C&C on my redone website

[Meista]

hey,
i would like to get some input on my redone website.
any critique, be it good or bad, is welcome :)

the address is:

www.noneedforlight.com


THX

[Tedphoto]

I really like many of the landscapes, particularly the opening shot. To me that's more of a landscape than a people shot.

This next part you may not like.

1. I didn't like having to scroll from one side to the other.

2. You throw in artsy, dreamlike B&W images with commercial and color images. It's jarring and really hurts it.

I'd take some of the shots like the opening one and put them in a landscape section. Heck, the opening web image looks like a book cover. Why not have a set of images with it that reinforce and build on the idea of that image and make it an internet book?

I'd have a commercial section that further broke down into HS portraits, B&W portraits and architecture

Do not group color and B&W, particularly the same or two similar images, one B&W and one color, right next to each other.

Once you goup better, you can edit more heavily.

[RozyCs]

What BEAUTIFUL captures, they are amazing.

[EOS MAN1]

Wow, you have a great collection of work on your site. It seems the side scrolling is becoming a more popular setup. From what I hear art directors like it because it is quick.

[motion_projekt]

you have some nice work, but for a 'portfolio' it seems a bit image heavy. in my humble opinion, a portfolio should consist only of 15-20 images of your best work. anything over that is overkill.

aloha.

[Meista]

I really like many of the landscapes, particularly the opening shot. To me that's more of a landscape than a people shot.

This next part you may not like.

1. I didn't like having to scroll from one side to the other.

2. You throw in artsy, dreamlike B&W images with commercial and color images. It's jarring and really hurts it.

I'd take some of the shots like the opening one and put them in a landscape section. Heck, the opening web image looks like a book cover. Why not have a set of images with it that reinforce and build on the idea of that image and make it an internet book?

I'd have a commercial section that further broke down into HS portraits, B&W portraits and architecture

Do not group color and B&W, particularly the same or two similar images, one B&W and one color, right next to each other.

Once you goup better, you can edit more heavily.

thx for the input !
i don't agree with you on a lot of the points, so i hope you don't think i'm critique-resistant :).

with the opening picture i definately had my focus on the people in that environment, so in my opinion the landscape section wouldn't be a good choice.

now to the other points:
1. this is the main reason why i changed my old design, i saw this "side-scrolling" on some other site and loved it instantly. i guess there are better ways to implement it, with some flash-thingy, where you don't scroll the "actual" web page, maybe i'll change that in the future.
i guess 50% of the people like it and 50% dislike it.

2. i agree with you, that there is a weird mix of pictures in the three categories, but the thing is, none of them (except for the concert-shots) are commercial in any way, all the pictures in the people section are either self-portraits or shots of friends or people i know. and this goes for the other two categories, too. all the stuff on that site is purely non-commercial, that's why i don't have a commercial section.

i agree with you,though, that the mix of color and b/w can be a bit distracting and i will change that soon.


What BEAUTIFUL captures, they are amazing.

thank you very much

Wow, you have a great collection of work on your site. It seems the side scrolling is becoming a more popular setup. From what I hear art directors like it because it is quick.

thanks, i saw it a commercial site and loved it. and if some big-shot photographer uses it, it can't be that bad i thought :)

[Meista]

you have some nice work, but for a 'portfolio' it seems a bit image heavy. in my humble opinion, a portfolio should consist only of 15-20 images of your best work. anything over that is overkill.

aloha.

thx !
i guess it's better, that you didn't see my old page. :)
i thinned it out quite a bit for the new version.
the thing is, this site isn't commercial (yet), and most of the time, i use it to show the best of my latest pictures to friends. so it's not a portfolio per se, maybe the title is a bit misleading.

[motion_projekt]

naw. thats cool. what i said is just one guys opinion. nice images. keep hustling! :-)

[Sauk]

I really like how simplistic the site is. Very easy to know where you are and how to get there.

Only thing I will say is I did not like to have to manually scroll to see all of the images (which there are a lot of). Maybe make a few rows instead of just one row?

Great images by the way

[Yeoer]

Some very good images in there. My only nit pick is you have too many of the same people displayed, always makes you look new to the game.

[Hikin Mike]

I hate the left-right scrolling and if I were a customer, I would have left your site immediately.

[Tedphoto]

Perhaps one thing to think about is how you want the site to be perceived. Is it a gallery or just an easy place for friends to see the photos of them you shot?

What you pick can influence the design and the groupings. If a section is a gallery, it needs to be cohesive. In fact, making anything cohesive and thinking about the flow from one image to the next is always a good thing.

If it's a gallery, it also needs to be ruthlessly edited, and again good editing is always a good thing.

When I want to put together an exhibition, I make small prints and pin them up on a wall. I move them around, add some, get rid of some and live with them for at least several weeks. After awhile, you start seeing which shots just aren't as good, or are good, but don't fit in with the others. You start to see which images take you from one image and transport you to the next.

If the site or a section within the site is just for friends or a travelogue, you don't need to be as tough. However, a good flow and smart choices make your images seem better.

[bswallace1000]

I liked everything about the site, especially now that color is seperate from b&w. My only complaint is having to scroll also. It takes a few seconds for all the photos to load when you have that many on one page. Great looking design.

[Meista]

thx again for all the input from you !
i updated the site again and got rid of the sidescrolling (that i really liked, but the majority here didn't :))