Finally created a website

[jaxhouse]

After much consideration I finally created a website to display my photos and to give anyone who is interested an opportunity to buy them. The site has only been up for a few weeks and is still a work in progress. So far I think that it may work out fine for me…time will tell. I’m still in the learning curve of the site. I work 40+ hours a week at my day job so I’ve been adding content when time allows. I realize that there may not be any particular “style” evident on my site but I enjoy all types of photography.

How is it progressing?

Constructive criticism is more than welcome!!

Jack Baker Photos

[moreinmind]

Who/what is your intended market to sell your images to?

[jaxhouse]

Who/what is your intended market to sell your images to?

I'm not really sure that I have an "intended" market. I've had several friends ask me to take family photos for them and I thought, in that regard, the website would work best for me. I could upload the photos to the site and they could order what they wanted from it. I've had a lot of good comments on my other photos and I thought the website would be a good place to host them and if, by chance, someone would like to purchase one they could. I've also had several suggest to me that they thought some of my photos would make nice greeting cards but I wouldn't have any idea on how to approach publishers with my photos but greeting cards are available on my site. I do have some ideas on ways to sell prints but that will come later.

Thank you for your reply!

[moreinmind]

So...stupid me had a nice long reply written for you, then I lost it all going to another page.

Have to head out for a few hours...I'll re-write something later.

[jaxhouse]

So...stupid me had a nice long reply written for you, then I lost it all going to another page.

Have to head out for a few hours...I'll re-write something later.

*laffs* I can relate...same thing happened to me with my reply a while ago.

Thank you!

[rspears]

I think I know where Moreinmind was going. You should have a target audience, a demographic of the type of person that you want to sell products to, and paint your website for that demographic. My zenfolio is targeted for weddings, so my slideshow has just wedding pictures.

The pictures you are displaying are technically beautiful, with the hummingbird being the most striking. (except that you've got the humming bird in there twice, or two pictures that look a lot alike) The first negative thing that I saw was the big huge copyright watermark in the middle of the lake picture. I know that watermarks in this day and age are almost necessary, but when you put it in the middle of a beautiful picture... it's just a turn off for most people.

You have a menu item for a blog, but no entries in the blog. Like Yoda says... "either do, or do not. There is no try." Either blog or blog not.

You have some really nice portraits (IMG_6232 of your wife), and then some of the portraits have more of a family snapshot look to them.

Good luck to you.

[jaxhouse]

I think I know where Moreinmind was going. You should have a target audience, a demographic of the type of person that you want to sell products to, and paint your website for that demographic. My zenfolio is targeted for weddings, so my slideshow has just wedding pictures.

Yeah, I know where he was going too. I've done quit a bit of research here and other places. When I finally decided to put the website together was right after I had taken a lot of family photos at an event we had at church. I made the decision and hurriedly put it together so I could host those photos. I really don't know at this point the demographic of the type of person that I want to sell to, I've sold more family photos than anything..The slideshow on the home page was put together quickly and I've often thought about including only "nature" shots in it as the majority of my photos are of that type.

The pictures you are displaying are technically beautiful, with the hummingbird being the most striking. (except that you've got the humming bird in there twice, or two pictures that look a lot alike) The first negative thing that I saw was the big huge copyright watermark in the middle of the lake picture. I know that watermarks in this day and age are almost necessary, but when you put it in the middle of a beautiful picture... it's just a turn off for most people.

Thank you so much for the compliments! It really means much more to me when get compliments here rather than when my friends tell me that my photos are nice.

The hummingbird photos are a lot alike, taken at the same setting.

Arggghhh...WATERMARKS....I don't like them either...didn't have them at first and after the advice of a friend, who is a professional, I included them. I currently don't have a logo so I just used one that Zen has until I can make my own, which will likely be small and near the bottom or corner. I may put the photos for the slideshow into a hidden album with no watermarks or is there a way in Zen to not show them in the slideshows?

You have a menu item for a blog, but no entries in the blog. Like Yoda says... "either do, or do not. There is no try." Either blog or blog not.

You have some really nice portraits (IMG_6232 of your wife), and then some of the portraits have more of a family snapshot look to them.



Good luck to you.

Funny...I was just thinking that I need to remove the menu item for a blog since I don't have any content there...it was on the template that I used. I may have one some day.

What was your opinion of the way the rest of the menu items were...easy enough to navigate?

I love the photos of my wife too...except for the ones some guy had to get his ugly mug in and ruin them! lol


Thank you again!!

[Biomech]

The watermark was a killer for me too, it was only on some and not others, but the size, type and placement was yucky :P Definitely get a little logo done.

If you tell Rspears you don't know what he means, he might even give you an example

[jaxhouse]

The watermark was a killer for me too, it was only on some and not others, but the size, type and placement was yucky :P Definitely get a little logo done.

If you tell Rspears you don't know what he means, he might even give you an example

Thank you!

The reason why some have it is because the first thing I did was to create an album, "portfolio", and uploaded some photos in it that I liked for the slideshow...I did not watermark those. Later after I uploaded more photos to different albums I created a collection, linked a bunch of photos to it and used it for the slideshow, not realizing until later that some would show the watermark and some wouldn't. Too bad there isn't a way to disable watermarks in the slideshows...or is there.

I have an idea for a simple watermark but I currently don't have any software to create it and upload to Zenfolio for my photos. Working 40+hrs a week it is hard to get some things done as quickly as I want to.

Thanks again for you reply!

[Biomech]

Only 40 hours a week?! :P