Yet Another "Please Check Out My Site" Thread

[elfy]

So...yeah. I've had my site up and running for a month or so now and it'd be good to get a bit of feedback on it. Anything I need to change? Any suggestions for improving site traffic? Thanks in advance to anyone who takes a look.

www.elfyphotography.com (http://www.elfyphotography.com)

[theextremist04]

It looks good, but I don't know if you really need a search bar on there- not a ton of content to go through. Great pictures too!

[elfy]

Honestly, it is one of the best Zenfolio pages I have seen. Very good looking homepage. Only thing I would probably change, is getting rid of the visitor numbers and created/modified dates. That, in my opinion, would make it look much better.

Wow, thanks very much indeed. The dates isn't something I had even thought about changing to be honest but now that you mention it, it is better without them. I've changed it now. Thanks for that.

It looks good, but I don't know if you really need a search bar on there- not a ton of content to go through. Great pictures too!

Thanks very much. Because I have my daily photo project on there too I figured the search function would be handy for anyone who was looking for a particular photo.

[Viva-photography]

oh oh oh! looks like someone likes HDR
:) the beach pictures are very nice.

maybe put a search.

[theextremist04]

Thanks very much. Because I have my daily photo project on there too I figured the search function would be handy for anyone who was looking for a particular photo.
I can see where that idea might come from, but I tried doing some searches and all that comes up is albums- not the most useful to find specific images.

[elfy]

oh oh oh! looks like someone likes HDR
:) the beach pictures are very nice.

maybe put a search.

Yeah, I'm not averse to using HDR if I think it will help a particular photo. Thanks for looking.

I can see where that idea might come from, but I tried doing some searches and all that comes up is albums- not the most useful to find specific images.

Yeah, when you do a search it shows the galleries but at the top left there is the option to change it to photos. I've taken it out now so it just displays photos.

[tim]

I like the site, and I love your light painting! It's not obvious that people can purchase prints though, that should be made more intuitive.

[elfy]

I like the site, and I love your light painting! It's not obvious that people can purchase prints though, that should be made more intuitive.

Thanks Tim, I appreciate you taking the time to give me a bit of feedback. I've put a bit on the main Galleries page detailing how to purchase prints. Do you think that's better?

[tim]

Much better, but you don't just hover to get "add to cart", you have to right click - which is TOTALLY non standard on the internet.

[440roadrunner]

From my point of view, your site should be a lesson on "how to build sites."

Keep it simple but effective

Avoid frames at all costs

the menu, no matter what you are viewing, is still at the top so you can easily "get back"

Avoid flash, razzle dazzle, background (or foreground!!) "music" and video at all costs

I like it a lot

[moldman]

Just here to say great site and great pictures.

[elfy]

Much better, but you don't just hover to get "add to cart", you have to right click - which is TOTALLY non standard on the internet.

Hmmm...would it be different because you're on a PC maybe? I'm on Macs and hovering seems to do the trick at my end (no right clicking on a Mac). If that's the case then I might go back and reword it again. Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.

From my point of view, your site should be a lesson on "how to build sites."

Keep it simple but effective

Avoid frames at all costs

the menu, no matter what you are viewing, is still at the top so you can easily "get back"

Avoid flash, razzle dazzle, background (or foreground!!) "music" and video at all costs

I like it a lot

Wow. Thanks very much indeed!

Just here to say great site and great pictures.

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them.

[tim]

Hmmm...would it be different because you're on a PC maybe? I'm on Macs and hovering seems to do the trick at my end (no right clicking on a Mac). If that's the case then I might go back and reword it again. Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.

Develop for the normal people with PCs, not the odd ones with macs ;)

[photoguy6405]

Very nice. Love your work. I am not a huge fan of HDR, but like it when it's well done, as most of yours is.

My main quibble would be that I'd like to see the photos a little bigger in the galleries. More like the same size as on the home page. Having said that, I absolutely LOVE the info you provide on the right of each photo. I wish more people would do that. It makes me feel a little more connected to what I'm viewing.

[elfy]

Develop for the normal people with PCs, not the odd ones with macs ;)

Haha! See, where you wrote 'odd' I read 'cool'. ;) I've amended it now, hopefully that's a bit clearer to people.

Very nice. Love your work. I am not a huge fan of HDR, but like it when it's well done, as most of yours is.

My main quibble would be that I'd like to see the photos a little bigger in the galleries. More like the same size as on the home page. Having said that, I absolutely LOVE the info you provide on the right of each photo. I wish more people would do that. It makes me feel a little more connected to what I'm viewing.

Thanks very much. Yeah, HDR is something that can easily be overdone I think, not just in terms of the processing itself, but also in terms of using it when it isn't really necessary. I try to use it only when I think it will benefit the shot.

I've tried to provide a bit of information about each shot since I started my 'Year In Photos' project, and it's something that a lot of people seem to like and appreciate.

I made the photos a little larger, about as large as I feel comfortable making them to be honest. Anyone else think they are an okay size, without them being large enough that they could be taken from the site and printed?

[crimsonblack]

I think the site looks outstanding. You've created a professional appearance that's very appealing.

Personally I would not bother to post my camera or settings you took the photo with. If you're using the site to sell your photos and let people see your work it's not info they need to know. If the site is for other photographers and you wish them to have that info then it's fine.

Simply up to you. Just my useless 2cents.

Nice job.

[elfy]

I think the site looks outstanding. You've created a professional appearance that's very appealing.

Personally I would not bother to post my camera or settings you took the photo with. If you're using the site to sell your photos and let people see your work it's not info they need to know. If the site is for other photographers and you wish them to have that info then it's fine.

Simply up to you. Just my useless 2cents.

Nice job.

Thank you very much. I thought it looked pretty good but I must say I'm surprised by how well it's been received by everyone on here.

I do know of a number of photographers who have been checking out my shots and a few have told me that they like to see the settings I've used so I figured it wouldn't do any harm to leave them in.

Thanks for looking. :D

[photoguy6405]

I do know of a number of photographers who have been checking out my shots and a few have told me that they like to see the settings I've used so I figured it wouldn't do any harm to leave them in.
I agree that a customer looking to buy probably doesn't care, but I doubt they care either way. I doubt they'd find that info intrusive or off-putting or offensive like many find music, for example. I see nothing wrong with leaving exposure info.

[tim]

Haha! See, where you wrote 'odd' I read 'cool'. ;) I've amended it now, hopefully that's a bit clearer to people.

'Wannabee cool' also fits in that space ;)

[elfy]

I agree that a customer looking to buy probably doesn't care, but I doubt they care either way. I doubt they'd find that info intrusive or off-putting or offensive like many find music, for example. I see nothing wrong with leaving exposure info.

Thanks, my thoughts exactly.

'Wannabee cool' also fits in that space ;)

:D Yeah, probably.

[Menelaus]

Navbar buttons are quite small, even at lower resolutions.
Vertical scrolling on your homepage at 1280x1024...YIKES!
"About Me" page has a hanging 'have' at this resolution, not sure about others.
No need for search whatsoever.

Overall, nice and clean, if a little dark for my tastes. Higher contrast in the navbar would be appreciated.

[elfy]

Navbar buttons are quite small, even at lower resolutions.
Vertical scrolling on your homepage at 1280x1024...YIKES!
"About Me" page has a hanging 'have' at this resolution, not sure about others.
No need for search whatsoever.

Overall, nice and clean, if a little dark for my tastes. Higher contrast in the navbar would be appreciated.

Excellent. Thanks very much for your input, I'll try to have a look at some of those tomorrow.

[10megapixel]

I really enjoyed your site and the photos. I noticed that you have a green laser pointer to play with...I have one as well but I can't get pictures near as cool as yours with it.

[elfy]

I really enjoyed your site and the photos. I noticed that you have a green laser pointer to play with...I have one as well but I can't get pictures near as cool as yours with it.

Thanks man. Those were actually done with a regular torch/flashlight. They were featured in an article in Practical Photography magazine here in the UK. Here's a link to a PDF of the article if you feel like having a look.

Light Trail Article (http://www.elfyphotography.com/lighttrailfigures.pdf)