My New Website

musiqfan23 · Jan 2, 2016

Ok. So I made the jump and started a website with Zenfolio :76:

but I'm still feeling as though... I don't know if people will respond, images are good enough, etc. That kind of thing... So I'm here to ask the community to look at my site and critique the hell out of me. Thanks to you guys in advance.

Kevin

P.S. the site is www.kevinevans.zenfolio.com Thanks again!!!

astroNikon · Jan 2, 2016

nice photos.
But you have to get out there and market your photos if you only want to sell prints of objects and not people. It's easier selling people pictures of themselves/friends than things.
Art shows, social media, etc.

Don't expect buyers to "find you" on the internet when it is simply overwhelmed with centralized sites and other pros that do a lot of marketing of their own works.

I'm sure the pros will chime in here shortly too on what to do.

Light Guru · Jan 2, 2016

The mobile version of the site feels kinda crippled. I noticed not all of he menu options on the desktop version are on the mobile version.

Also make the website in your original post a clickable link so people don't have to copy and past it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Summer75 · Jan 2, 2016

I found it easy to navigate and I like the layout. I really like the pictures. The one with the greenery and the people really tricked my eyes! It feels like it's in motion. I just think that you need more photos on the site and I personally think the title should be "photos" or "port folio" and not Parts of Me. Also there is 2 menus, one in the top right and one in the header. It would be nice if it was just in the header. That's my take on it. Nice job.

cauzimme · Jan 2, 2016

It's a nice start.
Picture wise, very great!
The contact page needs a photo. It's a bit dull, simple and not in the possitive way

In you About Section you should link your links, people don't take the time to copy paste anymore, we wants information and we want it now.

musiqfan23 · Jan 2, 2016

Thank you to everyone for the input! I'll get started on the changes right away!!!

AceCo55 · Jan 3, 2016

On your home page - I would make the introduction a little shorter - so it becomes like a tagline associated with you.
I would delete the "Hello" and the "with a passion for photography". Every man and his dog writes that and if you have taken the trouble to dive into photography as much as you have, then it is a given.
I would also delete "Thank you for viewing!"

That would leave the message as your name/location/photographer/what you photograph = simple, clear message (and good for Google searches)

Menu bar:
Are you intending to add more category links to "Photography"? Because at the moment, you are asking visitor to do an extra click - not clean/efficient.
If you are going to add more categories, then my change the top link to "Galleries"? (seems a little more descriptive than the generic "Photography")
If you keep Portfolio, then I would suggest you limit the number to your VERY BEST images and to those that show the breadth of your photographic abilities.

One thing you might want to think about is to make your Home page just a landing page that includes:
* Menu/nav bar
* your present message
* icons/links to the other websites that you have on your "About" page
* Plain background (that makes it easy to read the text)

At the moment you have three pages that show exactly the same thing.
Homepage has a manually operated slideshow
Portfolio has the same thing
Slideshow is a slideshow of the same thing.

I would expand on the "About" page - here's the opportunity to sell yourself and your services.
Maybe search for "About" page examples or tips

On your "Portfolio" page your "Search" feature is below the "fold" on my 15" laptop screen. This could easily be missed as the main photo and the strip below make a complete viewing package.
Is it possible to move the "Search" feature up to the menu bar?

Your website is not mobile friendly - if you say your portfolio on small screen devices, you have to scroll sideways to see the main photo. You can't see the whole photo at once.
This website allows you to get a simulated view of any website on a wide variety of devices. You just type in the web address and then select the device and screen size that you want to see a simulation of.
Screenfly / Test Your Website at Different Screen Resolutions

About 60% of all the visitors to my website are on a mobile phone or tablet. So you need to make sure your website is a good viewing experience to them.

All the best - you have some terrific work.

jcdeboever · Jan 3, 2016

O.K., you started a website.... What is your goal? I will assume...

I like the minimal look, very nice but not sure on the color scheme.

One subtle thing, I would start to think about brand and make a consistent avatar, definitely lose that "common demonic" one you used at 500px & flickr, you will lose potential buyers (Christians), and for someone who is creative, you can make your own.

I like some of your street photo's over on 500px. I grew up in the inner city of Detroit, lived in downtown Chicago, and downtown Austin, Texas and I relate well to your street work. I can see your love for music. I am not an expert but street photography appears to be a strength of yours.

In my opinion, you should nail down a brand, image, and theme. Spread it across your various links to the best you can. If a particular link of your work goes against a brand or theme, consider dropping it. Organize it consistently across multiple sights. Landscape, people photography, street photography, etc.

You are all over the map and I am not sure what your direction is. I am basing this off your web site. In your about page, I clicked on all the links. No consistency.

musiqfan23 · Jan 3, 2016

jcdeboever said:
O.K., you started a website.... What is your goal? I will assume...

I like the minimal look, very nice but not sure on the color scheme.

One subtle thing, I would start to think about brand and make a consistent avatar, definitely lose that "common demonic" one you used at 500px & flickr, you will lose potential buyers (Christians), and for someone who is creative, you can make your own.

I like some of your street photo's over on 500px. I grew up in the inner city of Detroit, lived in downtown Chicago, and downtown Austin, Texas and I relate well to your street work. I can see your love for music. I am not an expert but street photography appears to be a strength of yours.

In my opinion, you should nail down a brand, image, and theme. Spread it across your various links to the best you can. If a particular link of your work goes against a brand or theme, consider dropping it. Organize it consistently across multiple sights. Landscape, people photography, street photography, etc.

You are all over the map and I am not sure what your direction is. I am basing this off your web site. In your about page, I clicked on all the links. No consistency.

Thank you for your honest opinions and I agree with you. The more I look at my images, the more confused I am about my direction. I like everything. It's hard to narrow it down. As far as the demonic image, I use it instead of my own face because I don't want my images loved or hated based on what I look like. You are right though. I need a new avatar. Thank you for the advice!!!

snowbear · Jan 3, 2016

I like the overall design - clean and simple. I don't know that I can add anything that hasn't already been said.

musiqfan23 · Jan 4, 2016

Thank you to everyone for your inputs. I have created an additional site on squarespace to compare. https://kevin-evans-dcnn.squarespace.com

This setup can be critiqued as well. I do like the layout of this site a little better. I've found Zenfolio a little difficult to navigate but that could just be me.

AceCo55 · Jan 4, 2016

musiqfan23 said:
Thank you to everyone for your inputs. I have created an additional site on squarespace to compare. https://kevin-evans-dcnn.squarespace.com

This setup can be critiqued as well. I do like the layout of this site a little better. I've found Zenfolio a little difficult to navigate but that could just be me.

Can't see the new site while it still is in trial ... see screenshot:

musiqfan23 · Jan 5, 2016

Just click visitor access. It gives you a code to type in and voila!!! You're in.

AceCo55 · Jan 6, 2016

Duh! Blame that on senility!!!

Looks a lot cleaner.
Easier to navigate and is a logical flow.
Images are gorgeous!!

You logo is very small?

Definitely moving the right direction with your changes.
Good luck to you.