Why no business?

huntersdad wrote in post #15960374
Working on the W&N link. I have the logo as a vector file which means nothing to me, so I'll have to figure out (or have some help) getting it into a watermark.

save it as a PNG, then you can use it as a stamp in PS

elrey2375 wrote in post #15960368
I agree. Things can get ugly sometimes but it's nice to see threads like this. Blunt criticism is the only way to improve. It's painful and nobody really likes getting it, but if you can resist the urge to get angry and actually use the info, it helps.

Maybe I should start a thread to put myself on the chopping block. I'd love to get some insight on my website, although I might not take it as well as Brad have taken it

Also, I (personally) don't care for the separate "Investment" page. As a customer, the term 'investment' sounds like I might need to take a second mortgage to afford you. I would consider moving the gist of that information to the About Me section. In the Investment section you speak of why someone should select you, what they should expect from you, etc. which is information that is about you, and how you operate.

I'd also suggest removing the specific line about having the gallery locked or unlocked. This is something that I would mention in person after booking or (more likely) after the session is complete. You are having them think about potential privacy issues before they have even selected you. Now you have me thinking that your site might not even be secure. You only need information that appeals to the potential client and nothing more.

elrey2375 wrote in post #15960407
save it as a PNG, then you can use it as a stamp in PS

Have LR, no PS. And I would prefer it be something I can load into Smugmug and put on vs. another pre-upload step.

Any other suggestions?

Upload the file (e.g. dropbox) and allow someone here to convert it into a png or jpeg for you...

huntersdad wrote in post #15960511
Have LR, no PS. And I would prefer it be something I can load into Smugmug and put on vs. another pre-upload step.

Any other suggestions?

Not sure what you mean by "another pre-upload step." But have you seen this yet?

http://help.smugmug.co​m …ow-do-i-watermark-photos-

I'm pretty much in the same vote as you. I want to do portraits, I think I have a good grasp on the technical side of what makes a good looking portrait, but my website pretty much sucks. Never really liked it. I do mostly sports right now anyway and it's worked out. But I want to make a move to portraiture. One thing that I've done and haven't followed through on yet, is googled local photogs and looked at their sites, bookmarked the ones I liked, and contact them to ask who did their site (follow up part that needs to be done). There's lots of help from smugmug support, give them a yell. They're pretty good. I'm actually thinking of hiring someone to help with my site because I just don't have the time to figure out CSS to do my own site on SM.

I'll be starting a thread like this one as soon as the lacrosse season ends (couple of weeks). Good luck, I'll be watching this thread for tips.

If you need help with any file conversion, PM me, I'll help you out.

Grumpy, I have the watermark made, but apply it once the photos are in Smug. If I am reading correctly, which I may not be, I would watermark before uploading to Smug. I prefer the my way on this one.

FWIW to you, I paid to have my site designed so I liked it without much thought to what it was truly conveying, which the members here have so graciously pointed out. I'd be glad to give you my designers name as I have been impressed with her. She has done all the changes to the site while this thread has been going on and has a couple waiting on her when she returns home.

I have taken the time to look at the websites from other photogs in the area, both before the design and in the last day or so. If you guys aren't impressed with mine, I don't think you'd be impressed with theirs. Some of the photography on other sites is worse than mine and some is better, some I like and some I don't care for at all, which has made it very difficult to look through their work and figure out what is working. I'm not interested in creating work that I don't care for. Additionally, most of the more popular ones (those I have heard of) have an entry point to the website followed by the actual website, which is something I simply cannot stand.

If anyone wants to take the time and look, HERE is the local bing search. Feel free to correct me or point me to one of the other websites that you feel is well laid out and provides high quality work.

huntersdad wrote in post #15960732
Grumpy, I have the watermark made, but apply it once the photos are in Smug. If I am reading correctly, which I may not be, I would watermark before uploading to Smug. I prefer the my way on this one.

Not sure what your way is, but if you watermark before uploading to Smug, the prints purchased will have the watermark on them vs. having the watermark done in smug so all the viewed photos will have the watermark and the prints ordered will not.

huntersdad wrote in post #15960732
FWIW to you, I paid to have my site designed so I liked it without much thought to what it was truly conveying, which the members here have so graciously pointed out. I'd be glad to give you my designers name as I have been impressed with her. She has done all the changes to the site while this thread has been going on and has a couple waiting on her when she returns home.

Sure

We're on the same page. I don't want to have to watermark, then upload, only to have to replace when someone orders. I'd rather Smug watermark and remove when ordered.

HiepBuiPhotography wrote in post #15960415
Maybe I should start a thread to put myself on the chopping block. I'd love to get some insight on my website, although I might not take it as well as Brad have taken it

I looked through your site. You know what you're doing. I'm sure I could come up with something to critique you on but nothing was glaring. Maybe cut down your portfolio wedding stuff to only the very best shots. That's off the top of my head.

huntersdad wrote in post #15960799
We're on the same page. I don't want to have to watermark, then upload, only to have to replace when someone orders. I'd rather Smug watermark and remove when ordered.

Check out the link in previous post. Pretty straight forward. If you need something converted to .png, let me know.

Originally Posted by HiepBuiPhotography

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'text/html'

Maybe I should start a thread to put myself on the chopping block. I'd love to get some insight on my website, although I might not take it as well as Brad have taken it

elrey2375 wrote in post #15960810
I looked through your site. You know what you're doing. I'm sure I could come up with something to critique you on but nothing was glaring. Maybe cut down your portfolio wedding stuff to only the very best shots. That's off the top of my head.

I'll have to agree, if that were my site I'd be happy. Who did your site BTW?

huntersdad wrote in post #15960272
I have rewritten the About Me and Investment page with a more professional tone. Some of you may still not like it but I'm not a writer.

You had someone else design the website. Why not have someone else improve the writing?

Why a photography site would have a link called "Investment" isn't clear.

HiepBuiPhotography wrote in post #15960415
Maybe I should start a thread to put myself on the chopping block. I'd love to get some insight on my website, although I might not take it as well as Brad have taken it

I took a look at your site, and I wouldn't change anything. I like your clean processing.

OhLook wrote in post #15960878
You had someone else design the website. Why not have someone else improve the writing?

Why a photography site would have a link called "Investment" isn't clear.

A lot of photographers have gone to the term "Investment" rather pricing. As many didn't like it here, I am having it changed to "What to Expect", which more clearly defines what is under the heading. Additionally, as many suggested, all pricing has now been removed.