![]() |
| |||||||
| Work/Jobs Talk about the business side of things. Advice, questions, inspiration, and moral support |
| | Thread Tools |
|
#1
| ||||
| ||||
| Things that say "I'm not really a professional" 1. Using gmail or yahoo or any other email domain besides your own. Pros spend the $5/year on their own domain. 2. Using myspace or any other website domain besides your own. See #1, plus pros are proud of their work and want to control how it's seen. 3. Beautiful examples on an ugly/amateurish website or one that is an obvious template 4. Ugly examples on a beautiful website 5. No contact method besides email. Pros have phone numbers and mailing addresses and aren't afraid/embarrassed to share them 6. "Contact me for more details". Pros know that most potential customers will simply browse away if there's anything not clearly and completely explained 7. Only one or two examples of your work 8. Ridiculous levels of copyright protection. Pros know the law, and that javascript tricks and stealth techniques won't protect you any more than a simple line of text. Feel free to add your own. Last edited by Doug Nelson; 06-11-2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason: Bad spelling is also very unprofessional |
|
#2
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I agree with you on 8, nothing is more annoying then a water mark over the images |
|
#3
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Google Adsense on opening page or on galleries. A lot of advertising in general. Ads unrelated to photography or design. A site that claims artistic merit, style etc. but looks like it was built in 1995 - large text (looks like the Reader's Digest large-type edition) and large "clunky", beveled buttons, New Times Roman font. "Under construction" signs. E-mail link icon that looks like a cartoon mail box. Animated gifs. Tables with thick beveled borders. Any spelling or grammar errors. |
|
#4
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Definitely agree with this... My .02: * Broken links anywhere within the site * A very short list of references * Only one entry on the "satisfied clients" list * Even with a decent domain name, a non-professional looking contact e-mail name like GameDudeWithAttitude@pro-photo.com would raise an immediate flag * Slideshow that changes images way too quickly * Ridiculously low prices |
|
#6
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional #1 thing that says to me that you're not a professional is the type of imagery you work on. I can look at 1 piece and tell if you're just putzing around. |
|
#7
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional This page under construction! |
|
#8
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional That's a good one. I'll add the even more egregious offenses of transition effects, music, animated gifs, and guestbooks. "Last updated xx/xx/xxxx" is possibly not quite as bad, unless it's from a year ago. Paradoxically, I tend to rate flash sites as more professional (but not less irritating) More subtle, but I've still seen it and abandoned any thought that they were professional is mixing private and professional sites (ie: family, pet and vacation pictures, etc.) |
|
#9
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional And just so this isn't all about websites: No business card, or business card with no web, email, and phone details (all 3) No takeaway literature, or it's just laserjet output Portfolio is a folder of loose samples Coy about pricing (I hate that so much) No recognitions to brag about (if nothing else, win a contest here, that's why I started them) And this one is kind of in-between: No website |
|
#10
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Possible candidate: not offering downloadable "e-brochures"/sample portfolios Lacking a better business bureau affiliation (for those that are state-side, anyway) logo. No associations noted/listed (i.e.: Photographers of America, Inc., et al) "In Business since 19.." and it's posted on a 1 or 2 page web site. The thumbnails are the actual 3 megabyte images All the sample photos are of the photographer's family members |
|
#11
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional OK,you guys are right .But instead of saying what not to do how about positive feedback on what to do.I asked in another post for an outline I dont do retouching but thought it was a good question because I see people asking bits and pices of this all the time |
|
#12
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Coming to RetouchPro and exerting oneself through writing what constitutes a pro. A pro doesn't care about what others do and why. He knows that the only one he should be comparing himself to is himself and his latest job. If you measure your "pro-ness" by amateurs you're only one step up the ladder... |
|
#13
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Quote:
|
|
#14
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Quote:
As far as the BBB, they are nothing more than another for profit business with a very good advertising campaign. They where very expensive to join and very heavy handed in their dealings with other business's. My (and other business's in my area) experiences with them would fill a book. Its much better to run your business in a way that precludes any one from having to think about relying on the BBB. |
|
#15
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Spelling and grammar errors! I know it seems like a small thing, but spelling an grammar errors just seem to jump off the page. |
|
#16
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional If you've been copying 99% website content and images from a professional website that really is the stupid thing to do... unfortunately someone did that with our site... up until now they deleted the images but then the content is still the same |
|
#17
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I set my site up with livebooks, I think it looks good but that's just my opinion. If any pros out there wouldn't mind taking a second to look it over and giving advise Id be very appreciative. I also don't advertise that I re-touch but want to let people know I do it, should I make another site or just add a portfolio? Thanks! www.AlexLihs.com |
|
#18
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Quote:
I wonder how many photographers actually design their own Flash sites? This is a non-photographer site, but The Beatles website is an example of maddening brilliance. Most of the time there you will be trying to figure out what you're supposed to do. And the cool stuff is teeny-tiny; you can't enlarge it--unless you somehow download and view it from your hard drive. |
|
#19
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Alexandra, your site is a minor example of what I was referring to--specifically, the area where the thumbnails pop out is a bit hit-or-miss (hide and seek). Unless you hit it just right, it keeps disappearing, making navigation of your images frustrating. This has nothing to do with your photo work, BTW! I wanted to learn more about liveBooks (I assume you're using their template), but the "liveBooks.edu" link does nothing (except take you back to your own main page). |
|
#20
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I do agree about the thumbnail problem. When you have a "pro" site they give way more options and its easier to navigate around the page. If you go to Livebooks.com you'll be able to find more info about it all. So far their templates and design is the most professional I have seen, its pretty much idiot proof. I'd like to hear what other people are using. |
|
#21
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Quote:
Cheers ! |
|
#22
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I think you're right about all of this. If you are good at retouching you think you would have a basic understanding of good web design. The most important part of web design in my opinion is making it usable to everyone. The font should be readable, links in the text should always be blue, and there should always be a menu and a link to the home page at the top. I would also advise against auto-playing music and black backgrounds. A lot of people have trouble reading white text on black backgrounds. |
|
#23
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional There are some highly professional London retouchers sites, who honestly do have poorly designed amateurish websites. Sometimes quite good retouchers have the arrogance to think that they are web designers too. Its a very different discipline with a raft of completely different knowledge required, and really best left to the experts. Last edited by Markzebra; 09-13-2009 at 11:05 AM. |
|
#24
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I guess there are a lot of things that say if your proffesional or not,but people still make money Also as in everything when your starting out you make mistakes its the learning process One thing most marketing people say is not to use flash and keep your website simple,but people still use it I think most of us are still trying to see what works and what does not zganie |
|
#25
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I think there's good Flash and bad Flash |
|
#26
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I used livebooks too. Updating it is easy and the cost is low. But, the design is a little limited for a great retoucher site, no roll over gifs etc... In the last year there has been a bunch of new companies doing the same kid of thing with better designs. Just look around and you will find them. www.AlexLihs.com you should really upgrade from the edu site. -W |
|
#27
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional I started my site when I was in school and it only cost $100. I'm not sure how much it costs to upgrade, but they have some sort of plan, if I find something else better I'll switch, but its just Sooo easy to navigate, and its really all I need for now. www.AlexLihs.com |
|
#28
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
|
|
#29
| |||
| |||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional It s all about the pictures really... |
|
#30
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: Things that say "I'm not really a professional Much good food for thought here.......I particularly agree with the thoughts on bad grammer & spelling. That is the number one thing I notice in posts of any kind. I would only add this to the mix. Remember, a "professional" is just one who does what they do and gets paid for it. This does not necessarily mean that they are good at what they do. Steve C. |
| Thread Tools | |
| |
| | ||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| Things to consdier when designing a logo | Swampy | Work/Jobs | 11 | 01-05-2008 02:04 PM |
| Things you probably didn't know about Photoshop CS | Doug Nelson | Software | 7 | 12-01-2003 07:41 PM |
| One of the funniest things I ever heard | Ed_L | Salon | 8 | 01-30-2003 02:12 PM |
| Stupid things we do. | Sanda | Hardware | 16 | 09-28-2002 11:27 PM |
| Things that go bump in the night | Ed_L | Salon | 4 | 08-18-2002 11:15 AM |