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04/23/2017 01:37:17 PM · #1
I'm Adam, a 21 year old photography student from the UK. I first joined DP Challenge when I was 15, whilst I was just starting off and finding my love in photography. DP Challenge was such an excellent resource and I learnt so much from it over the few years I was active. I wanted to say a big thank you to the users that were around a few years ago, I owe a lot to DP Challenge in terms of my photography knowledge.

If anybody has a spare moment, I just wondered if you wouldn't mind looking at my website and giving me some feedback - I'm studying Photojournalism & Documentary Photography and aim to pursue a career in the field. I think feedback from others is incredibly useful, so I welcome all comments - both on my work and about my website as a whole!

Adam Elliott Photography

Many thanks in advance!
Adam

Message edited by author 2017-04-23 13:39:57.
04/23/2017 03:25:30 PM · #2
I have never designed a photography website, but my job is to do development for the patient portal used by 50% of patients across the united states, so I feel like I can comment :)

The website is clean. It focuses on the photography first, and the business second. I like that.

But I see a lot of things that could be improved:
1. The logo. It's very bland. But worse, the font looks like from the 90s, while the rest of your site is much more modern.
2. the navigation text is way too tiny. MY it a few sizes bigger so everyone can read it.
3. The buttons on the lower left have no hover action, so you have to know the logos, or you are screwed. You should have the name pop up above the buttons when hovered
4. It took me nearly a minute to figure out how to scroll the bottom section. Rule #1 in website design it to not redesign standard elements such as the scroll bar. It confuses people. But if you are dead set on doing that, have some indication like arrows that could be clicked.
5. Your about page needs work. You say you are photojournalist, but then offer wedding shoots?
6. It's much more professional to use an email address from your own domain, instead of using a free service such as outlook.
7. Why are weddings separate from portfolio? Is it because that is the market you are after? If so, that needs to be before Portfolio in the navigation
8. Why do you have Instagram shots in the left navigation? That seems unprofessional. I would never hire a photographer for any event that showcases their instagram work as part of their portfolio.

You may also want to watch the website critiques from Fro Knows Photo. The guy is annoying as hell, but he is spot on with a lot of the website critiques.
04/23/2017 08:07:45 PM · #3
Hi Adam. I found your website clean, quick, & easy to use. Best wishes for your future business. I have only one suggestion: you need a Photographer's Statement. I always look for & read it on any photo website. There's more personality in the Statement than there is in the photography. If I was looking to hire a photographer, I would not consider one who had no Statement.

[eta] I did not experience any of the display/navigation problems mentioned by the others.

Message edited by author 2017-04-25 11:32:58.
04/23/2017 09:19:47 PM · #4
I'm not in the least bothered by the Instagram portion of the website. It seems to me fun and personal and it speaks to who you are and "how you see". It might not have worked in my generation, but I bet it does in yours. Other than that, I'm on board with each of Mike's suggestions. And with the need for a "statement".
04/25/2017 05:47:50 AM · #5
When you say pursue a career in the field, do you mean within Photojournalism and Documentary? Or photography in general?

I wonder, if you want to specialise in Photojournalism and Documentary, perhaps you should only show images related to those?

Under projects, Mark Elliot shots I would lose the first two. The graphics/text are illegible and there's too much text. It's not professionally set, so I wouldn't show it. The images, alone are strong enough in my opinion. Focus on your photography.

04/25/2017 06:36:07 AM · #6
Hi Adam,

I agree with items 2, 3, 4 and 6 of Mike's reaction. Here some other issues:

The navigation to the left takes a lot op space; reason is the width of your logo determines the width of the menu, creating a lot of unused space.
Furthermore, when I open the website's homepage on my computer, I get a big image and on the right site another half image. I can see that has to do with the navigation slider underneath, but personally I find that half image very distracting, even disturbing. Just show one element at the time and find another way to navigate to other images.
Second, as stated already, the text on top of your projects (especially Tipi Valley) is taking too much space. All that white space is - again - distracting and more important, it pushes the image of the screen. Let your images be the focus point on each and every page, with text only in a supporting role.

Looking to your website on an iPad makes things different. The image on your homepage doesn't fit on the screen, you need the slider to see the rest. And with the projects I only see text and just the top of the image.

When creating websites nowadays, you have to make sure that the website looks OK no matter which device you're using. I have been designing websites for years, but with the development in devices, I decided to stop because to make a website work on all devices became very time-consuming.

A last hint, when I open a photographer's website I expect to see his/hers most striking image first. Personally I don't think that wedding picture is striking enough, but again that's personal.

Good luck with your career and website!!

Message edited by author 2017-04-25 06:38:18.
04/25/2017 12:25:42 PM · #7
Thank you all for your advice, I know that a lot of work has to be done so it is very interesting to get your points of view! I'm about halfway through my course now and I'm still 100% unsure of what 'kind' of photographer I want to be, so it is hard to cater for that on my website. I plan to continue shooting weddings and have a few in the pipeline, I feel that this is a good money-making opportunity to then try and work on my personal work - which is the documentary photography I most enjoy. But when it comes to graduating I'm currently unsure where I'll be heading in the industry...
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