Camera Labs

Okay, I am about to start university in a city with a thriving music scene and I absolutely adore music photography, by far my favourite thing to do with a camera. With that in mind I thought now would be a good time to get a website together. If any of you guys could give it a peak and throw any feedback my way I would be infinitely grateful.

Please please please ignore the horrible URL, in a day or two the it will be www.samlewisphotography.co.uk quite professional sounding don't you think? but at the moment is is http://web.me.com/cameramonkey1989/samlewisphotography


Thanks in advance guys.

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Sony A230, Minolta 3xi
18-55mm 3.5-5.6, 70-300mm 4.5-5.6, Minolta 28-80mm
50mm 1.8
http://clicheartist.tumblr.com/

I'd suggest you watch some of the website critique videos by Zack Arias http://www.zarias.com/category/critique/. He focuses on the actual website but also does offer some suggestions on improving their images too.

I think he does some music photography too, and he's also critiqued the website fo at least one music/journo fotog.

As for your website, I like simple, minimalist websites like yours. The thing is, you're promoting yourself as an artist and your website doesn't look like it's from the mind of an artist. I think you need to stike a balance between a simple/uncluttered layout and an aesthetically pleasing visual experice.

Also, I'd rewrite some of the text on your site to reduce the negative vibe I'm getting. eg:



and



also



are a couple of examples I spotted which can be rewritten in a more pleasant/upbeat and professional tone.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53061745@N02/

Panasonic G3: 9-18mm, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm

Thank you for the quick reply.

I'm going to be honest, I'm somewhat limited with what I can do layout wise as I am using iWeb, not something I am proud of, but my knowledge of HTML is not what you'd call expansive.

The first example you pointed out is poorly phrased no two ways about it.
Thing is, with the other two I am trying to strike a balance between professional and being 'an open book' so the odd slightly unprofessional phrase might slip in. However if you think they detract from the website that much, I will see what I can do with them.

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Sony A230, Minolta 3xi
18-55mm 3.5-5.6, 70-300mm 4.5-5.6, Minolta 28-80mm
50mm 1.8
http://clicheartist.tumblr.com/

If you feel iWeb is limiting maybe you should have a look at these sites all created using it
http://www.swingingbluejeans.co.uk/SBJWeb/Home.html
http://web.mac.com/hixondesign/iWeb/Hix ... e%202.html
http://www.stuartluff.co.uk/

And these listings of iWeb created sites
http://allaboutiweb.com/index.php/2009/ ... web-sites/
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jsp ... ID=1331511

One thing to note is that iWeb does not play nice with all browsers especially, Internet Explorer, but most of the easy web creation tools out there have limitations of some description.

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Nikon D90
Nikkor AF-S DX; 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G VR, 35mm f/1.8G
Speedlight SB-700

http://keystrokesukimages.com

The website is ok and a bit amateur. Also you admin name doesn't look at all professional. Admin names are a lot cheaper than you think and most normal .com ones are only around £10 a year

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

The site looks clean, and is easy to navigate. No comments there.
The photos however...no offence, but they are not very stunning. I do music photography myself, and I know how hard it is sometimes!

I don't know about your gear, but it looks like a faster lens could be of use for you. I myself mainly use a 10mm 2.8 fisheye (fastest I could get), and a 50 1.4 (looking for an 84 1.4).

Also, learn to navigate through the crowd to get the best angles. You don't want a microphone stand in your shot (even though they are quite hard to avoid).

I might write up a workshop on music photography, but I don't know when.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

I like it, nice and clean and pretty fast. I would remove the apologies for not having many photos in your portfolio though, most people would not realise:) What you have is good.

Perhaps it is also worth adding a small link in the text on the home page where you tell people to go to the contacts page to be able to get in touch with you. In my opinion, I find it strange that you want a potential client to work a little harder to get in touch with you, including the email address you have to block spam. I personally would not make the effort to copy/paste that and then edit it so I could contact you.

It is good you have a contact number though, as calling someone is often a lot easier than having to write an email.

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http://www.parismetrotrash.com