Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: kaelaria on December 11, 2007, 10:42:43 pm
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I just finished a complete redo of my website - comments are appreciated!
www.bgpictures.com
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I just finished a complete redo of my website - comments are appreciated!
www.bgpictures.com
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=160012\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Nice shots, but it's very slow to load and I found the music extremely irritating (there didn't seem to be any way to turn it off while the initial loading is in progress, until the sound icon in the bottom right is displayed). I'm also not very keen on sites which open their own windows and fill my screen.
I would avoid visiting it again.
Jeremy
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A good example of why Flash can kill just about any online business.
Its VERY slow to load... you have about 3 seconds before people move on thinking your site is broken...
It looks like you have a good design and some great pics, but no one will ever know because they'll die waiting for the pages to load.
My advice:
Ditch the Flash, go for pure HTML
Optimse all images at max width of 800px for landscape, (±600px for portrait) @ 72 DPI and save for web.
Sorry to pee on your fire.
Some superb pics, by the way.
Kind regards
Paul
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A good example of why Flash can kill just about any online business.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=160083\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
In this case I have to agree. Though I've seen Flash for high end fashion portfolios work very well. If the Flash loaded quicker, then it would not be such a negative.
You can keep the same design, even the fading of the pictures, by using CSS and maybe a bit of JavaScript. It will all be web compliant.
I would ditch the music, scale down the images by about 40%.
I do like the design, but the user experience here is very restricted. Employing a popup is one thing since the user decides whether they want to go into it or not. But then taking over the whole screen is not good. I am tempted to close the popup right away.
It is a bit discordant that the graphic design of the flash part is pretty nice but the landing page is not.
On the information design, I'm not convinced on the misdirection of "Investment". I am first asking myself, why would I want to invest in a photographer? Ah, I see, you are being cute. Interesting but it doesn't work for me.
Is it wise to include the schedule section? First, let us assume that you are indeed very busy so it doesn't look too light and thus turn away customers who think you are not really in business. Let's assume you do have bookings all over the month, why turn off people right away? Why not get them to contact you and then you can try to work something out?
Good pics though
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Dump the flash and dump the music
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Nice shots, but it's very slow to load and I found the music extremely irritating (there didn't seem to be any way to turn it off while the initial loading is in progress, until the sound icon in the bottom right is displayed). I'm also not very keen on sites which open their own windows and fill my screen.
I would avoid visiting it again.
Jeremy
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=160047\")
Thanks for the review and warning. Saved me a click.
Here's a thread on the dos and don'ts of web designs:
[a href=\"http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13890]http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=13890[/url]
Here's a design that seems to get it:
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=19369 (http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=19369)
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Thank you everyone for the comments, I really appreciate you taking the time to have a look!
I have listened to the comments regarding site speed, and have reoptimized the images to dramatically speed things up.
If anyone would be so kind to take another look, I would certainly thank you again!
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Thank you everyone for the comments, I really appreciate you taking the time to have a look!
I have listened to the comments regarding site speed, and have reoptimized the images to dramatically speed things up.
If anyone would be so kind to take another look, I would certainly thank you again!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161145\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
The site seems to load more quickly: this is good.
The music is every bit as irritating as before (and it's still impossible to turn it off for a while): this is not good. Why do you insist on it? What does it add to your photographs, or to the "user experience" (ghastly phrase)?
You continue to open a new window for itself which takes over my entire screen: this is not good.
I still wouldn't want to use the site.
IMHO, of course.
Jeremy
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Thank you for once again looking, I appreciate it!
The goal of the site is to attract affluent women clients in my area. Adding the music and using a full screen display is part of my goal to portray my images in the best light, and with the emotional experience that the music helps convey.
Obviously if I was desining the site to appeal to the broadest masses, or as a personal gallery, or to appeal to other professionals, etc. - it would be very different. With a goal of being a local Wedding/Portrait/etc. site I have decided to appeal to a specific target audience only.
I modeled the site after the top rated wedding and portrait photographer's sites, taking the bits I liked most and represented my own taste. Almost without exception, they all used flash and music. Some used full screen displays and very few used large images. No one else in my market has a site even close to this at the moment, hopefully it will help me further stand out from the pack in the client's eyes. At least it should showcase my work pretty well to them!
I have asked for reviews on a variety of sites, and luckily the feedback has been right where I needed it to be. My clients and women on wedding sites have loved it (especially the large images, color combo and music, with little commenting on technical aspects). Other photographers have liked some of the photos but hated everything that gets in the way of simply seeing them quickly (pop-up window, flash, music, slower loading pics because of size).
What I'm most happy about is what feedback I have NOT received, and that is - no problems with the site functioning, spelling, grammar, bad links, incoherant message, prices out of whack, etc.
Thank you again!
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I agree with the comments about popup, music, image size. But whatever....
Why can't you make it a single click to kill the music?
I must say I didn't get the impression the site was targeted at the wedding/portrait market. In fact somewhere you say landscape is your speciality, and I felt you were looking for lifestyle work - that's how I read the series with the shaven headed guy and the two women. I looked at some of that series and thought one woman's dental metalwork might put people off your work. Maybe you could add more content that gives the message you want to convey?
I do look at the spelling and grammar and felt the wording was a little trite but OK by American standards.
Not being an affluent woman myself, I wonder about your assumption that music and full screen would appeal to that market. The black colour scheme looks a bit male, don't you think?
John
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You make some good points - thank you!
I didn't think about it until just now, but I need to take the emphasis off my personal landscape work - that's not what sells.
Music control, including off, is one click - just hit the stop button.
Black was used by the majority of the other top sites I reviewed, and the comments from women have been 'I love the colors', so I'm happy with it.
ROTF about the two women comment! Even my wife said words to that effect! One of the 'women' is his daugter of 13! That's a family portrait session!
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I would have to say that I think the expression "Less is More" would encapsulate my feedback.
I am fine with the Flash stuff. It is cute and fun. I am okay with the window size and graphic size.
I think you devalue your best work by presenting it with your less exceptional work. (That is not an easy issue to deal with. An earlier thread had me struggling with the same thing). I would reduce the number of images to only those that you deem excellent.
I like what you have to say in the "investment" category, but the label is cryptic. I would try something like FAQ, What to Expect, or About a Photo Shoot.
I don't like being told the requirements of a site. That is a problem for the designer of the site to worry about, not the viewer. Because the site is all flash, you can easily scale it for different resolutions. It is fairly straight-forward to use javascript to query the screen resolution and then spawn your new window at the right size. Your swf file already scales perfectly.
As a general comment about your photos, in general, I think your work needs some work in curves or levels. Numerous images look kind of gray and muddy to me and could benefit by simply pulling down the white-point slider and pulling up the black-point slider. Don't be afraid to clip off a little bit of the highlights or shadows. Frequently your image will appear much snappier.
Your lighting work on your portraits is generally pretty good. Focus seems to be a bit soft sometime though, that could be the jpg or swf compression though.
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ROTF about the two women comment! Even my wife said words to that effect! One of the 'women' is his daugter of 13! That's a family portrait session!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161252\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Yeah, couldn't think what it was called in English or American! Anyway, this sort of thing might make people not want to commission photographs that might show up things they don't like about their own appearance. I might also point you to another image that shows one of their hands sneakily hovering over his crotch, and he's smiling.
re music, it's a touch more inconvenient than it really should be. First I have to figure out that the wonky disc represents the sound, then hover over it, then move to the off button in the panel that appears. The fast forward etc controls are unnecessary - folk use iPods for listening to music, you know, not your site. Even if you don't think of the person's taste in music, at least remember they might be doing a bit of covert browsing at work. It's best to have a quick on/off button labelled "Switch sound off".
John
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I might also point you to another image that shows one of their hands sneakily hovering over his crotch, and he's smiling.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161255\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I saw that too, but dismissed it as just my dirty mind talking.
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I agree, less IS more. I have trimmed the fat, and will do so more in the future, thank you!
I have now also added a 'same window option' for those that hate full screen and pop-ups, should they choose it.
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Do you think that those two images give the impression you want to convey? The one on the left seems in tune but the one on the right, used in this prominent entry point, might make your affluent woman potential customers think it's a site more suitable for their creepy mammary-obsessed teenage nephew. Don't you think you should put a wedding photo in there instead?
John
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Good point - done!
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Do you think that those two images give the impression you want to convey? The one on the left seems in tune but the one on the right, used in this prominent entry point, might make your affluent woman potential customers think it's a site more suitable for their creepy mammary-obsessed teenage nephew. Don't you think you should put a wedding photo in there instead?
John
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161287\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Women like beautiful women as much as anyone....as long as it is dignified--look at any women's fashion magazine. That image may be borderline for some women, but I don't think it is anything but flattering. You can kill yourself with bland mediocrity if you try not to offend everyone. Being a bit edgy is excellent, just be careful to not step over.
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Good point - done!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161288\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Oh well. I guess you have to go for safety.
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Sorry Brian, but everything seemed to take so long to load that i just gave up. I have satellite internet connection, which is not exceptional, but miles ahead of dial up, and it just seemed to take ages to load each image. Only got as far as 2 images in the gallery section when I didn't feel like waiting any more. Sorry.
Julie
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That is very strange, the images are less than 150k each, nothing out of the oridinary. So far everyone else has said it loads 'much faster'. For me on a regular cable connection it's instant.
Yes, I would rather be safe than sorry on the splash screen. The first image I picked is still part o the main slideshow, so it will still be seen though.
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It's not a question of playing safe, just ensuring the front page gives an impression of the site's contents that makes the target visitor look inside. Inside, the image works well.
John
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I'm an affluent woman (your target market) and I am extremely irritated by the music. So, I may be exception, but have you been advised by an advertising agency that that music will help the 'emotional experience' that you are trying to portray?
I would not use a photographer, or purchase photographs which are unable to create an emotional experience on their own, and rely on subliminal marketing techniques.
For those who are lured by the 'musical emotional experience', may become disenchanted when their precious images hang on their walls without sound.
I also tried your site again on another computer with Broadband, and it still takes between 7 - 20 seconds to load an image. Perhaps your click-on immediate times is because your images are already in your cache?... or Broadband here is much slower than where you are.
Julie
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Noticing your location, I would chaulk the longer loading times for you to the fact that you are on the opposite side of the planet, and probably don't have an as optimized path to my server as my target clients.
And no, you are not my target demographic - you are in another country with different tastes!
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And no, you are not my target demographic - you are in another country with different tastes!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161328\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Duly noted
Julie
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I'm an affluent woman (your target market) and I am extremely irritated by the music. So, I may be exception, but have you been advised by an advertising agency that that music will help the 'emotional experience' that you are trying to portray?
I would not use a photographer, or purchase photographs which are unable to create an emotional experience on their own, and rely on subliminal marketing techniques.
For those who are lured by the 'musical emotional experience', may become disenchanted when their precious images hang on their walls without sound.
I also tried your site again on another computer with Broadband, and it still takes between 7 - 20 seconds to load an image. Perhaps your click-on immediate times is because your images are already in your cache?... or Broadband here is much slower than where you are.
Julie
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161326\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Your pics are good enough to speak for themselves. Let them do so.
Music is a thorny subject because in ANY demographic regardless of location (Australia and Florida are very similar in terms of their consumer profiles), you will have people who like or dislike a particular artiste/genre. In my case, I don't really like what you've chosen. I think to myself, "If that's his taste in music am I going to get what I want?" Which means you are actually "un-selling" yourself to me - and countless others.
Let the pics work on their own and get shot of the music - your site will load faster.
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1. You mentioned the grammer and writing. Just something you should know: there is no such thing as very unique (as in your description of the art of photography). A thing is either unique or it isn't. Just a small pedantic point but it bugs me as a newspaper editor. Neither does the word 'photographer' require a capital P.
2. If your business is weddings, where are the samples?
3. Dump the music.
4. Good luck.
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1. You mentioned the grammer and writing. Just something you should know: there is no such thing as very unique (as in your description of the art of photography). A thing is either unique or it isn't. Just a small pedantic point but it bugs me as a newspaper editor. Neither does the word 'photographer' require a capital P.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161441\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Good observation, but "grammer"?
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Good observation, but "grammer"?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=161446\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Dang, Seamus! And you were doing so well!
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sorry. I couldnt get into it. the music was annoying. and the images had a "hallmark" feel.
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My personal preference on any photography site is for thumbnails. I have broadband, but it isn't lightning fast, so flash sites tend to load too slow (even when they are optimized...). The second reason for thumbnails is that I can choose what to look at rather than being forced to sit through a slideshow that I can't control.
Thumbs/slideshow controls/decent file sizes= Good web site experience for me.
Edit:
One last thing: I'm firmly in the 'no music' camp. The BG site had a nice control for turning off the music, but it only popped up after the initial loading of the site, after fully a minute had already played. That may sound like a nit-pik, but with countless sites to visit, it's tempting to just quickly dump a site that annoys straight away.
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Not sure what you looked at, but all the galleries have thumbnails on the bottom, and you don't have to use any slideshow, you can click on any thumbnail.
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I never got past the front page, which doesn't have slideshow control. I see now that if I choose individual galleries, the controls are at the bottom. I stand corrected. However, even on my 23" display the thumbs are, at best, 3/8" x 3/8" viewable size.
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Well, they are called thumbnails, not fists If they were meant to be viewed as the final work they would be galled 'the pictures' afterall
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Accessed your web site on my laptop. The pages all loaded quickly and the colours looked fine (many sites never check how they look on lower quality screens). On the first look the music was jangly and a shock to my system, but quickly found the off button. On the second visit there was some quite nice guitar and the the panic to silence things wasn't there. Maybe you could look at your choice of music. (no offence )
I like the combination of colour and black and white images, it made me want to look further into the galleries.
I agree that "very unique' is awkward. Why not try something like "I consider photography such a unique art..."? Or: "I consider the art of photography unique.." (btw, "unique" being an orthographic vowel would not have "an" before it).
I like your site. I found it easy to navigate and a pleasure to look at. The only other annoyance was the transparent bar at the bottom of the page (especially on the home page). I thought it really distracted from the images. Cheers, David
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hi
i have to agree with jule on her points
Again loads slow - fast broadband although in UK - dump the music
Wedding pics are not very good at all, get some good ones, dont put up average ones just to make up numbers etc a small number of really good ones will speak volumes.
Landscapes not bad but the one with blue snow!!!!!
Keep trying - i wouldn't employ you on the strength of your site at the moment unless i was a fat chic!
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LOL fat chic
Thanks for the input