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10/17/2006 05:11:52 PM · #1 |
//www.firelitefoto.com
This site was created by a friend of mine who doesn't have an account on here but could really use some feedback. My comment was to cut back on the pics in teh gallery and only show stuff that says "PRO". Can you guys comment on that and anything else you think could help improve the site, keeping in mind her goal is to be a full time professional photographer. Thanks.
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10/17/2006 05:20:08 PM · #2 |
Personal bugbear - I hate intentionally mis-spelt words like "Foto".
Other comments - The font on the front page, I prefer sans-serif for things like this, and the text looks poor against the background. (Especially in the headings where it appears very pixelated)
The text wrapping around the background image is a bit inconsistent and odd-looking.
I'd probably drop the underlines from the links and distinguish them from body text in another way.
Edit - Also it's nice to have an actual form to fill in on contact me pages.
Message edited by author 2006-10-17 17:22:22. |
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10/17/2006 05:31:11 PM · #3 |
| The picture of the baby on the Pricing page is a teeny tiny image, but is nearly a full megabyte in download size. If you regularly allowed HTML to size images (rather than actually sizing them), you're gonna kill any potential of dial-up visitors going very far. |
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10/17/2006 05:38:58 PM · #4 |
A couple other comments as I'm poking around...
I'd probably be a little more selective about the shots that are in the gallery (agreeing with your assessment). Some of the sports ones are... well... not good. Many of them are blurred, awkwardly cropped, etc.
It seems like there are too many clicks involved in getting to see actual photos. I'd probably consolidate some of the categories to make fewer levels to move through. For example, move the sports, civil war and newspaper subcategories into a single "photojournalism" category, and choose the absolute best ones from each of those groups.
Ditto with the "Animals" category. It seems unnecessary to me to split them into specific animals; just pick the absolute best shots, and make a single "Animals" area. Why post a blurry shot of a cat if you're trying to showcase photographic skills? Trim the number down to just the ones that show her best works.
Just my .02... or perhaps .03 now :)
Message edited by author 2006-10-17 17:44:51. |
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10/17/2006 05:39:25 PM · #5 |
My opinions:
I ALWAYS wonder why it says: "about US" instead of "About ME". Why is that? There's only one person who takes pictures, right?
I also think it's strange that she's talking in the 3rd person (SHE works, SHE is)
She writes about photographing babys and children, seniors, etc etc. But when I click Foto's, People are at the bottom of her portfolio (this part of the site isn't working yet..?)
I think it's better when the menu is placed at the same spot in every page. It's jumping up and down now. |
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10/17/2006 05:49:37 PM · #6 |
First off, I had to click the link to the site and then twice more to actually see any photos. I almost didn't bother. Perhaps some teaser shots right up front would be good, more than just the photo of the week.
The "News" on the front page - I'd get rid of that. As she adds to it, it will make the page look even more unbalanced. IMHO, the main purpose of the site should be to show photos/sell services, not tell news about site development. With that in mind, the first link on the navigation bar should be to the images, not "About" or "Pricing."
Re: About/About the Business -- it's "babies" instead of "babys" and it's "families" instead of "familys." Also, the text looks cramped - allow two spaces after each period instead of just one.
Re: Pricing -- each fee should either all be in bold, or none in bold.
Re: Photos -- Too much space between navigation and simpleviewer function. Needing to scroll is bad.
Re: Contact -- Again, needing to scroll is bad. For e-mail, perhaps a mailto function would be good as well.
HTH.
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10/17/2006 05:51:01 PM · #7 |
My .02:
Hate Foto - in the name of the business I understand - kinda - but in menus etc it's really unprofessional.
White on black is one of the hardest things to read for sustained time on a monitor - I know it would be a complete redesign but I'd change it.
Most of the photos need more processing to make them extraordinary. Some of the city skylines have crooked horizon lines, etc. I'm not one to talk about being selective in what you post - but some of the images weaken her sale IMO.
Where are the people? The "about" talks like this is her main focus but theres' none to be found. If it is her main focus I would make it the top menu item under "fotos" so people would tend to go there first.
There.
Now you can go to my web site and see what a hypocrite I am! ;-P
Message edited by author 2006-10-17 17:51:37.
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10/17/2006 05:52:21 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by digitalknight:
Now you can go to my web site and see what a hypocrite I am! ;-P |
lol!
(off to digitalknight's website :P) |
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10/17/2006 05:55:58 PM · #9 |
No, DOONNNNTTTTTT
Ah crap, now I've done it.
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10/17/2006 06:14:45 PM · #10 |
Hi there. Well, if you ask for a critique, then hopefully constructive comments will be taken the right way. :)
Site design:
First of all I agree with the other comments that there are too many pages to navigate through to get to the pictures you want to see. Also once you reach those photos there is no "back" button to take you back to the previous menu, you either need to use your actual browser's back button, or click on photos and start the process over again. Here pages are not properly named in the html so that when you are on the home page for example, and look at the top of your browser it says "Home" instead of "Firelite Foto- Home", and on the flowers set two for example it says "set two" at the top of my browser instead of "Firelite Foto - Flowers 2" or something like that. If I followed a webcrawler link into that page I would not know where the heck I was going. The big links at the top of the page seem to be in a different place on some of the pages which is not good. Her contact page should have a link to click on to open up my email program to send her an email, or an actual form to fill out. The way it is set up I would have to copy and paste the email addy into my mail program.....too much work.
Photography/content: Ok, it seems that unfortunately she is pre-occupied with getting lots of photographs on her site, instead of on quality. I agree with previous posters that just a few pictures of pro quality, which leave the viewer wanting more, will help her more than a ton of snapshots that will turn people off. (for example none of the dog photos strike me as proffessional and only a couple of the cat shots....nuff said!) I am also very concerned about her pricing. She will not make any "friends" in the photography business by lowballing everyone like that, nor will she bet taken seriously by the higher end clients we all strive to find and maintain. I also find it strange that she will quote a price on retouching a photo without looking at it... if you are familiar with photoshop you will agree that is either not a great idea or you are not putting enough effort into your photoshop work. Where are her retouching samples? Where are her graphic design samples? As a graphic designer I can tell you that photoshop knowledge does not make you a graphic designer...most graphic design is done in vector artwork programs like Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw.
On the positive side, I know it is always exciting to get your photos on the web for the first time. On this I congratulate her. Keep working at it..shoot lots and most of all....be your own worst critic! If it is not up to pro standards do not let anyone see it, keep them wanting more!
Thanks for letting me give my humble opinion...and please take it as a critique, not an attack.
thanks,
Ernie |
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10/17/2006 06:19:40 PM · #11 |
Oh, and none of the "people and events" pages work. either have an under construction sign there, or delete the link till it is read..just do not leave a blank page there.
thanks. :) |
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10/22/2006 04:57:18 PM · #12 |
| Thanks to all who replied, especially the guy who wrote almost a whole page!! Really good points that will help make the site better I am sure! Cheers guys |
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