Hi guys..

I know i new here, but i am interested in getting feedback on the website i created for my husband.

it is an entirely customized portfolio (no flash) and a fully functioning shopping cart. I would love to get some input from actual photographers rather than web developers. I worked really hard on it, so be nice.. but be truthful. I can take it!!

Feel free to go through the images and add certain things to your cart.. just dont fully checkout - well, you can, but not unless you intend on buying.

Right now, the only categories that have images is the PETS .. He did a dog fair, and then some private dog photoshoots.

just FYI, all images that are private events, like weddings, or family portraits, or kids will have passwords. If you click on the weddings, you will not be able to get to those categories.

So yea.. ANY AND ALL COMMENTS WELCOME!
thanks

ahemm i think you forgot to add the link. and welcome to the forum by the way.

Bill

Ahhh.. hahaha.. i'm sorry What a doaf!

bscphoto

if you click on PRINT SHOP you will see the store side of things.

SO now that i have my link.. does ANYONE want to take a look?? i really would likea few more pieces of advice before i decide to stick with this layout.

It looks GREAT to me.

The only thing (and I may have missed it) is pricing for sittings, wedding, packages of photos, etc.

Actually, you didnt... i just told my husband. He was responsible for the .html pages (everything that is part of the portfolio) and i am responsible for the store side of it.. ANYWAYS, he had a downloadable price list on the pet portraits page, but on the HIRE ME pages!! thanks for bringing that to my attention

as for the wedding stuff, we are still trying to put together some packages.. that is, by far, the most difficult thing. Right now, we have people just calling for pricing and we are giving them quotes, which is working quite well since he is now booked through the month of November.

I decided that I am going to put the Pricing and Packages in the HIRE link. I am going to make some nice little framed images with the pricing on it along with a downloadable PDF file - right now, there is just a downloadable PDF file in the pet portraits.

Did you get a chance to look through the shopping cart section where you can purchase prints?? That is the part that i am most concerned about. I would like it to be as user friendly as possible

Well nothing is labeled 'Shopping cart" but i did look thru the purchase prints portion and it seems fine to me.

I'm sorry.. thats i guess web designer talk.. the PRINT SHOP is the actual shopping cart..

lindsayanng wrote in post #6419995
I'm sorry.. thats i guess web designer talk.. the PRINT SHOP is the actual shopping cart..

I click on print shop, and then I can't click on any of the four galleries - weddings, portraits etc. Do I have to create an account to view these (I'm not going to...)?

I don't care too much for the drop shadow, or the text. Overall though the site is pretty good. I like how the photos are displayed, but I think there are two things that aren't the best about the galleries, and I could be wrong. I think they could be hard to update if you need to put more images, and I also think that if you get a lot of landscapes say, then the ones at the bottom could just get lost. Not sure if this is a bad thing, if you add the recent ones at the top it might not be a big deal. If you could have a next/previous button in the window the photo is displayed when you click on it, that would be a plus. Having to open and close a window every time I want to see the larger version is kind of a pain.

Overall good job, some improvements could be made but its a fairly comprehensive site.

you only have to have a password for the wedding because they are private events. The pets are not.. I dont want everyone looking at someone's proofs..

Actually, as far as updating, it is simple because he created an action to just open the image and then the action resizes and adds the fancy corners. We originally did plain images with no graphic, but it was just very boring looking..

I did add the previous and next on the photo ordering page.. I'm wondering if you just didnt notice it (which means i need to make it more obvious) or you viewed the site before i updated it with the previous/next navigation..

thank you for the feedback. Also, would you mind clarifying WHICH text you werent to thrilled about?? the welcome, the text on the page heading, or the boxes on the left and right???

Oh yea.. i meant to say.. My site is built on EXACTLY the same shopping cart software as this forum's store.. so if you go there, you can see what the BASICS of my shopping cart were before i customized it..

I was thinking of offering my services to make the POTN store a little nicer.

just wondeirng if anyone has had a look. I updated a few more things, and am looking for more feedback..

I think you have a good idea going. The thing I dont like is how much info is in the main page.
"Over the last fifteen years I've been lucky enought to be able to make a living in the arts. From graphic design to video production and filmorgraphy to photography I love what I do. Whether I'm shooting a wedding or just taking pictures of bugs in my backyard, my time behind the lens is what I live for. As you look through my ever changing and expanding collection of work my love for the camera is obvious"

that should be on the bio page, not on the home page.

Overall, I think the home page has too much info/too large of images on it. There's multiple links to each gallery and its all spread out about the page. Maybe think if making the images smaller and finding a more organized way to arrange them.

thanks for the feedback. I am actually working on doing the bio page and am going to move all that info over there..

I am actually working on creating a lightbox type of look with small thumbnails for the portfolio images..

THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK

what did you think of the print shop side

I think the first page is too busy - too many big phots that are really buttons. Grammar and spelling are quite poor. White background is rather stark. I would suggest a color darker and more complementary to the photos.

I am not wild about displaying "Page Under Construction". Put the info you need on there then improve it as you can.

I think the top banner is hard to read and the "print shop" and other options are too close, almost to be jammed in.

Last item, I would consider reducing the number of photos displayed by half, or so. Only the good ones.

Good luck on your career. I know not to suggest black but consider color contrasts