# Just finished my website. Any critique appreciated!



## theambitiousstranger (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi everyone,
Just put the finishing touches (I think) to my website: www.rowanibbeken.co.uk and was wondering if you could take a second to comment on layout, design, pricing, photos etc. Anything really! Any critique would be much appreciated.
Thanks a lot,
Rowan


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## tirediron (Jan 28, 2014)

C&C per req:  It's a start, but it needs some polishing IMO.  All of the text needs to be carefully checked by someone with good spelling & grammar skills.  "I am a black and white photographer" Really?  Which part of you is black and which part white?  How about, "I am a photographer working exclusively with black and white film".  I would bin the whole "avoid obessively pursing rules" and "Stress on the artistic" lines; that just sounds like pre-justification for bad photography.  Change your paragraphs to left-justified.  Many people find white text on a black background difficult to read.
Bin all that stuff about paper and giclee prints; replace it with something like "Highest quality printing papers and process".  The public doesn't know nor care what kind of paper you use, and adding technical terms gives the whole thing a rather pompous feel.  
I would redo your galleries so that you have smaller thumbnails opening into larger images.  Try and constrain your pages so that the entire page is visible on a 1024x768 screen resolution; people are lazy and if they have to scroll, they're going to miss things.  The images themselves seem rather dark, and lacking in composition.

This is a VERY difficult way to make money.  There are so many images available, and many by very gifted photographers, that in all honesty, I would be very surprised if you were to sell anything to a total stranger.  I would suggest broadening your appeal with some more traditional subjects; everyone loves the Battersea power station for instance.  

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John


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## The_Traveler (Jan 28, 2014)

As a non-architectural and non-landscape photographer, I am typically bored to tears by those kinds of pictures - but yours I liked.
I'm not certain that a middle grey background wouldn't look better, but it's quite striking as it is.


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## Derrel (Jan 28, 2014)

Like The_Traveler, I think the black backdrop is "too much". I myself feel that B&W images look BEST when shown on gray mattes, not white, and not black. Load times seemed a wee bit slow, and the type face you use feels condensed--I would much prefer a different font...your name is hard to read, especially in all-caps.

Your abstracts don't seem all that abstract. There is not a lot there on the site, which is I think far better than having an over-abundance of shots.

The site has a "look" and a "feel", but that all-black background makes the feel very oppressive and unwelcoming, IMHO. But again, your site DOES have a "look".


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 28, 2014)

tirediron said:


> C&C per req:  It's a start, but it needs some polishing IMO.  All of the text needs to be carefully checked by someone with good spelling & grammar skills.  "I am a black and white photographer" Really?  Which part of you is black and which part white?  How about, "I am a photographer working exclusively with black and white film".  I would bin the whole "avoid obessively pursing rules" and "Stress on the artistic" lines; that just sounds like pre-justification for bad photography.  Change your paragraphs to left-justified.  Many people find white text on a black background difficult to read.
> Bin all that stuff about paper and giclee prints; replace it with something like "Highest quality printing papers and process".  The public doesn't know nor care what kind of paper you use, and adding technical terms gives the whole thing a rather pompous feel.
> I would redo your galleries so that you have smaller thumbnails opening into larger images.  Try and constrain your pages so that the entire page is visible on a 1024x768 screen resolution; people are lazy and if they have to scroll, they're going to miss things.  The images themselves seem rather dark, and lacking in composition.
> 
> ...



Black and white photography is a separate discipline just like fine art or architectural photography, so I don't see how it is grammatically incorrect to write 'black and white photographer' and it certainly doesn't imply that I need to proof read my whole website; I can't see any grammatical or spelling mistakes. 

I agree that I should code the website so that it scales properly for all browsers.

Just because I like to focus on the artistic aspects of photography does not mean I completely ignore its technicalities and it definitely does not mean I'm trying to justify poor photographic technique.

My pictures are stylistically very dark. How exactly are they lacking in composition? I'm not being arrogant, I just haven't received similar comments before.


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## Designer (Jan 28, 2014)

Good Luck!


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## Jetmugg (Jan 28, 2014)

The phrase "black and white photographer" makes it seem as if the photographer is being described as black and white.  

It's just a funny sounding phrase.  No disrespect intended, but is English your first language?

Steve.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 28, 2014)

Jetmugg said:


> The phrase "black and white photographer" makes it seem as if the photographer is being described as black and white.
> 
> It's just a funny sounding phrase.  No disrespect intended, but is English your first language?
> 
> Steve.



Are you kidding me?! I just explained my logic.


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## Jetmugg (Jan 28, 2014)

theambitiousstranger said:


> Hi everyone,
> Any critique would be much appreciated.
> Thanks a lot,
> Rowan



Rowan:
    You have asked for critique of your website.   At least two people have told you the same thing.  If you really want critique, take it to heart.  If you don't want critique, don't ask for it.  When I read the "black and white photographer" line, I chuckled.  It's like the punchline to a bad joke.

    Is English your first language?

Steve.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 28, 2014)

Jetmugg said:


> theambitiousstranger said:
> 
> 
> > Hi everyone,
> ...



Steve:
Of course English is my first language. Don't you think the fact that I haven't made a single mistake is indicative of this?
Rowan


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## Jetmugg (Jan 28, 2014)

Good luck with your website.


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## tirediron (Jan 28, 2014)

theambitiousstranger said:


> Black and white photography is a separate discipline just like fine art or architectural photography, so I don't see how it is grammatically incorrect to write 'black and white photographer' and it certainly doesn't imply that I need to proof read my whole website; I can't see any grammatical or spelling mistakes.
> I agree that I should code the website so that it scales properly for all browsers.
> Just because I like to focus on the artistic aspects of photography does not mean I completely ignore its technicalities and it definitely does not mean I'm trying to justify poor photographic technique.
> My pictures are stylistically very dark. How exactly are they lacking in composition? I'm not being arrogant, I just haven't received similar comments before.



Take either the word black or white out of the sentence and say it to yourself...  See what I mean?  The phrase sounds correct because we're used to using the words together, but in fact it's not.  You are a photographer who works only in monochrome.

My comments about the 'artistic aspects' had nothing to do with your work; it was solely about the wording you chose.  My suggestion was simply to change the description.

With respect to my comment on composition, take for example, images 2, 3, and 4 in your 'Day' gallery (Reading L-R, top to bottom).  They appear to have no discernable subject and little detail.  Dark images are fine, but they do need some highlights.  In the first one in that gallery, you have lines of very dark (Zone 9?), lines of dark gray (zone 7), and a light (zone 3) sky.  This could be a great image, but I find it hard to get anything out of it.  Something else to consider is that this stylistic choice isn't ideal for Internet display as many (most?) non-photographers have monitors which display terrible colour and are often too dark causing your images to appear much different than you actually intended.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 28, 2014)

tirediron said:


> theambitiousstranger said:
> 
> 
> > Black and white photography is a separate discipline just like fine art or architectural photography, so I don't see how it is grammatically incorrect to write 'black and white photographer' and it certainly doesn't imply that I need to proof read my whole website; I can't see any grammatical or spelling mistakes.
> ...



Although I disagree that these images have no discernible subject and little detail - their lack of resolution may attribute to the percieved lack of detail - I do see that they could be too dark for some users. Since my images have very dominant blacks I just have to accept that there will be some discrepancies between the same image viewed on different monitors, with some seeing it much darker than intended.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 30, 2014)

Does anyone else have any thoughts they'd like to share (apart from questions about my nationality?! )


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## sashbar (Jan 30, 2014)

theambitiousstranger said:


> Does anyone else have any thoughts they'd like to share (apart from questions about my nationality?! )



Be more receptive, otherwise people will be very reluctant to share anything. 

And you really need to drop _*this*_:
"My main aim as a photographer is to create new and inspiring interpretations of well-known and unknown subjects, with a particular stress on the artistic _*rather than the technical*_ side of the medium." That basically says that your images are technically imperfect. 

As for "black and white photographer" - I think it is more of a professional jargon. Stylistically "b&w photography" does not directly translates into "b&w photographer" as far as I am concerned. It sounds funny. Then again, English is not my first language, so who am I to argue. But as a professional editor I can tell you - if two guys read it and imagined a zebra with a camera, drop it.  Do not give your clients a chance to have a laugh at you.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 30, 2014)

sashbar said:


> theambitiousstranger said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone else have any thoughts they'd like to share (apart from questions about my nationality?! )
> ...



I do like that zebra analogy! OK, well I've changed the text to this. Would you say it's an improvement?

I am a photographer specialising in black and white imagery and am currently working in London, UK. My work is predominantly based upon architectural and urban subjects, with the documentation and exploration of different night scenes being of particular interest to me. My main aim as a photographer is to create new and inspiring interpretations of well-known and unknown subjects, with a particular stress on the artistic side of the medium.

Thank you for looking.

Rowan S Ibbeken

​


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## sashbar (Jan 30, 2014)

theambitiousstranger said:


> sashbar said:
> 
> 
> > theambitiousstranger said:
> ...




I would say yes it is.


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## vintagesnaps (Jan 30, 2014)

I was thinking along the same lines, saying something like 'specializing in B&W photography' might be more clear, and yes, you probably want to emphasize fine art without discounting technical quality. 

I like the site in black and white, but I do think it makes for a lot of black; what about changing the white borders? maybe if they were wider, more similar to how the photos might look matted and framed? or if they were spaced differently? or as mentioned some gray as part of the design? Some of the images to me seem too dark to really see what the photo is. 

I've been submitting photos to juried exhibits the past couple of years or so and I've noticed recently that the gallery often will have a place to list a website, so I can see an advantage to having your own site even if you aren't selling a lot directly from your site. I don't know that people buy prints much just by happening across someone's site, but if you're able to sell prints at local art shows, galleries, etc. then people might look for your site; or have you tried submitting to magazines like Lenswork that feature fine art and/or B&W photography? Seems to take time to build up a reputation and can be done in a combination of ways.


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## JerryVenz (Jan 30, 2014)

Rowan,

I don't care about your words. What sells is the originality and quality of the IMAGES.  YOU HAVE BOTH.

Unlike many, many photographers out there YOU don't just see the light--you see and USE the SHADOWS!!

The URBEX section on your site is really well done--they look like film locations that are ready for the introduction of the actors AND that is one of MY critiques--people will more likely buy this kind of work when it has people in it ( even if they are just silhouettes!). Think about it.

Have you thought about filmmaking--cinematography?  You show potential there with how you use ambient light.

Keep up the good work, Jerry V.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 31, 2014)

vintagesnaps said:


> I was thinking along the same lines, saying something like 'specializing in B&W photography' might be more clear, and yes, you probably want to emphasize fine art without discounting technical quality.
> 
> I like the site in black and white, but I do think it makes for a lot of black; what about changing the white borders? maybe if they were wider, more similar to how the photos might look matted and framed? or if they were spaced differently? or as mentioned some gray as part of the design? Some of the images to me seem too dark to really see what the photo is.
> 
> I've been submitting photos to juried exhibits the past couple of years or so and I've noticed recently that the gallery often will have a place to list a website, so I can see an advantage to having your own site even if you aren't selling a lot directly from your site. I don't know that people buy prints much just by happening across someone's site, but if you're able to sell prints at local art shows, galleries, etc. then people might look for your site; or have you tried submitting to magazines like Lenswork that feature fine art and/or B&W photography? Seems to take time to build up a reputation and can be done in a combination of ways.



Thanks for the feedback. I'll play around with the border size so it looks more like a mount. I might take a look at those magazines, even though they're probably extremely competitive!


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 31, 2014)

JerryVenz said:


> Rowan,
> 
> I don't care about your words. What sells is the originality and quality of the IMAGES.  YOU HAVE BOTH.
> 
> ...



Thanks a lot! I haven't actually thought about cinematography. I think I will try some more shots with people in them, thanks for the tip.


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## Jetmugg (Jan 31, 2014)

The new text is much better.  I think it sounds more professional and "reads" better.

My question about your native language was not meant as an insult - it was a straightforward inquiry.  People who have learned one of the Romance languages as their native tongue often phrase their sentences differently than native English speakers.  I was wondering if this was the case for you.

Steve.


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## theambitiousstranger (Jan 31, 2014)

Jetmugg said:


> The new text is much better.  I think it sounds more professional and "reads" better.
> 
> My question about your native language was not meant as an insult - it was a straightforward inquiry.  People who have learned one of the Romance languages as their native tongue often phrase their sentences differently than native English speakers.  I was wondering if this was the case for you.
> 
> Steve.



I have to say I was in quite a bad mood that day and had a bit of a persecution complex going on! I understand your question now.


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