finally finished my website!

SOPHMB

SOPHMB

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43
Name
Sophie
Edit My Images
Yes
please have a look at my new website that i've just finished - so pleased i've finished it.

sophmbphotography.moonfruit.com

have a look and let me know what you think,

plus if you live in the brighton area then let me know if you are interested in my photography.
 
oh okay, thanks for letting me know, i'll have to check that out :/
 
Yep...that's the one :thumbs:
 
ahh phewww, thanks (: glad it works now!
let me know what you think please!?
 
Several spelling mistakes - also entire website is in 1st person so why use 'contact us'? If this is aimed at getting professional work in my opinion it fails - not least because it has a moonfruit address! website/company(?) name is unpronounceable.
 
Had a quick glance, the site seems to function ok, there is a spelling mistake-reguarding .

Some of the photos you've posted are quite poor- distracting backgrounds, poor cropping and too much dof.. sorry but you did ask!
 
thanks guys, but i'm sure you're all a lot older and have much more experience than myself, i'm 17 and just starting out, i don't think there is any need to be so over the top with all those negative comments :/
 
Hi Sophie - I don't think people are over the top, after all you asked for feedback :)

Spelling mistakes make any web site look unprofessional. For example my spelling is not the best so I always have spell check on for emails at work.

Example which is harder to catch with a spell checker on your home page you have the text

click on an image to view the photo's in each gallery.

why the apostrophe? It is not need here.

people are only trying to help you make the best of your website.
 
awp said:
Several spelling mistakes - also entire website is in 1st person so why use 'contact us'? If this is aimed at getting professional work in my opinion it fails - not least because it has a moonfruit address! website/company(?) name is unpronounceable.
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:agree:

Some constructive criticism if you may give an ear.......

1. The web site is dull as dry bread. If you wish to get some pro work using this webiste, you may want to give it a thought. Open source CMS such as Joomla, Drupal or even Wordpress has loads of rich templates and themes and they are free since they are open source. [Pro themes and templates do cost though]
2. Loads of spelling mistakes. I will not point them out to you because others have already done it.
3. Nobody is gonna remember http://sophmbphotography.moonfruit.com/
Get some catchy, short and simple domain name. A .co.uk domain name costs around 6 quid for 2 years. If you still need it for FREE for the first 2 years then get one from http://www.gbbo.co.uk/

Good luck. :thumbs:
 
Hi Sophie,

Please don't get upset, no one knows how old you are unless you tell them and then again age doesn't really matter so much as I know of people who are much younger than me that have a great deal more experience than I do.

I also don't think peoples comments are over the top, you asked for people to tell you what they thought and they were honest with there opinions and I am sure you wouldn't want them to lie to you would you?

The guys and girls here are a great and friendly bunch who will be only to willing to help you and offer advice along the way.

Try not to take things to personally.
 
I know what you mean but using words such as 'poor' and 'fails' to describe something that comes from a 17 year old is completelely heartbreaking if i'm honest, I was impressed with it, and it doesn't help build confidence when people use words like that. there are better ways of putting it, and better ways in helping than destroying it :(
 
I understand you are just starting out but I can not stress the importance of spelling in professional websites. I'd run everything you type through a spell check and also reading it afterwords prior to posting it online.

Also, maybe its just Safari on the Mac but the home page renders kinda funny for me. If the site is using flash I'd guess its something to do with that.

I'd maybe consider getting a real domain name (.co.uk or .com) as the current one is a little long for business cards etc...

I hope you don't find any of the above comments negative, I'm just trying offer some advice. :)
 
if you break sophmbphotography up you get soph m b photography, which are my initials, and means something to me.
 
i don't want to go professional i do it for fun, i was just using a free website to show some of my photos with my friends and family, and thought i'd see what people thought of it on here, I am just starting out, i don't have any money as i'm still a student, so i obviously can't afford things such as websites, expensive camera's and lenses and all the equipment, i'm simply just showing a few snaps.
 
SOPHMB said:
I know what you mean but using words such as 'poor' and 'fails' to describe something that comes from a 17 year old is completelely heartbreaking if i'm honest, I was impressed with it, and it doesn't help build confidence when people use words like that. there are better ways of putting it, and better ways in helping than destroying it :(
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Hi Sophie,

I hear what you are saying and to you the advice may have seemed harsh but as I have said the guys and girls on here for the most part will give you good, solid and honest advice and they wont be doing it out of any kind of vindictiveness.

I have to say I am not a big fan of Moonfruit websites, have you thought about using maybe a free wordpress website instead? http://wordpress.com/

Wordpress is far superior and offers so much more than Moonfruit
 
Keith W said:
Hi Sophie,

I hear what you are saying and to you the advice may have seemed harsh but as I have said the guys and girls on here for the most part will give you good, solid and honest advice and they wont be doing it out of any kind of vindictiveness.

I have to say I am not a big fan of Moonfruit websites, have you thought about using maybe a free wordpress website instead? http://wordpress.com/

Wordpress is far superior and offers so much more than Moonfruit
Click to expand...

You may also want to consider Weebly and Yola
 
Hi Sophie

Having read all your posts on this thread, I have a lot more information than the first people to have replied, it's always best to write as much as possible. So first of all, well done for designing your website, having done it myself it takes AGES! I have loads more work to do on mine and wouldn't dare put it up here as it'd get ripped to shreds - and then I'd have to find the time to sort it out!

Welcome to TP, there are lots of people who will take the time to give great advice to complete strangers. It may not always be what we want to hear but it's their opinion and it all can be helpful.

My thoughts:
- photos nicely broken down into sensible categories
- I like the photos, shows promise
- personally would do either a B&W or a colour version of each flower photo
- as others have said, please sort out the spelling
- take lots more photographs, get some c&c on here and keep adding them to the site

I wish I realised how much I loved photography at 17 rather than 30!

HTH
 
SOPHMB said:
i don't want to go professional i do it for fun, i was just using a free website to show some of my photos with my friends and family, and thought i'd see what people thought of it on here, I am just starting out, i don't have any money as i'm still a student, so i obviously can't afford things such as websites, expensive camera's and lenses and all the equipment, i'm simply just showing a few snaps.
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But, Sophie, that's not what you're actually saying on the website. You state that people can buy your shots or book you. That's not just doing it for fun, that's offering a pro service that you want payment for.

As has been stated, correct spelling is vital on a website - even one done for fun. A shorter name would improve things too as people need to be able to remember it easily.

Don't take the comments made here badly as you asked what people thought and they gave you an honest reply to help you, not to demoralise you. Chin up, Sophie :)
 
zoom said:
Don't take the comments made here badly as you asked what people thought and they gave you an honest reply to help you, not to demoralise you. Chin up, Sophie :)
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I meant no offence, just giving my thoughts as if I had come across the site as a prospective customer. :)

Good luck Sophie and enjoy your photography whichever way you choose to pursue it.
 
thank you for your advice, just a bit of a shock, because i've worked so hard on it, and wasn't really expecting that sort of feedback really, just thought people would generalize and say, nice photos or 'I like this photo' etc... I guess I didn't know what to expect.

I will have a look at these other websites that you can use for free, as i've got no money to buy one, and i'm not old enough to use my debit card on the internet to pay for it.

I will attempt to take more photos but I work full time from 6am - 7:30pm monday to friday so the weekends i'm pretty much asleep!

I will also try and adjust my spelling, I didn't know people really pick up on things that closely, and I did it the best I could.

Also, i don't have all the lenses and equipment that i know most of you have, so I find it hard to get as amazing photos as you all seem to.

Anyway, I am simply just starting out and trying things, simple snaps really, I don't have studios or set things up, I just take photos willy nilly!
 
oh and the reason i've writen about people buying the photos or using me for things is because i'm looking for some extra money as i'm going on holiday in june and can't think of any other way to get some extra money as i've tried carboot sales, ebay etc... if you have any other ideas of ways i can make some money that would be handy too!
 
I don't care - and didn't know - whether you were 17 or 70 - it doesn't change the fact that the website is touting for business in an unprofessional way - and you did ask for feedback. If all you were expecting was positive 'fab site' - 'great work' type comments then you will be disappointed but what you got was honesty - and sometimes that hurts. Learn from it and move on - or stick your head in the sand and don't ask!
 
but then again some people should realise that if you are going to say something that isn't at all helpful, not to say anything at all.

I don't see why people do that, a 17 year old girl who thought she had a talent, would you rather I was doing what most 17 year olds are doing, getting drunk, taking drugs, sitting at home on benefits? - i'm trying to do something with my life and people like you can't say anything possitive :/ sorry if i'm sensitive.
 
You didn't say you were 17 in your opening post did you? You couldn't even give us your website address correctly! Everything that has been said to you is helpful - and truthful. Take it or leave it. In your profile - you state your occupation as PHOTOGRAPHER!! Now tell us your website isn't touting for business!
 
well actually, what you wrote wasn't helpful, you stated everything was wrong, you didn't show me ways to improve and there certainly wasn't anything possitive in what you wrote, so saying it was helpful is completely wrong.
 
SOPHMB said:
but then again some people should realise that if you are going to say something that isn't at all helpful, not to say anything at all.

I don't see why people do that, a 17 year old girl who thought she had a talent, would you rather I was doing what most 17 year olds are doing, getting drunk, taking drugs, sitting at home on benefits? - i'm trying to do something with my life and people like you can't say anything possitive :/ sorry if i'm sensitive.
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If you'd asked that question in the opening post then everyone would have
encouraged you to continue with photography. No one said your photography was bad - which is a great compliment to you! If people commented on my site and the worst that was said was about spelling mistakes I would be delighted.

All the posts (IMO) have been provided helpful pointers to improve your website, which is what you asked for originally. No one wanted to upset you, they were trying to be helpful.
 
hi sophie.

I was a bit like you when I first put pictures up. wanted to know if the technical aspect of the pictures was correct but all some people could say was "don't like the content mate", that was not what I asked for!!! But like it or not, I have had a lot of help from people in this site, and I was glad of the honesty.

Ben.
 
I told you the site was littered with spelling mistakes - that is helpful. I told you that no-one would take a professional seriously with a moonfruit.com site address - that is helpful. I told you you were using mixed tenses - and why that was wrong - that was helpful. How much help do you want? I'm not wasting any more of my time giving you advice.
 
jesus everyone has problems at the moment, instead of feeding a line to sophie how about helping her with how to sort out her photos instead of slating the website. this is a site for photography now spelling and AWP sort yourself out nothing you have written is helpful just abuse
 
robphoto said:
jesus everyone has problems at the moment, instead of feeding a line to sophie how about helping her with how to sort out her photos instead of slating the website. this is a site for photography now spelling and AWP sort yourself out nothing you have written is helpful just abuse
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sorry - don't agree - her question was nothing about photos - it was about her website - and I gave a lot of pointers - as have others - which, apparently she wishes to ignore. Don't get me started on her photos! :) I'm out of here.
 
robphoto said:
jesus everyone has problems at the moment, instead of feeding a line to sophie how about helping her with how to sort out her photos instead of slating the website. this is a site for photography now spelling and AWP sort yourself out nothing you have written is helpful just abuse
Click to expand...
now i am going to assume that as this is your first post you are one of her friends. and read what was written nothing bad was said about her photos and proper crit was given, if everyone had just said great site nothing could have been changed, as it is people took out THEIR time to look at it and see the faults to help her improve and a large hissy fit commenced as all that was wanted was "ohh nice site" etc!
 
awp said:
sorry - don't agree - her question was nothing about photos - it was about her website - and I gave a lot of pointers - as have others - which, apparently she wishes to ignore.
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no you didnt give pointers you just gave her loads of crap!! instead of slating the website give some advice on the photos. like she said she hasnt got loads of money and makes do with what she has which im sure you were once like so just have a little think before you comment, shes only after help not abuse!!!
 
alastairb said:
so what that you are 17, you asked for feedback and you got it. welcome to the big bad real world where you don't always hear what you want, just be thankful that its the truth!
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there speaks the voice of the wise and old :lol: Nicely said though, especially as you are not that much older than the OP Alastair :clap:

Most of what has been posted here is honest critique, though as is the case in the real world there will always be someone prepared to be somewhat more blunt than most of us would like and is absolutely necessary - I am sure he going to give it rest now he has made his point :nono:

Sophie, take on board what has been said otherwise, act on the bits you can and remember it was given to help you and in kindness, not to knock you down. You are 17, you can take so much from this and you have the time and energy to do something with it - don't let honest critique put you off, use it to make you better, because thats what it is for. :thumbs:
 
Helpful critique doesn't have to be as blunt as a brick though, there's a way of being polite and helpful.

Why do I keep having to bang my head repeating the same thing over and over again? It's not that hard to be sensitive to the other person when being critical is it?
 
Marcel said:
Helpful critique doesn't have to be as blunt as a brick though, there's a way of being polite and helpful.

Why do I keep having to bang my head repeating the same thing over and over again? It's not that hard to be sensitive to the other person when being critical is it?
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finally someone that speaks sense nobody likes to be told there work isnt good but isstead of just saying its bad how about trying something like its good but if you changed this then it would be better!! little things make the big differences
 
slightly off-topic, but which of you wants to be Kevin, and which one Perry?
 
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