) You site is very welcoming to navigate. Too bad your friend doesn't live in Seattle or I'd be tempted to hire him or her. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hauntingimages Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 The site is beautiful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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