Made myself a website

[Jenny Mehlenbeck]

Such stunning photos! I'm in awe. Had fun looking for sure.

Website stuff.... templates have their place. For saving images fast, showing family and friends easily they are great. But when your ready to take the plunge into actually selling your work? Not so much.
So base all the rest of my answer on the marketing end of things. Again if your just doing this to show friends your fine.

Ok, first off... one of my biggest pet peeves with websites is BLACK BACKGROUNDS! Gray text on black, or even white on black, is hard on the eyes. Textured backgrounds with type over it is also hard on the eyes. Especially aging eyes. Back in the 90s I actually taught web design and this was the first thing I would tell classes. If you have text, don't you WANT people to read it? You can't go wrong with plain old black on white like a book.

If you want your images set on black to show them off, either learn some very basic web code, or use a web building program and put your IMAGES on a black background but keep text simple. Black on white or at least dark on light. OR you can automate photoshop. Make a simple black frame and have photoshop save all your images framed. Then put those on a white background. Be no different than looking at them in an art gallery.

Lastly, one of THE most important things you can get horribly right or horribly wrong is navigation. Personally I would like to see all your images show up as thumnails, but when I click on one to get a closer look, still be able to see all the thumbs. Without using the back button, or the tiny faint gray X in the corner to go back. At the very least make it so when someone clicks on an image, that opens in a new window. This way if your view closes the window, probably by mistake, your whole site doesn't vanish. BTW I almost NEVER use the slideshow arrow. I (or any viewer) want to see what I want to see.
And never forget a link to your home page and contact page needs to show up on ALL pages.
Again... learn how to actually build a site to do this. It's really not hard.

One last bit of advice..... unless your giving your images away to the world, WATERMARK THEM!!!!!
Trust me on this one. My website comes with some dandy tracking tools and you would not believe how many times I'd find MY image being hyjacked onto some other site.
Now yes... watermarks can be removed. Cropped out, photoshoped out, and if you plaster one clear across the image well some people just don't want to ruin the image for the viewer. So at least stick your name or website in the corner somewhere. IF it does get cropped and IF you happen to find your artwork showing up on a mug someplace you have a measure of proof you can take to court to prove it's your image. And that's assuming it's someone in the same country where laws would apply. Someone in China could pull off an image, use it for their own good and you get nothing.
Thieves are a lazy lot. Most won't bother removing a watermark. Easier to just find free stuff elsewhere to steal. If it's in a spot that can be cropped, than maybe. Look up stock photo. They have a faint X clear across each image. It would be hours of work to undo that in photoshop. No thief will bother. But even if all you do is stick your name, semi transparent on the bottom or in a corner somewhere, it will help protect your image. AND if someone say puts it up on pinterest and doesn't bother to link it to where it came from? You can still be found.

 

[JAmadoPhotography]

I love your work! May I suggest different fonts to create a more professional feel (look in Playfair Display or even Times). Great work!

 

[Jenny Mehlenbeck]

Hi, thanks for the compliment.
Fonts... something I have always struggled with a bit. But first, you have to understand that the user needs to have the font on their device in order for it to work. When you find some fancy font that isn't real common, what happens is the users device will simply substitute what it has in place of what it can't find which usually looks awful.

Times is a common enough one... almost to common. Pretty sure what I used is darn similar. (My site is old, I honestly don't remember what I used now.)

Then there is stuff I learned in typography class. Which I don't always agree with.
For those who might not know what this means, serif and sans serif those refer to letters that have little tails between letters, like the one this forum is using, a serif type font, or letters like your using on one of your sites. (See what I did there? Gonna make people look now.)
Those are sans (or no) serif fonts.
Now what they said in class is sans serif fonts are fine for titles, headlines, or other short bits of text. But for blocks of text to read, the little serifs help lead the eye onto the next character.
Again I can't say I agree with it, your site is easy for me to read. I never really noticed a difference. But they must teach this in graphic design for a reason.

 

[birdbonkers84]

Looks great, I just don't like the font used though. The greyish background chosen really makes you're images stand out. Personally I would change your landscape thumbnail to one of your other more dramatic looking landscapes. You've got some absolute crackers, and while the one you've chosen is nice, I wouldn't say its your best of the bunch. I really like that deer image and look forward to seeing you put more wildlife images up!

For me, your website/name title needs to be larger. and placed top left with work and contact to the right of it. Maybe have a separate heading like "about me" (with your name, explaining passion for photography etc, etc). next to work and contact, order ---> About me, Work, Contact.

 

[birdbonkers84]

P.S I didn't know this portfolio thing came with adobe creative cloud! will definitely need to look into this!

 

[weepete]

Such stunning photos! I'm in awe. Had fun looking for sure.

Website stuff.... templates have their place. For saving images fast, showing family and friends easily they are great. But when your ready to take the plunge into actually selling your work? Not so much.
So base all the rest of my answer on the marketing end of things. Again if your just doing this to show friends your fine.

Ok, first off... one of my biggest pet peeves with websites is BLACK BACKGROUNDS! Gray text on black, or even white on black, is hard on the eyes. Textured backgrounds with type over it is also hard on the eyes. Especially aging eyes. Back in the 90s I actually taught web design and this was the first thing I would tell classes. If you have text, don't you WANT people to read it? You can't go wrong with plain old black on white like a book.

If you want your images set on black to show them off, either learn some very basic web code, or use a web building program and put your IMAGES on a black background but keep text simple. Black on white or at least dark on light. OR you can automate photoshop. Make a simple black frame and have photoshop save all your images framed. Then put those on a white background. Be no different than looking at them in an art gallery.

Lastly, one of THE most important things you can get horribly right or horribly wrong is navigation. Personally I would like to see all your images show up as thumnails, but when I click on one to get a closer look, still be able to see all the thumbs. Without using the back button, or the tiny faint gray X in the corner to go back. At the very least make it so when someone clicks on an image, that opens in a new window. This way if your view closes the window, probably by mistake, your whole site doesn't vanish. BTW I almost NEVER use the slideshow arrow. I (or any viewer) want to see what I want to see.
And never forget a link to your home page and contact page needs to show up on ALL pages.
Again... learn how to actually build a site to do this. It's really not hard.

One last bit of advice..... unless your giving your images away to the world, WATERMARK THEM!!!!!
Trust me on this one. My website comes with some dandy tracking tools and you would not believe how many times I'd find MY image being hyjacked onto some other site.
Now yes... watermarks can be removed. Cropped out, photoshoped out, and if you plaster one clear across the image well some people just don't want to ruin the image for the viewer. So at least stick your name or website in the corner somewhere. IF it does get cropped and IF you happen to find your artwork showing up on a mug someplace you have a measure of proof you can take to court to prove it's your image. And that's assuming it's someone in the same country where laws would apply. Someone in China could pull off an image, use it for their own good and you get nothing.
Thieves are a lazy lot. Most won't bother removing a watermark. Easier to just find free stuff elsewhere to steal. If it's in a spot that can be cropped, than maybe. Look up stock photo. They have a faint X clear across each image. It would be hours of work to undo that in photoshop. No thief will bother. But even if all you do is stick your name, semi transparent on the bottom or in a corner somewhere, it will help protect your image. AND if someone say puts it up on pinterest and doesn't bother to link it to where it came from? You can still be found.

Thanks for the advice Jenny, and I'm glad you like my shots! I'm going to respectfully disagree with you about the dark background I'm afraid, or at least explain that I have a strong preference for dark backgrounds. With colour perception being relative the backlit white of the internet screws with luminocity values and can take the edge off the colours in a photograph. My thought is that the that shouldn't be too much of an issue as long as decent contrast is maintained with the text. Or in other words, the trade off between making the text slightly harder to read against making my images display better is one I'm willing to make. I'll take your point on board however, and if I ever want to make a go of selling some of my work I will consider it.

With adobe portfilio, as I don't have my own domain and a using their system, I need to use one of their templates and there is no opiton to edit their html or css code unfortunatley. I'm limited to what options they let me change. I'll take on board the rest of your advice. Thanks for the detailed reply and critique, it really is appreciated!

 

[weepete]

I love your work! May I suggest different fonts to create a more professional feel (look in Playfair Display or even Times). Great work!

Thanks, JAmando! I must admit, fonts are not particulary my thing, as long as they are legible I find the thought that some are more professional than others funny I'll have a look though and see if I can tweek it somewhat. Not times new roman though, it's probably the only one I really dislike.

 

[weepete]

Looks great, I just don't like the font used though. The greyish background chosen really makes you're images stand out. Personally I would change your landscape thumbnail to one of your other more dramatic looking landscapes. You've got some absolute crackers, and while the one you've chosen is nice, I wouldn't say its your best of the bunch. I really like that deer image and look forward to seeing you put more wildlife images up!

For me, your website/name title needs to be larger. and placed top left with work and contact to the right of it. Maybe have a separate heading like "about me" (with your name, explaining passion for photography etc, etc). next to work and contact, order ---> About me, Work, Contact.

P.S I didn't know this portfolio thing came with adobe creative cloud! will definitely need to look into this!

Thanks Mark, point taken about titles/headings etc. I'll see what I can do over the weekend. Never been a fan of about me pages though so that's one I'll probably skip. Given that it's included in the cost of the subscription it's worth looking into, a good wee exercise I think. I hadn't realised it was included either!

 

[Jenny Mehlenbeck]

I'll see what I can do over the weekend. Never been a fan of about me pages though so that's one I'll probably skip.

Hey, artists never seem to like to talk about themselves. However..... I have to admit, when I'm looking at someone's work, I tend to always want to check out who this person is. Even if all you do is talk about your work, process, equipment... what your after... that sort of thing...
Now artists never like to talk about themselves, and honestly, who wants to read someone going on about themself huh? But they DO tend to like to talk about what they do. Consider going with just that. "Today I waited six days for the light and clouds to be in just the right spot.."
Like that.
It's just one more page of interest to some... a way to keep people ON your site and wanting to come back.

In the end though, you have to do what you feel is right for you. Advice here is just that. Doesn't mean you have to take it. Take it in sure. Then do what your comfortable with. You'll find your own style. Darn shame you can't put text on it's own field though. Seriously, negative space does not make for good letters. It's not like white on black is lit up. That tends to be something kids love to do. Look around the internet though. Real business sites of all kinds, text is black on white. The art gallery can be dark, that really does show off the images well.
Ha... wait till your eyes start to age a bit. You'll see. (or start to not. lol)

 

[weepete]

Jenny,

While I do really appreciate your advice and I've implemented some of your suggestons already. Respectfully, as I have been to you, I'd appreciate if you kindly dial back your condisending tone please Realise this this is not a world of black and white and while I appreciacte the input and advice your implication that I'm on the same level as a child is at best patronising, condecending and quite franky downright rude.

I'm not sure what you mean by negative space ( I know what I mean by that term but it seems like we have a different definition). Please appreciate that I'm not as versed as you in web design, html, css, python or javascript. But realise your world may not be mine as much as my world may not be yours. There is a place in the broad chuch of "art" for us all and some of it breaches convention. It would be a terribly boring place if every single website you visit followed the same rules, did the same stuff and presented in the same way.

There is a fundimental reason that given the choice, most photographers would display their images on 12-18% grey or black. It's not the same as a gallery wall as the white of a webpage is backlit. The backlighting of a screen slighty changes the final output, which is different to hanging on a white wall, which is different to hanging on a dark wall. That's why when I last got a 24x40" print on aluminium I had a test print done, put it up on the wall the final was to be hung and adjusted the print to suit the lighting of the situation. Sure I had to ballbark it but I defy anyone to make an assertion that my final exposure in print was anywhere off in exposure. It was, and still is spot on for the conditions it is displayed under. That exposure is different to how it's displayed on my site and I soft proof my images and ajust if it were to be displayed on a different background than I proceeced it in.

Yeah, you are right in a way.......on my site I don't give a damn if people read the blurb or not. I'd prefer they don't pay any attention my words and just look at my shots. So yeah, I really don't want anyone to read my words, it's all about the photos.When people ask me what do you take photos of I'd much rather show them my shots than show them as to a wall of text.

 

[Jenny Mehlenbeck]

Didn't mean it to sound condecendin. Sorry you took it that way.
I'll say no more.
(walks away now.)

 

[birdbonkers84]

Just seen your updated site Weepete, much nicer.

Currently looking at it myself, think ill need to go find a youtube vid on how to default set it up lol.

 

[weepete]

Thanks Mark,

I definatley prefer it with the updates that I've done. I'll tweek it a bit more over the coming days, spare time allowing (there's fishing to be done in the meantime!). Made myself a simple logo and watermark yesterday so progress I think.

Default setup is pretty easy, just pick a template, make another page and add photos or a grid. It took me about a week to get to grips with the layout and settings of the editor to customise it xD. I did not find it very intuative.