Website almost finished. Sudgestions and comments?

[bhursey]

Well I redesigned my website. It is mainly a online portfolio in a way with a link to my blog and contact information. I still need an about page and a better formatted contact page. Think I should make my price list available on the main page or provide via request only?

http://brianhurseyphotography.com/2009_price_list.pdf

Also any other things you think I should add to my site? I am using slide show pro and slide show pro director for my site. I coded all of the other stuff from hand using xhtml and css.

http://brianhurseyphotography.com/

Gallery I just finished. Content will change and more will be added as I go.
http://brianhurseyphotography.com/gallery.php

[jeff.amadon]

I think it looks great, sharp, snazzy, uncluttered. It highlights your shots without too much other distraction. My only complaint is the font on your "Copyright - Brian Hursey Photography 2009" on the bottom is too large and too... Arial? I dunno. I'm trying to say it looks out of place. The rest of your fonts are great.

[bhursey]

Ok made adjustment to the copyright notice. Looks better?

[Niresangwa]

I think it looks very nice and clean. One thing I did like was the galleries link. Can't say exactly why I liked it so much, but right now i'm in the process of researching and deconstructing every photography site I can find as I develop my own, and yours sticks out for some reason, in a good way!

Is there a reason you're not posting your investment information on the site? Or why you only list your a la carte prices? No package prices?

When i go to someone's site I go in with the mentality of a potential client... I want to see a few samples of the work (just a few..I rarely go through large galleries all the way), I want to know a little about the photographer, and once the first two are satisfied, I want to know how much they cost!

As I'm building my site, those are the priorities I'm personally trying to satisfy. So I guess as I look at yours under my own criteria, I don't see much about you nor how much you cost.

Not trying to derail the thread, like I said, I like it...but just curious as to why you made the decisions you did.

[bhursey]

Right now tell the end of 2009 I do sitting fees for free and the just order the photos. Right now I mainly get clients via word of mouth. I am sorta afraid to put how much my sitting fees are because that is going to change. So basically in regards to that pricing is on a client by client bases depending on what they want. I don't like shooting wedding really but i need to come up with prices for that. Lets just say mu first wedding was a nightmare. The photos turned out wonderful. I think i under estimate the price of my work. However given the economy my pictures seem to be right in the middle. Not to expensive and not to cheep. It is just enough for clients to order around 100$+ of prints for say an 1-2 hour shoot. I guess I am afraid I have not really done a real outside client. I have done friends of friends and my wifes co workers I don't know. However I have not had some one really come off the street and say hey can you take my photos. Besides one lady im talking with right now to do her engagement photos. However she heard about me from another person who I took photos for.

So I guess in the bottom line I am scared to put on the site my prices, and why they are a la carte. The reason is I use zenfolio to fill and sell my photos through mpix. As far as I understand if I did packages the photos would have to be shipped to me and I would have to place the orders. I work a normal 8-5 job and have a small baby and familie. So the time that will take is allot out of my home life. It seems the way it is right now works good I guess.

Think I should say have the 2009 price list up there and say like sitting fee say contact for sitting fee and deposit quote?

[Niresangwa]

I guess being in the same type of situation you're in, the advice that I have taken to heart as I develop my plan, is to post the prices you intend to charge, but use a disclaimer that currently you're building your portfolio, and therefore waiving x-y-z...*

If I had not known that you were just launching the site, and just starting out building your port, I wouldn't have guessed particularly. From that I'd take that yes, your site is on a par with other peers. As such as my first reply indicated, I had expectations as a 'potential client' as to the information I was looking for...



*While I have yet to perfect how I want to approach and phrase it, I do intend to establish my prices and then essentially deactivate them temporarily... make it appear to potential clients who happen upon my site during that period that they're really going to get a good deal. They'll see what I will charge, and immediately see how much they're going to save by jumping in now. This is the plan however.

[bhursey]

Ok,

I now recoded it so now im using php to make thing easier. I wrote an about page and now linked the page where people can order prints. I still need to write a pricing page. What do you all think about my about page?

[OsmosisStudios]

Im taking the time to nitpick because I think the site, as a whole, is quite nice. It just lacks a bit of polish.

1: Flash loading on home page. Its okay, just a bit slow.

2: Menu needs to be re-organized. Should be, from left to right: Gallery, About, Prints, Blog, Contact.

3: About page: Image needs to be replaced by something better. The text is also too close to the image on the left. I'd move it a good 10px right.

4: Contact Page: I realize the site is unfinished, but there needs to be both more polish and more info here.

5: Gallery: I dont knwo what the grey buttons at the bottom are for. If they serve no purpose, they go. The text in the individual boxes is FAR too small (looks like 8-9pt. Needs to be 10-11 at least). The colour can stay (though I'd go a bit darker) but it needs to be bigger. I like how each gallery works, though it needs to be faster loading. Maybe play with image compressions.

6: Prints Page: This needs to be SERIOUSLY re-thought. I realize it's Zenfolio, but it needs some work. Either incorporate it into the site, or have the Prints page on the site link to the Zenfolio section. it should be separated and limited for each users needs. I'd go this second way: have Prints page link out, in a separate window too.

7: Blog: Looks good, though Id incorporate the red/grey colours into it a bit more. Maybe a single-pixel red divider between each post? It should also retain the menu from the site.

Hope this helps.

[bhursey]

Thanks, I will work on theses. I will see what on your list I can get done. Thanks!!! The zenfolio thing I think I will just do the opening a new window on link out. The only way to embed it is via i frame and it looks horrible.

I just tweeked the compression on the gallery, got rid of the buttons and increased the description text size. I will do more tomorrow.

[bhursey]

Ok reworked most of the site. The only think I could not match directly was the blog header. it is not in the same exact spot as with the rest of the pages. Tell me what you all think?

Brian Hursey Photography

Everyone thank you for the tips.