CC of my website

[Nekrose]

I'm looking for a bit of constructive criticism for my website, specifically the gallery section.

I'm not sure what it is, but I feel something is missing.

I think I have too many photos in some of the galleries, but I have a hard time narrowing down which ones to show.

Also, I have been trying to think of some clever names for them, but I ended up reverting back to plain ones.

I have just relocated and I am trying to build my client base all over again.

My goal is to attract less families and more couples. I'm not a family person I guess. I prefer seeing more personality shine through and I see it more with couples than with families.

Anyways, thank you in advance!

And don't hold back with the CC.

[scootermcq]

Few things from the short time I was on:

1. Your name in purple is lost in the black
2. When you mouse of a word & it goes to purple it gets lost.
3. Slow.............................................. ...........................
4. Flash - is dying, you loose all the ipad users.
5. Flash - if you had the most impressive photo and I wanted to link to it here or somewhere else, I can't. This means it will prevent you from receiving a whole bunch of free links for rankings. Also, your most amazing image could get you a ton of free advertising being posted everywhere.

On the upside, the site is very attractive & classy. The few images I could stand to wait for look very good too!

[Biomech]

4. Flash - is dying, you loose all the ipad users.

Serves them right for buying shoddy apple products ........... he says as he browses from his 10" flash enabled android tab

[Nekrose]

I have the site in HTML also, I just have it to automatically load in flash for those who have it installed. I can disable that option though.

The purple thing I have noticed also. On a calibrated monitor, I can see it just fine. But I know most people don't view on calibrated monitors.

A part of me doesn't want to change it because it is a part of my branding. I'm sort of stuck there.

[OsmosisStudios]

Several things. I've divided it out by page to make it easier. Overall impressions are at the end. The short of it: Your work is excellent by the website isnt doing it for me.

1: Main page (Home).
Im glad there's no music, but I seriously dislike flash. You can do almost all the same stuff with XHTML5 and some jQuery/**********. The purple-on-black is difficult to see (even on my calibrated monitor). In ANY situation, a dark purple on black is a bad idea. Do a lilac and we'll talk.

2: Investment.
I HATE this term. HATE. "Services" or "pricing". "Investment" just sounds like you're PC-ing it too far. The copy on this page needs a ton of work: its very difficult to read and understand, and the client doesn't actually understand what they're paying for, how much, etc. There's not enough definite information.

3: About.
The information presented here is really irrelevant. It doesnt matter how old you are or who youre married to. It really doesnt.

4: Portfolio.
Separated into sections is good. I'll present them below

4a: Boudoir.
I dont know if I'd put this first, unless it's what your main target demographic is. I dont know about the "ablaze" branding for it either, especially as the first image in your portfolio slideshow shows nothing referring to anything at all "flame" related. I understand where you're going with it, but I don't know if it's executed very well. I also dont like the transitions they're too slow. That being said, the images are fantastic.

4b: Portraits.
Again, I just find the transitions slow. Images are well done though.

4c: Couples.
Same as above.

4d: Family.
Same as above.

4e: Operation Love Reunited.
Im not sure about this. I dont know what it is: there's nothing to explain it to the user. It doesnt fit with the rest of your images. It just feels like it sticks out.

Overall, your portfolio works. The images are very nice, well executed. There are some crooked horizons that bothered me, but that's me looking for issues. All-in-all, your work is exemplary. I just dont know if it's well presented.

5: Cart.
Create a page in the flash site that links to Zenfolio. Dont do it right away.

6: Facebook.
I really dont understand this facebook thing. Again, make a page in the flash that has a link to Facebook.

7: Blog.
Same thing. In fact, for both Facebook and Blog, I'd jsut ditch it completely: you give the user the option before they open the website (on your splash page). If you'd like, add these links in the Contact section.

8: Links.
Again, put this on the Contact page. And don't use the icons for each site.

9: Calendar.
Ditch this. It's none of your user's business. If you decide to keep it, the medium purple on dark purple text is almost impossible to read.

10: Contact.
This is fine, though as I said, i'd include your other links here. I'd remove the * required for "Event Date". Many people may have simple inquiries, not specific events in mind

11: Client Viewing.
Again, make this a page that has a link to the external site.

All in all, there are simply far too many things on the menu. General rule is 3-7 items. you've got 10, plus drop-down items. Many of them can be omitted or moved with no issue. The bigger issue is the colours: the dark purple on black is hard to read and ultimately frustrating.

You mentioned that you have an HTML site: I've not seen any mention of it, anywhere. I'd be curious to see it.

[dakwegmo]

I hate to follow Osmosis, because he usually covers the major points I would hit, though I will add a couple of things to what he said.

The purple on black/gray in your logo just doesn't work. It's pointless to argue the merits of calibrated monitors and such, because most of your audience isn't going to be using a calibrated monitor. You want it to look good to the widest range of people, so to make sure it does, you'll need significantly more contrast between the logo text and the background. And as long as we're talking colors, the content window that opens has a purple background while the bottom half of the page is blue. I'd suggest changing that bottom block to a more purple hue.

As for your navigation, you don't want to include links to other sites in your main navigation. Your main navigation should include only pages within your site and all of those pages should have a uniform look and feel. If you're going to link to the client viewing page (for example), you want a landing page within your site that tells people they're going to a new page with a different layout for client viewing. Likewise with your Facebook page, blog, etc. One option would be to put these external links in a secondary navigation at the bottom of the page, below your main content window.

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by Biomech

Serves them right for buying shoddy apple products ........... he says as he browses from his 10" flash enabled android tab

You want my money? You let me see things on whatever platform I choose.. Says he from his rich kid show off iPad and bulging wallet

My point is.. If you really want to chase away a good proportion of people with enough money to pay for your time, go for flash.. Hell, I don't care, put a big sign saying "No Apple suckers here".. As a customer who doesn't know you, I don't care if your site looks dead cool on a pc, and you're a great photographer, if I can't see your work immediately, on the platform I choose, I'll take my business else where.

Don't let geekiness or misguided loyalty to Google over Apple, or politics, get in the way of your ability to earn money..

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

You want my money? You let me see things on whatever platform I choose.. Says he from his rich kid show off iPad and bulging wallet

My point is.. If you really want to chase away a good proportion of people with enough money to pay for your time, go for flash.. Hell, I don't care, put a big sign saying "No Apple suckers here".. As a customer who doesn't know you, I don't care if your site looks dead cool on a pc, and you're a great photographer, if I can't see your work immediately, on the platform I choose, I'll take my business else where.

Don't let geekiness or misguided loyalty to Google over Apple, or politics, get in the way of your ability to earn money..

That's not really relevant here, since she has an html version of the site. http://lezandraphotography.com/?load=html
The site auto detects whether flash is installed and directs the user appropriately.

[Nekrose]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

That's not really relevant here, since she has an html version of the site. LeZandra Photography
The site auto detects whether flash is installed and directs the user appropriately.

Thanks Marcus

The site can load in HTML, it just chooses which one to load in based on whether or not the viewer has flash installed.

I'm not sure how to go about changing that, but I have Photobiz and their customer service is amazing. I can ask.

[Nekrose]

Several things. I've divided it out by page to make it easier. Overall impressions are at the end. The short of it: Your work is excellent by the website isnt doing it for me.

1: Main page (Home).
Im glad there's no music, but I seriously dislike flash. You can do almost all the same stuff with XHTML5 and some jQuery/**********. The purple-on-black is difficult to see (even on my calibrated monitor). In ANY situation, a dark purple on black is a bad idea. Do a lilac and we'll talk.

The color thing is one something that I am really struggling with. I would like it to be consistent with my branding, but I am not sure how to do that. Perhaps a white background would work better? But then I would have difficulty with parts of my logo showing up.

I could do the logo in black or white, but I would like the colors to be in there. I spent a lot of time coming up with a color scheme that I love, so I actually want it in there.

2: Investment.
I HATE this term. HATE. "Services" or "pricing". "Investment" just sounds like you're PC-ing it too far. The copy on this page needs a ton of work: its very difficult to read and understand, and the client doesn't actually understand what they're paying for, how much, etc. There's not enough definite information.

I used the wording from Easy as pie. I can adjust it more if it is not clear enough. I didn't want to put my entire price list up because that is just way too much information.

3: About.
The information presented here is really irrelevant. It doesnt matter how old you are or who youre married to. It really doesnt.

My market is the military community, so I put that info in so they get to know that. It is my way of showing a bit of my personality. Most of my clients choose me based off of my personality, which is awesome. It makes my job so much better.

4: Portfolio.
Separated into sections is good. I'll present them below

4a: Boudoir.
I dont know if I'd put this first, unless it's what your main target demographic is. I dont know about the "ablaze" branding for it either, especially as the first image in your portfolio slideshow shows nothing referring to anything at all "flame" related. I understand where you're going with it, but I don't know if it's executed very well. I also dont like the transitions they're too slow. That being said, the images are fantastic.

Good point. I'm still working on that section. I am currently designing a logo that is relevant. I just wanted to put the info up in the case that somebody decides to use that name. I am laying claim to it

I have bought the domain, I just need time to put it together. I am in the process of moving so that has halted. But eventually I would like to get a separate website set up showcasing my boudoir work.

4b: Portraits.
Again, I just find the transitions slow. Images are well done though.

I'm glad you pointed that out! I forgot to speed up the transitions when I recreated the galleries.

4c: Couples.
Same as above.

4d: Family.
Same as above.

4e: Operation Love Reunited.
Im not sure about this. I dont know what it is: there's nothing to explain it to the user. It doesnt fit with the rest of your images. It just feels like it sticks out.

I am a photographer for OpLove. I was thinking about including a section for the website that explains what the organization is all about. Perhaps under the Info tab.

Overall, your portfolio works. The images are very nice, well executed. There are some crooked horizons that bothered me, but that's me looking for issues. All-in-all, your work is exemplary. I just dont know if it's well presented.

Thank you for the compliment. One crooked horizon isn't so bad

5: Cart.
Create a page in the flash site that links to Zenfolio. Dont do it right away.

The cart is hosted through my Website. I'm going back in forth on using a new cart. I was thinking Zenfolio or Smugmug.

6: Facebook.
I really dont understand this facebook thing. Again, make a page in the flash that has a link to Facebook.

7: Blog.
Same thing. In fact, for both Facebook and Blog, I'd jsut ditch it completely: you give the user the option before they open the website (on your splash page). If you'd like, add these links in the Contact section.


Good point. That can cut down on the number of tabs at the top.

8: Links.
Again, put this on the Contact page. And don't use the icons for each site.

9: Calendar.
Ditch this. It's none of your user's business. If you decide to keep it, the medium purple on dark purple text is almost impossible to read.

I would like to keep the calendar just because they can click on a date and reserve it when they contact me through it. I like having that option. It also saves it so I can look back and remember what date they wanted. If it isn't written down somewhere, I forget it.

10: Contact.
This is fine, though as I said, i'd include your other links here. I'd remove the * required for "Event Date". Many people may have simple inquiries, not specific events in mind

11: Client Viewing.
Again, make this a page that has a link to the external site.

All in all, there are simply far too many things on the menu. General rule is 3-7 items. you've got 10, plus drop-down items. Many of them can be omitted or moved with no issue. The bigger issue is the colours: the dark purple on black is hard to read and ultimately frustrating.


You mentioned that you have an HTML site: I've not seen any mention of it, anywhere. I'd be curious to see it.

Here is the HTML site: LeZandra Photography

Thank you so much Osmosis! You are always very helpful.