New Website LIVE!

[PIXI_666]

Hi Guys

I haven't contributed for a loooong time, I have been so focused on everything else plus I don't book weddings anymore so I find myself shying away from the forum.

But since a lot of you know me, I thought I would let you all know I have finally got my NEW website set up.

I don't really need constructive criticism to be honest LOL i already paid a packet to get this done and if there is anything wrong with it then i guess it's just TOO BAD BETTY! hahaha

www.adellecousins.com.au (http://www.adellecousins.com.au) to have a squizz :)

Thanks :) Del

[gheesom]

I really like this.
http://www.adellecousins.com.au/_mgxroot/page_10752.html
on that page you can only see the couples name when you move your mouse over the link. Don't know if you knew.
I like the slideshows on the site.

[tim]

Nice to see you back :) I'll give you honest critique don't take it as a kiwi to an aussie ;)

Home page title "home" sucks. Should be "Adele Cousins Perth Wedding Photographer". Fire your web designer. Now. I'm not kidding. Honestly you should know better by now. Your home page is busy, put your best work and essential information up front. Don't overwhelm people, me especially, i'm delicate ;)

Home page "dress" section I could give a flying f** what you wear, just take nice photos and don't stand out. I had an assistant wear bright pink once you can guess what I told her.

Timing section I don't care how you take photos just do it. This section might convince people you're good at what you do, I didn't actually read it so do what you like. Remember because I didn't read it other people won't too. I get bored easily, brides might after looking at too damn many photographers.

Floating hearts make me want to puke. General news you can bite me. Also your URL is really long, so plenty of places for people to spell it wrong. acp.com.au is better. "Adelle's news" make it interesting or don't bother. I see no wedding prices on you prices page.

About now when i've found two dozen things wrong I get bored with offering advice, fix all that (or not - your choice) and i'll give you more :)

[tlc]

it is a bit busy on your home page - but i disagree with the above comment about your home page title - it says adelle blah blah photography - but most people do call their home button 'home' so i wouldnt worry about that.

i would definitely think about toning it down a bit, i keep looking for google ads, etc. and that is not very professional looking. is there any way you can put some of those areas behind another page? all that 'news' stuff is just way ott.

domain name is fine, you want your name on there, i think its perfect.

i'm a little confused on the create your own slide show, why do you have that? to me, it just doesnt serve a purpose and somewhat cheapens your site.

the site is coming off a bit 'gimicky' not professional.

[song4themoon]

I find the site, specially the home page, extremely busy. I looked over it and skipped it right away because I really didnt want to work my way through it. The other areas look too busy for my taste too, design wise. The home page is design and text that is too much.

How is business going since you ditched the weddings?

[mizuno]

but i disagree with the above comment about your home page title - it says adelle blah blah photography - but most people do call their home button 'home' so i wouldnt worry about that.

Tim wasn't talking about the button, he was talking about the page title.

[Banbert]

Tim wasn't talking about the button, he was talking about the page title.

Yup and he is correct in what he says, page titles (the text that appears in the very top bar of your browser) are important for search engines in particular .... but dont take his blunt approach to heart because he is just bitter he forgot to put a home button on his website or way to get back to the entrance page.;)

I like the colours and design of the site overall, agree it looks a little busy at times but that can be personal choice tbh.

Just one thing you may want to speak to your web designer about is the Contact form page, he seems to have used proper field names on the form which can cause problems with you getting spam from spam bots that roam the net looking for forms to auto complete, usually with a load of pointless links to some crap or another.

When I originally designed my site I used proper field names in the back end code because it made sense to me when I looked at the code, unfortunately bots also made sense of my field names and I was getting spam from my contact page which was very annoying. A web designer mate advised me to just change them all to 1, 2, 3 etc which I did and the spam stopped straight away. Maybe it wont be a problem for you but it may be worth getting him to change it before it does become a problem.

Are you missing not doing weddings much ?

[Grace]

I don't really need constructive criticism to be honest LOL i already paid a packet to get this done and if there is anything wrong with it then i guess it's just TOO BAD BETTY! hahaha

www.adellecousins.com.au (http://www.adellecousins.com.au) to have a squizz :)

Thanks :) Del

Did anyone notice that she didn't really want you pickin apart her website? Whether your right or wrong doesn't make hill of beans if she's not looking for it.?.?

just thought I'd point that out.... :) Don't hurt me..

[cdifoto]

I dunno why everyone's complaining so much. I've seen MUCH worse. There's nothing wrong with providing advice on what works best in a photograph or detaling how you work and such. It gives kind of a nice preview of how you interact with a client. The design/colors/layout works for her target market and all those fancy schmancy flash sites aren't indexed worth a hoot.

There are a few details I'd straighten up like the page titles, but I don't see it as a site to rip apart.

[LeesaB]

Hey!!! you found your nitch...Great....

I am not going to say anything about your webpage..except, I am glad you found your way, glad you are happy with what you are doing...

Thank you for sharing it with us.

[tim]

I didn't notice the "I don't need" part, even if I did i'd offer my advice anyway. The trivial thing of having the home page title done properly will make a massive difference to getting yourself properly listed in google, not doing it is shooting yourself in the foot.

[tlc]

Did anyone notice that she didn't really want you pickin apart her website? Whether your right or wrong doesn't make hill of beans if she's not looking for it.?.?

just thought I'd point that out.... :) Don't hurt me..

then why post it? so we could ewww and awwww over it? she needs to know.

[cdifoto]

then why post it?

Same reason I posted this: Click (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=319423).



To share. With friends. ;) :)

[Wedding Shooter]

Great to see you have a website up Del. Thanks for sharing.

[photosbyjuan]

it's great you have a site... every photographer needs one...
I've done several sites for business in my areas (I no longer do sites because people are never satisfied) etc... I use to creat unique sites, no template based so most people I dealt with wanted something at their taste instead of filling in the blanks and they knew how it would look etc.. anyhow...

your site is not bad IMO the issue is I don't know who did this for you but he created your buttons/graphics to large ( I mean file size) and your site feels slow. also, I personally like to stay away most of the time from FREE stuff that advertises on my site... other than that it loosk good, have him go over and tweak some of these items to make you look more pro, however some ordinary people will not see any of this.. maybe I'm just to picky

[PIXI_666]

Hi Everyone,

I spent 10 minutes writing back to this thread quite angry....mainly to Tim because of the unprofessionalism in his comments. But then i left it and didn't send off what i had originally written....honestly i am too good to reply to the comments that i did get.

Tim have a good hard look at yourself buddy....we have always butted heads mainly because you always seemed to find something nasty to say about my work. If you don't like it mate - lump it. I didn't ask for your opinion so if you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all - didn't you ever learn that as a child?

To the people who had some constructive comments or even to people who just commented thank you i appreciate all your feedback. I have changed the site a fair bit since i first posted this thread...i think that the site itself is a little busy too i will work to getting this up to speed. And the "Home" part i will get changed, i didn't originally notice this.

My 'audience' is women which is why i made the site appealing and girly, i have only ever had 1 guy ask me to photograph his wife while she was pregnant, i specialise in pregnancy, newborn, children, family & pets i do NOT photograph weddings so i do not have anything to do with weddings up because i don't want to go down this path. So brides will not be contacting me and will not gloss over my page quickly.

I don't miss weddings, i don't mind the odd few for family or friends but to earn an income from it is just not my crust. My niche is pregnancy and children which i love to work with. So i wanted to target that audience.

Tim some things on my site may make you want to PUKE, you may not give a flying f like you quoted and you also want me to bite you because of general news i have added.....your opinions don't matter to me and again your unprofessionalism is tacky and i frown upon it.

You realise that when someone searches "Adelle Cousins" on google, a lot of POTN threads come up, you completely having a go at my site is now going to be posted all over google if someone wants to look up my site. Thank you for potentially making a percentage of my clients now think that my website is tacky and pathetic and for making me look very small in front of a very large amount of photographer's....i will wait until you see this message and then i will be getting your comment deleted from here completely to save my name.

Thank you to all for your comments...Tim watch what you say mate, i really do not appreciate what you have said to me, this website took a lot of time to get where it is today. It may not be to your liking and maybe it isn't the best freakin website out there but i worked hard on it and i paid what money i did have to get it here today. I really didn't want your thoughts and i never asked for you to tell me what you think. I will say it for the third time...it was inappropriate and VERY unprofessional of you to say what you did say. Maybe use a bit of tact next time....and by the way the little ;) do not soften the blow or make any of your comments sugar coated!

I have said my peace....i don't need anything back, i will get your comments deleted soon so that at least my customers don't have to see what you have written about my site which to ME i think i have done pretty well considering it is my first website....

Adelle

PS: For the record i did not want "Awws" and "Ahhs" all i really wanted was to update the people that i had conversed with over the past year, so that they knew what i was up to. Thank you for your concern!

PPS: It has nothing to do with how i dress or timing on my behalf, this is for my clients, they need to know what sort of colours and thigns work best and how long everything is going to take - it has nothing to do with me at all. Read before you comment!!! And the reason there are no wedding prices - i dont do weddings! Read before you comment!!!

[Banbert]

I think the point that you make about wanting to appeal to ladies is a very good one and looking around at some of the other sites that are aimed squarely at wormen I think you have a very good look to your site for that and imo I think it looks quite professional, especially since the updates.

Definitely worth getting some more info added to all your page titles matey, will help a lot with SEO.

Regarding Tims comments I think he sometimes gets confused between honest, frank opinions and forgetting his manners.

[tlc]

well i definitely apologize if my comments came off too strong - and to be honest, i didnt notice the 'i dont want critque' part either.

if your site is how you want it, then that is what counts most. good luck to ya.

[nicolerork]

Tim's just pretentious. I ignore his posts for the most part. Nice site.

[tim]

I was trying to be helpful, the site has some serious shortcomings and I was trying to help. I'm blunt but that seems to be the only way to get to some people around here. I'm usually busy because I work 12 hours a day in my own photography business, but I was trying to help in the time I had available.

Because of this I will not reply to any threads from Adelle again, and I will also stop giving so much critique in general. Things like this are why there are very few professional wedding photographers are here on POTN. DWF is where they hang out, and where i'm going to be in future. Thanks for helping me make the transition.

Edit - I was even more blunt than usual here, so I would like to apologise for that. Please take what I said as it was meant, as helpful suggestions to help you improve.

[Banbert]

I was trying to be helpful, the site has some serious shortcomings and I was trying to help. I'm blunt but that seems to be the only way to get to some people around here. I'm usually busy because I work 12 hours a day in my own photography business, but I was trying to help in the time I had available.

Because of this I will not reply to any threads from Adelle again, and I will also stop giving so much critique in general. Things like this are why there are very few professional wedding photographers are here on POTN. DWF is where they hang out, and where i'm going to be in future. Thanks for helping me make the transition.

I think the people over at DWF will still get pissed off and annoyed with you if you use some of the language that you used previously in this post, honest and blunt critique is fine but some of the language you used was just abusive. I dont think you woukld use the same language over there though, ask yourself why.

You seem to forget in some of your posts that you were a complete n00b yourself 2 years ago, and although its easy to see that you have put a lot into improving yourself in those 2 years and your photography has certainly come on a lot in that time your ego seems to have grown at a similair rate.

[tim]

I think the people over at DWF will still get pissed off and annoyed with you if you use some of the language that you used previously in this post, honest and blunt critique is fine but some of the language you used was just abusive. I dont think you woukld use the same language over there though, ask yourself why.

You seem to forget in some of your posts that you were a complete n00b yourself 2 years ago, and although its easy to see that you have put a lot into improving yourself in those 2 years and your photography has certainly come on a lot in that time your ego seems to have grown at a similair rate.

I don't have to be blunt over there. My language was too strong which is why I added an apology to my post above.

[liza]

There's a difference between being blunt and being rude. You're the reason I seldom post images here.

[ofdphoto]

Tim's comments here were, I think, the most colourful I've seen from him. In general I appreciate his frankness but this was a bit much. After 20,000 posts I suspect a re-read of the forum rules is in order... do the rules mention that smilies do nothing to tone down the vibe of a venomous post?

Anyway, technical stuff aside (like using a title that you'd like to see in Google), I think the site is great for your target audience ... girly is good! You go girl!

[PIXI_666]

Tim i cant believe you are hiding behind the fact that you are BUSY and that is why you commented liek you did? Poor excuse. I work an 8-5 job Mon-Fri, then i get home amongst all of the daily house chores that i do i am on this computer for at least another 5 hrs after that working on my business. So don't say to me that your TOO BUSY, if your too busy to post then don't post!!

You were not trying to helpful, swearing and belittling someone is not helping them, you should know that by now from the many people who have not appreciated it. You are not professional when you act this way towards people - plain and simple!

So to say that there are very few pro photogs on here is just a cop out and this is the reason you are leaving, COME ON??? A lot of people here appreciate real comments, but use some tact dude, like all the many people who have opped the lash back from TIM i am sure they appreciate everybody elses comments but your blunt approach does NOT work let me tell you this! Blunt is actually the wrong word, because what you said to me...that was just down right nasty!

Normally i do ignore all of your posts Tim because i just cant be bothered getting angry at the fact that you look so unprofessional slagging things off and telling it "Like it is". Go ahead and tell it like it is but damn boy you need to learn some manners!

I have been here since 05' you only joined just under a year before me Tim - you act like you are so better than me, i have been doing this since i was knee high to a grass hopper - not that i know MORE than you, not that i have done this professionally for longer than you, but respect other people especially the ones that respect YOU!

I just dont think you REALISE that something as small as this can jeopardise part of my career...my REALL name is my BUSINESS name, go on search it on google you will see what i mean. This is not acceptable and like i keep saying it's not professional at all.

I think i used a lot of tact in my comment Tim, i ws to the point without being rude and nasty, learn from this Tim and don't be so cocky and up yourself just because you have come a long way in a few years. Coz guess what most of us have done the same thing - your no better than anyone else in here i KNOW you will say you dont think that - but you keep coming across this way!

I know this is just a forum and the internet, but when you can jeopardise part of a career - this is where it needs to stop. Deal with it and move on, don't be sooky about it and say you will NEVER comment on my posts again - all i ask is that you dont be so nasty to me the next time that you do. I dont want "OMG your work is gorgeous" all that i want is some respect!

Thank you to everyone else for your comments :) i appreciate them all!

Adelle

[tim]

Again my apologies to Adelle, my language was inappropriate, even though the post like all of mine was well meaning. I will refrain from offering critique in future.

[Belmondo]

Again my apologies to Adelle, my language was inappropriate, even though the post like all of mine was well meaning. I will refrain from offering critique in future.

Silly boy. Your opinions are valuable. You just have to work on your tact and vocabulary a bit. I've never seen a person with a terminal case of potty mouth. There is hope for you.

[lil_miss]

Heh - have only just seen what this thread spiralled into - but I agree with all of the comments here - I'm glad you've decided to step back and take a different perspective on things Tim - lets hope it comes out better on the other side.

Perhaps now a few more people will come out of the woodwork who were too afraid to post their images before for fear of being flamed for giving it a go.


Adelle - I think your website is fab :D

[R. Lawrence]

I actually think your site is pretty good. I know you aren't necessarily looking for constructive criticism, but I like the "About Us" page. It makes me feel a little more connected to you, which as a client, may be the deciding factor whether I choose you or someone else.

Bob

[tlc]

I think the people over at DWF will still get pissed off and annoyed with you if you use some of the language that you used previously in this post, honest and blunt critique is fine but some of the language you used was just abusive. I dont think you woukld use the same language over there though, ask yourself why.

You seem to forget in some of your posts that you were a complete n00b yourself 2 years ago, and although its easy to see that you have put a lot into improving yourself in those 2 years and your photography has certainly come on a lot in that time your ego seems to have grown at a similair rate.

nicely said, and may i +1.

besides, he wont last long over there with the big boys at dwf - they will eat him alive. :lol:

[lil_miss]

being ignorant - whats DWF?

[iKirst]

being ignorant - whats DWF?
I so wanted to ask that question, too

Looks like Dallas Fort Worth with Dyslexia..

[Belmondo]

http://www.digitalweddingforum.com/

[iKirst]

http://www.digitalweddingforum.com/

Ohh, thanks Belmondo, Sir :)

[JustKat]

dwf = Digital Wedding Forum

Nice to see you around again Adell, you were very helpful to me when I first came into this forum. I love your pregnancy pics. I have been getting into a little of that lately myself, I love it!

[tlc]

Tim i cant believe you are hiding behind the fact that you are BUSY and that is why you commented liek you did? Poor excuse. I work an 8-5 job Mon-Fri, then i get home amongst all of the daily house chores that i do i am on this computer for at least another 5 hrs after that working on my business. So don't say to me that your TOO BUSY, if your too busy to post then don't post!!

You were not trying to helpful, swearing and belittling someone is not helping them, you should know that by now from the many people who have not appreciated it. You are not professional when you act this way towards people - plain and simple!

So to say that there are very few pro photogs on here is just a cop out and this is the reason you are leaving, COME ON??? A lot of people here appreciate real comments, but use some tact dude, like all the many people who have opped the lash back from TIM i am sure they appreciate everybody elses comments but your blunt approach does NOT work let me tell you this! Blunt is actually the wrong word, because what you said to me...that was just down right nasty!

Normally i do ignore all of your posts Tim because i just cant be bothered getting angry at the fact that you look so unprofessional slagging things off and telling it "Like it is". Go ahead and tell it like it is but damn boy you need to learn some manners!

I have been here since 05' you only joined just under a year before me Tim - you act like you are so better than me, i have been doing this since i was knee high to a grass hopper - not that i know MORE than you, not that i have done this professionally for longer than you, but respect other people especially the ones that respect YOU!

I just dont think you REALISE that something as small as this can jeopardise part of my career...my REALL name is my BUSINESS name, go on search it on google you will see what i mean. This is not acceptable and like i keep saying it's not professional at all.

I think i used a lot of tact in my comment Tim, i ws to the point without being rude and nasty, learn from this Tim and don't be so cocky and up yourself just because you have come a long way in a few years. Coz guess what most of us have done the same thing - your no better than anyone else in here i KNOW you will say you dont think that - but you keep coming across this way!

I know this is just a forum and the internet, but when you can jeopardise part of a career - this is where it needs to stop. Deal with it and move on, don't be sooky about it and say you will NEVER comment on my posts again - all i ask is that you dont be so nasty to me the next time that you do. I dont want "OMG your work is gorgeous" all that i want is some respect!

Thank you to everyone else for your comments :) i appreciate them all!

Adelle

his sympathy thread seems to have disappeared! how funny is that. i just love people who can dish it out but cannot take it.

[tim]

Belmondo agreed with my call that the thread I posted was counter-productive, so the thread has been deleted. I can take as well as I give, further insults aren't necessary but you're welcome to if they make you feel better.

[Belmondo]

With all due respect, I see enough nastiness to go around.

Let's not pile on---it's not in the least dignified. We're all freinds here.

[PIXI_666]

I said my peace i am done. Del.

[mizuno]

I think there's enough to go around:

http://www.jasoco.net/data/files/images/Chill%20Pill.png

[PIXI_666]

haha sheesh thats one huge pill!!

[sblais]

haha sheesh thats one huge pill!!

But the question is: is it enough! ;) :lol:

Frankly, your website already looks better with the changes you made. Tim "gave" you some worthwhile advice, but I won't start on that: many people already offered their input on the subject and there is no need to beat a dead horse (and I'm referring to the "discussion", not the web site!!)

Thanks for the update and for letting us know how your business is doing, Del! I may get to do my first maternity shoot soon, so I'll look around for inspiration ;)

I'm sure that you had to change considerably your business plan to match your new expertise. How did that go?

[PIXI_666]

Sebastien - to me it was an easy transition. I stopped completely with weddings in Feb and didn't shoot for another 6wks, thats when i did my first maternity shoot and i just enjoyed it so much! (The one featured on the website)

So my prices changed, my way of thinking - it's just such an easier pathway for me because i do work full time and i only really have after work and weekends to do photography.

It was easier to come into aswell, going into weddings i was new to pro photography, so i started cheap and then i got a cheap name even though my photo's were decent! So i started out with a reasonable price and i will gradually go up - i think what i charge is quite inexpensive still for Perth.

I really enjoy what i do....i just need to advertise when i get some money. We are living on one and a half wages at the moment and it gets pretty hard sometimes. So i have to save for things - like my office that i finally got today! YAY! I dont have to sit in the dining room anymore!!!!

Good things come with time - i just have to learn to be patient :)

Thanks for your comments!

Del

[Yella Fella]

home page has a homely feel to it, does seem a bit busy but very girly :D

its a shame u arent doing weddings no more, loved your work, was pretty cool ;)

[PIXI_666]

Hi Ed - i had a lot of idea's but it just wasn't the right thing for me - when you dont enjoy something then you know its not for you!
I completely enjoy what i am doing now though :) i get to interact so much with kids and babies and its just a great atmosphere!
Homely is a great choice of words! I was hoping it was this :)
Del

[tampaphotogal]

wow! what a thread. I just wated to add my 2 cents. I like your website. It is girly, but as you said that is your target audience. It looks very professionally done to me. I miss your posts around here. The maternity shots are inspiring.

[PIXI_666]

Hi tampaphotogal
Didn't think this thread was still going hahaha....
Thanks for your comments :) I did get a bit out of what people had to say so i acted upon a few things - i wasn't looking for criticism but i definately got my fair share which i am used to especially in this forum which at the end of the day was good...apart from the obvious ones that i felt the need to reply on (EG: Tim)

Anyway...i'm sorry you miss my posts...LOL i thought my posts were pretty boring for the most part BUT i guess there is no real need for me to be in the wedding section anymore, i do sneak back ocassionaly though because it is where i started after all!

I love maternity photography....love love love it!!! So only too happy to hear that they are inspiring? Thank you :)

I will reply to posts if i feel like i have something worth saying from my experiences :) so i havn't left completely!!! :)

Del

[adellecousins]

haha i just found this!!!!! PIXI_666 is me :)
This is a hillarious read, i am so fickle....i love love loved maternity shoots for about 6mths, then i realised babies and pregnancy just made me depressed lol (Long story)

[adellecousins]

i wonder were tim is these days haha