Working Progress

[sam09]

Hello,

I've been working a little one the site trying to at least get the overall look right.

I was wondering if anyone has time if they would have a peek. Ignore the photographs at the minute as I realise they are bit inconsistent, but I'm hoping to get new photo's taken soon so that they will all have the same look to them.

So just would like to know what you think of the theme, overall look and tips, anything you think needs tweeked.

This is my first proper attempt at getting an overall look I'm prepred to show people.

Love As I Find: Home

Thanks,

Sam

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Hi Sam,

I have to say i'm really impressed with how far you have got so far!

It does have a nice look to it and I agree the photos do look a little inconsistent. Given the colour scheme I really do think that black and white photographs will look best and will really help tie it all together.

One wee small thing that i'm sure one of our techies can sort for you easily is that the about page seems to "jump" a little in Firefox. I dont know what the technical term is!

You should maybe also think about getting a contact form on there. I would recommend Contact Form 7 which is a really good Wordpress plugin which works well for me and is very easy to configure. Also on the SEO front I would maybe have a look at All in One SEO pack again another Wordpress plugin, a little bit more complex to set up but i'm sure it wont cause you too many issues.

I dont want to take anything away from what is a very good start and hopefully others will agree. We'll be coming to you for Wordpress advice soon!

 

[sam09]

Hello,

Thank you for the quick feedback.

I was looking to add a contact section but due to my newness at this I haven't actually figured out if I have the proper e-mails to go alongside the domain e.g. [email protected].

I haven't even figured out how you check yet lol, it's next on my list when I nip to the Wetherspoons to make good use of the free Wi fi!

I doubt I will be giving tips, I used a really good peice of software called Artisteer(possibly the wrong spelling) which let me make my own background, change everything basically really easily.

I can't wait to get some new pictures taken! To make it all look a bit better.

Sam

 

[Brian McIntosh]

Hi Sam,

Nice looking site you've got there. There is a typo that you need to fix.

On your bespoke page at the bottom of the page the sentence "nothing to loose" should be nothing to lose.

When I click on any of the links along the bottom of the page, nothing happens.

Apart from that, it's amazing how quickly you've came along. Well done.
Edit: Now that I've reread your first post I know why your contact page doesn't work!:w00t:

 

[Brian McIntosh]

As far as the pictures go, I think black and white looks fabulous in some circumstances but to sell your work I think you need to use colour pictures. Although she is a fetish photographer, some of the work of Emma Delves Broughton may give you some ideas and inspiration.

 

[Former Member 1]

I have to say Sam you're making leaps and bounds here... :thumbup1::thumbup1: Really well done!

Brian; I'm inclined to think along the lines of using colour for the 'product' shots... i.e. the goods laid out on their own in detail... Whilst the Black and White work is a really good 'mood setter' for this type of product...

I've not seen an awful lot of Emma Delves-Broughton's work... But from what I have seen I'd say this look has more to do with the way in which the lighting's used rather than whether it's colour or black and white per se...

I do find it interesting how she manipulates the colour gamut to achieve her signature effect and the overall feeling for me here is that this is essentially lit for black and white then the colour element is selectively re-intorduced...

Personally I'd struggle to achieve this with flash... I'm sure it can be of course... It's quite a 'cinematic' look and I'm thinking a trio of redheads (lights that is :blush perhaps a Floro to soften and a wee Fresnel to add a bit of spark... Might be the sort of thing that would benefit from beig done on film too...

Could be a really cool project for an 'arty' type Photography student I'm thinking...

 

[sam09]

Thanks for the comments My next move I think should be sorting out e-mails for contact and photos. Setting up a shop I'm thinkin will be another ball game, and no point until I have something to sell(and nice photos to go).

I agree with colour shots, if only to show the customer as best I can what it is they are buying. The fetish photos are beautiful, I love they way the vivid reds are caputured in some of the images. I have a photographer friend who is hopeing to start doin more of that so she says when I have some new items she will photograph them for me.

Out of curiosity, since there is a photographer here, is it rude to give a mood board of the look I would like? As this girl and myself have variations in tastes, I suppose that is the best way to put it and I know I can be quite fussy in how I want to promote my work, but I don't want to offend or make her or come accross as a know it all. Just don't want to offend.

Just need to keep giving myself a kick up the butt-my new job has been a big adjustment, I hadn't seen 6.30 in the morning for a long time!

Thanks again for all the help

Sam

 

[Former Member 1]

It's pretty normal in my experience Sam to have some sort of mood board or style sheet to work to... In fact for Video we work to some very tight specifications that are worked out with the client well in advance...

On a professional basis Photographs and Video need to be produced to meet the client's needs not the photographer's whims... A really good Photographer will actually pass up work that's outside their scope. And this is something that often comes as a bit of a culture shock to the students I see in their first year... they need to break out of amateur mode where they can snap away at what THEY like to pro mode where they produce what the customer demands...

If you find yourself dealing with somone who throws a hissy fit at being asked to work to a specification then you've got the wrong 'photographer' in my opinion... There's a reasonable middle ground of course; and clients need to have a degree of flexibility in terms of what can realistically be achieved... But a 'hymn sheet' that everyone can sing to is never a bad thing on any kind of project IMHO.

 

[Brian McIntosh]

Sam, speaking from a photographic point of view I would be delighted to be handed a mood board. It would make life a lot easier and you would get the pictures you wanted. As Matt says, it's your site and your business so what you say goes. You are, after all, the client.

 

[sam09]

Excellent.
Never used a photographer, usually just me and my digital camera lol....maybe a wee bit of photoshop.

I'm just tryin to figure out right now how to make that contact page, so I'm on it! See how long this take, and trying to figure out emails :S

But should be on the road soon! May be getting a little somthing I make on someone else's website so should hopefully get a few more people knowing about me and visiting the site...so need to get my butt moving!
I must admit, so very glad to have a job now but I do miss the time I would get to spend on this sort of thing.

Sam