Web site bio

Big Mike · Oct 25, 2007

I'm trying to write my 'About Me' bio for my web site...and I'm not sure about which direction to take.

My first draft is a friendly, in person type of thing...."Hi, my name is Mike...thank you for visiting my web site" and so on.

I have seen many that are in the 3rd person..."Mike is a big photographer" bla bla bla.

Does anyone have any preferences that they like to see, or don't like to see? Any tips?

I sort of want to be more friendly than professional but I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not. Any insight would be appreciated.

wildmaven · Oct 25, 2007

The third person approach allows you to put in more of your achievements without sounding like you're the one doing the bragging.

Big Mike · Oct 25, 2007

That's certainly part of it...but I don't necessarily have a lot of achievements in this field, I'm basically self taught...and I don't think a reader wants to hear that I have 10,000 posts on TFP

gomexz · Oct 25, 2007

I would prefer to see the friendly version. It makes the site more inviting.
That is how I like to set up my sites.

wildmaven · Oct 25, 2007

I ask every artist for our art gallery to provide a bio for the artist page. Some of them write it in the first person, some in the third person (what is second person anyway???). You can see the different styles at
http://webgallery.wildmaven.org/artists/ to get some ideas. Or, you could do it in the third person, but then have an "Artist Statement" where you can provide your first person comments.

Matthew Craggs · Oct 25, 2007

Definately fun and personal. Let's your personality come out.

Whenever I need to write a bio I always do the same thing. "Matthew is a _______ currently working in Anytown Ontario. He enjoys (activity), (another activity), and writing in third person."

I then begin writing in first person. Kind of a nice little joke to keep it light hearted.

phakimata · Oct 25, 2007

As was mentioned before, in the 3rd person the bragging is a little easier, and is (I guess) more important when you really are a commercial photographer.
If you run a studio for portraits where families come for their photos to be taken, I guess a personal note is better. In that regard you don't need to brag, instead you can just say what type of work you like to deliver, and what your work ethics are, and write about the experience while in a photo shoot.

Good luck with that! I hope this helps.

Paul.

keith204 · Oct 25, 2007

+1 vote for First Person.

In your case, you'd probably want it to be friendly and down-to-earth.

Just be careful with your I's. It's super easy when telling about yourself to get self-centered (that's really the case though, right?) but it will certainly sound less arrogant if you put in some my's in there to replace a few of your I's. Anyway, this is something I struggle with, and reworking sentences to get rid of that big tall letter has really helped my first person writing to sound less arrogant.

~Stella~ · Oct 25, 2007

I'm not a fan of the 3rd person unless it's a partnership or whatnot and you can't tell who wrote it. It sounds superficial to me.

bellacat · Oct 25, 2007

Mike from the little i had read from you already here on the forum i would say definitely go for the friendly first person. You have a great personality and i think you should let it shine through on your website.

craig · Oct 25, 2007

Clearly state your intentions and photographic style. I trust your images will do the talking so keep it short and sweet. If you do decide on the third person approach get a third person to write it.

Love & Bass

elsaspet · Oct 26, 2007

I've seen both approaches, and both are effective or cheesy based on what you say.
We personally do both on our site.
In our bio, we speak in the 3rd person.
In "Why you will love us", we speak in the first.
Just covering all the bases. There are good arguments for both.

elsaspet · Oct 26, 2007

Hi Mike,
I just went to the site listed as your homepage. I'm not sure if this is the one you are working on.
You have a lot of different stuff on the site I see. You can have all that, but you really really really need to streamline. What type of business makes you the most money?
Let's say it's the wedding stuff.
Show MOSTLY wedding stuff.
And then have a blog for all your other stuff.
Just my two pennies.

Big Mike · Oct 26, 2007

Thanks for the input Cindy.

My 'Road Trips and Parties' site? ha ha...no, that is absolutely not going to be my professional site. That is just an MSN 'group' that I set up about 6 or 7 years ago (way before Facebook, or Myspace), as a way of sharing photos with my friends.

My new web site has it's own domain name and will be strictly dedicated to my photography business. I've been working on it for a few weeks (off and on) and I am planning to have it done before the end of the month (for my Halloween advertising blitz).

I'll be sure to let you all in on the big unveiling when it happens.

Nimitz · Oct 26, 2007

Mike:
FWIW. For about 8 years I wrote feature stories for 2 national fishing magazines and I can tell that very rarely does 3rd person work. Writers are always taught early in their careers to write in first person. It is much easier to write in a easy-going, freindly style in 1st person. As far as using 3rd person so you can easily talk about your awards - I've never found that appealing when people do it unless it is something really spectular like a pulitzer - in which case people probably already know about it. With photography your work should speak for itself. I've never enlisted the services of a photographer because they had a long list of awards ... I hired them because I was impressed with their work.
Can't wait to see your site ...