Duel ask - Portfolio and Website

I don't do this very often Jon and I'm not qualified to tell you what to cull because we shoot different stuff.

I like your website but the food and drink section is bang in the middle of your model photography genres and I don't think that works. I'd probably put it at the bottom (or top but at the moment the focus seems to be people photography). Viewed on a mobile, which maybe different to the layout on a desktop.

Hey Jon,

For what's it's worth I'd make more of the "Fine Art' section, use them to more effect, to draw folk in, they're nice and look 'professional' .. the fitness work I think plays a good part but it's secondary. I'm not really a fan of the fact they share equal billing. 

I think a scroll through the fine art would give a great impression rather than a click then a scroll.

Personally I'd ditch the food section altogether, unless you're earning from it. 

Hi Jon. I’ve not looked at your site, maybe phase 2. So I’ll restrict myself to stuff on here.

You take cracking images. So, in the spirit of what you requested, I’ll comment on what you might ditch. This is purely a personal perspective. You have many, many splendidly lit studio images, especially portraits. Nothing wrong with that, but there might be a degree of ‘sameness’?

You have plenty of variety, but, to me, if one objective is to create a balanced view of your versatility, you might consider ‘rebalancing’ the variety?

(To be fair, I am open to exactly the same comments from myself or anyone - but from a different perspective)

(Edited perspective- I’ve not dived into your folders. Personal experience suggests folders are dead zones. So my view might be rebalanced if I spent time in folders)

Edited by ADWsPhotos

Purpleport may not be the best place to get advice on your images, given who your target audience is based on the Contact page on your website.
On your website I would merge the Portrait and  Fine Art Portrait sections, as they are very similar and then your website would look neater with just 4 sections. I would also add a bit more information about you as a photographer on the Contact page. I rarely see links on websites to a Flickr stream, apart from hobbyist photographers.
I note that there are no nudes on your website or Flickr, if you are embarrassed by them then I would remove them from your PP portfolio to reduce the chances of them being found by potential clients, they are also in my opinion your weakest genre.
Good luck in looking for commercial work with your website.

Allesandro B said

I don't do this very often Jon and I'm not qualified to tell you what to cull because we shoot different stuff.

I like your website but the food and drink section is bang in the middle of your model photography genres and I don't think that works. I'd probably put it at the bottom (or top but at the moment the focus seems to be people photography). Viewed on a mobile, which maybe different to the layout on a desktop.

Thank you for taking the time to look. Good point about the Product/Food/Drink section. I'm going to be having a bit of a reorganise later today, based on this and other feedback so will definitely address then. Thank You.

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP. STUDIO said

Hey Jon,

For what's it's worth I'd make more of the "Fine Art' section, use them to more effect, to draw folk in, they're nice and look 'professional' .. the fitness work I think plays a good part but it's secondary. I'm not really a fan of the fact they share equal billing. 

I think a scroll through the fine art would give a great impression rather than a click then a scroll.

Personally I'd ditch the food section altogether, unless you're earning from it. 

Thank you for looking at this. The Fine art section was the last section I added (and I'm in the process of fleshing it out with more work), and is a reflection of where the general thrust of my work is going. I had deliberately separated it out from the more 'normal'  portraiture, but given other feedback I do need a long think about either increasing the separation from the other portrait section, or to completely merge the to, but with an emphasis on the more fine art work.  One thing I do know is that if I am to increase the amount of paid work I do (just dabbling at the moment in the people section) then I need to focus, and find my niche and style. I will be keeping the Fitness section as there is definitely an ongoing market (from brands to people working in the industry, trainers, gyms, 'influencers', etc), but will think about how and where it is presented (and again, need got flesh out the work in here). Thanks again.

ADWsPhotos said

Hi Jon. I’ve not looked at your site, maybe phase 2. So I’ll restrict myself to stuff on here.

You take cracking images. So, in the spirit of what you requested, I’ll comment on what you might ditch. This is purely a personal perspective. You have many, many splendidly lit studio images, especially portraits. Nothing wrong with that, but there might be a degree of ‘sameness’?

You have plenty of variety, but, to me, if one objective is to create a balanced view of your versatility, you might consider ‘rebalancing’ the variety?

(To be fair, I am open to exactly the same comments from myself or anyone - but from a different perspective)

(Edited perspective- I’ve not dived into your folders. Personal experience suggests folders are dead zones. So my view might be rebalanced if I spent time in folders)

Thank you - an interesting perspective. There is clearly a balance to be had between developing and projecting a personal style, and keep repeating the same thing! I had treated my PP portfolio as a wider representation of my 'people' photography (but clearly with a bias towards female, younger people that is the bulk of the 'model' membership here - increasing diversity of people, even on here is something I am acutely aware of and need to address), works in progress, things I am exploring etc. If it comes across as 'samey' than I do need to address that, and cull out some of the weaker (and generally older) work. Any view of things to jettison more than welcome!

The website is intended to be more focused, things I am relatively comfortable with the quality of etc (and of course a section on non-'people work that is not relevant here). That will necessarily, and deliberately be more focused - but I need to be careful of the 'sameness' point nonetheless less.

Thank you for taking the time - genuinely appreciated.

Tim Pile said

Purpleport may not be the best place to get advice on your images, given who your target audience is based on the Contact page on your website.
On your website I would merge the Portrait and  Fine Art Portrait sections, as they are very similar and then your website would look neater with just 4 sections. I would also add a bit more information about you as a photographer on the Contact page. I rarely see links on websites to a Flickr stream, apart from hobbyist photographers.
I note that there are no nudes on your website or Flickr, if you are embarrassed by them then I would remove them from your PP portfolio to reduce the chances of them being found by potential clients, they are also in my opinion your weakest genre.
Good luck in looking for commercial work with your website.

Good point about the fine art and portrait sections. Based on this and other feedback I am going to give the structure and balance some serious thought and merging those two sections (but with a different balance of work in the combined section).

Good point about Flickr - a historical anomaly that I need to get rid of. 

As for the nudes - absolutely not embarrassed by them - just not something I can envisage being part of any commercial work, and more of personal exploration. I do take the point about them being weak though. Will have a think about culling the weakest work (and any advice on what to remove more than welcome), and well as having a serious think about how it can be improved, and if not, stop doing it. 

The website isn't intended to be a vehicle for 'looking for work' - just somewhere to point people to (if/when it reflects what aim trying to achieve). If I am to increase the commercial work I am aware there are a vast array of things I need to address (quality and consistency of work, style and niche, marketing, social media presence, etc, etc) - just starting to get some of the building blocks in place. 

You input is very much appreciated. Thank You.

Is it an Adobe Portfolio hosted site? If so, it’s a nice design. They do five free sites, and until recently I had a separate site for my nudes, although I’ve combined them now. My site is partly in case I find a potential model who hasn’t considered nudes. 

The very small amount of commercial work I do can be managed on IG.

So….   I’d suggest separating any commercial stuff from “art nudes”.

Hi Jon,

You are a highly skilled photographer with very elevated lighting skills and techniques.

It is your decision as to whether portray (mostly) a very polished, yet controlled studio head shot (with dark background vibe) ... or whether to inter-sprinkle some lighter and more informal setting stuff that you do quite brilliantly.

(For me) ... more of these please: