# Hippie Chick Photography



## yayaroo

Please check my site and critique. Also any marketing pointers welcome.
hippiechickphotos.com - Home


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## MK3Brent

Keep shooting.


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## Derrel

You might be interested to know that hippiecuties.com is a hippie chick porn site...and there are probably a few others...


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## MK3Brent

Why am I looking at this now....


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## cgipson1

wow..


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## MLeeK

Site looks like a cheap, family website type design. Not exactly professional quality. 
The Hippie Chick name and the page itself don't convey the same thing. The page looks like it's trying to be more of an elegant, refined style. Hippie Chick is... well, Hippie Chick. It's not refined. If you are going to brand yourself do it consistently from the name all of the way through your images. That is one of the reasons it's recommended that photog's use "Your Name Photography" or some derivative of it. You are always you. You could have hippie chick by Your Name; you could have Elegant Weddings by Your Name... But Hippie chick makes me think Bohemian, long skirts, VW Bus and armpit hair ( I lived through the 70's...)
Your images show some flashes of brilliance and some really weak stuff in there.  Your exposures range from under exposed to spot on. Colors range from blue to warm. Consistency is key. Show only the best of the best on your website.


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## Derrel

MLeeK said:


> Site looks like a cheap, family website type design. Not exactly professional quality.
> The Hippie Chick name and the page itself don't convey the same thing. The page looks like it's trying to be more of an elegant, refined style. Hippie Chick is... well, Hippie Chick. It's not refined. If you are going to brand yourself do it consistently from the name all of the way through your images. That is one of the reasons it's recommended that photog's use "Your Name Photography" or some derivative of it. You are always you. You could have hippie chick by Your Name; you could have Elegant Weddings by Your Name... But *Hippie chick makes me think Bohemian, long skirts, VW Bus and armpit hair* ( I lived through the 70's...)
> Your images show some flashes of brilliance and some really weak stuff in there.  Your exposures range from under exposed to spot on. Colors range from blue to warm. Consistency is key. Show only the best of the best on your website.



You forgot Birkenstock sandals, hairy legs, and MASSIVE, massive,massive quantities of patchouli oil slathered on to cover up the smell of unwashed-ness. I too lived through the 70's...  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchouli]


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## rexbobcat

I'm just curious, and I don't mean this to be nagging or berating but...

So you know about quality of light and being deliberate with your images? Or do you pose your subjects regardless of time of day and snap the photo?

Honest question. I'm just curious, because artistry does imply deliberation and such.


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## 2WheelPhoto

This thread serves as proof bestbuy photography is more about selling photos than shooting photos


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## cgipson1

Derrel said:


> MLeeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Site looks like a cheap, family website type design. Not exactly professional quality.
> The Hippie Chick name and the page itself don't convey the same thing. The page looks like it's trying to be more of an elegant, refined style. Hippie Chick is... well, Hippie Chick. It's not refined. If you are going to brand yourself do it consistently from the name all of the way through your images. That is one of the reasons it's recommended that photog's use "Your Name Photography" or some derivative of it. You are always you. You could have hippie chick by Your Name; you could have Elegant Weddings by Your Name... But *Hippie chick makes me think Bohemian, long skirts, VW Bus and armpit hair* ( I lived through the 70's...)
> Your images show some flashes of brilliance and some really weak stuff in there.  Your exposures range from under exposed to spot on. Colors range from blue to warm. Consistency is key. Show only the best of the best on your website.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You forgot Birkenstock sandals, hairy legs, and MASSIVE, massive,massive quantities of patchouli oil slathered on to cover up the smell of unwashed-ness. I too lived through the 70's...  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchouli]
Click to expand...


I doubt that the OP is old enough to have ever even seen a real hippy! But since everything RETRO is in... hmmm... hipsters remind me of the beatniks... and what came after the beatniks... hippies! Is history repeating itself?


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## ceejtank

The name hippie chick immediately makes me think of "someone who doesnt really want to work"... if I got your business card based on the name alone I would throw it out. I'd stay away from stuff that has mixed connotations with it. I for one dislike hippies, and what they stand for. I'm not the only one in the world who would be biased against hiring you based on that name alone. I'd try and get a new domain name if I were you. Besides that..


the opening page looks like a blog, I felt myself immediately wanting to scroll down instead of looking at the links at the top. Perhaps instead of just having a "gallery" you can list what types of photography you do there(with example pics), or group them into those areas that you have listed on your "services" page. The services page itself is very bland and lacking. 

Sorry for the harsh review, but I used to build websites back in the day, and have taken many business classes (so my point up to about the name isn't coming from my dislike of hippies, but is coming from the fact that you're choosing something with radical views that people disagree with). Just as an example (I'm assuming you're liberal, and I'm not taking politics into this) but if someone gave you a website like www.teapartyphotos.com(don't click here, I didn't see if it's a real place, and could be anything) but you probably wouldn't want to click there or hire that photographer. Just something to think about.


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## PixelRabbit

I almost put hippie in my name here (yes I know I ultimately chose a goober of a name but that's besides the point  )
But I did put modern hippie as my profession 
Peace love and eternal grooviness!


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## rdl65

Are you dirty and have a particular stinch around you? If not, lose the hippie affiliation. You will attract to many bums.


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## DecoraLux

Not to be controversial but I like the name and it conjures up the idea of free spirited relaxed natural photos, I should,at this point say I haven't checked out your site yet! 

If we were all the same it would be a dull place, the name is different, memorable and if the pics don't disappoint then I see no issue.  A good website and quality pictures is a must though and you need to follow the theme throughout while being professional.  Now I will have a look at the site!


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## jwbryson1

Mmm'kay...


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## DecoraLux

Right had a look at the site. Not what I imagined. You need to find a domain name pref. Com that is yours (not weeklies) and get yourself an email account ie enquiries@hippychic..... Or something to look professional.

Your name should be personal to you and your business and your work.  Your gallery doesnt reflect the hippy chick vision the words create and looked a lit like every other photographer starting out.  Dare to be different, find a style embrace it.


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## Scuba

While I don't agree with the mocking or poking fun at you or your site, but I agree both your images and your site need some serious work.  Your images are generally underexposed and flat.  I think a good area to focus would be your editing and learning how to make an image look professional.  Also, as said before only show your best work. I see some images that look to be taken with a cell phone or would be something someone would just "snap" with their cell phone.  Work on creating the feeling you are trying to accomplish with each shot through both the actual capture as well as the editing.  One last thing I noticed is the lack of control of your DOF.  Many of the shots do not isolate the subject from the background because the whole image is in focus.  Keep shooting.


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## ceejtank

Scuba said:


> While I don't agree with the mocking or poking fun at you or your site, but I agree both your images and your site need some serious work. Your images are generally underexposed and flat. I think a good area to focus would be your editing and learning how to make an image look professional. Also, as said before only show your best work. I see some images that look to be taken with a cell phone or would be something someone would just "snap" with their cell phone. Work on creating the feeling you are trying to accomplish with each shot through both the actual capture as well as the editing. One last thing I noticed is the lack of control of your DOF. Many of the shots do not isolate the subject from the background because the whole image is in focus. Keep shooting.



I wasn't mocking.  The point I brought up is a serious marketing flaw.


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## texkam

You are obviously getting started. I get that. Good luck. +1 on the "keep shooting". +1 on the branding problem - branding doesn't match the name.

Some thoughts: Get new "killer" home page photo. Combine home and services pages. Add a proper contact page. You can use one of those Weebly fill in the fields templates for it. Cull at least half your work. Less is more! Weebly trick: inserting a bunch of blank space at the end of a paragraph (hitting the return key), will move the "Create a free website with Weebly" farther down down the page where it is far less noticable. Get better and learn business.


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## unpopular

When i think of a person who refers to themselves as a "hippie chick" I think of a ordinary person, in their mid-to late 20's or early 30's who is trying to stand out. Some "hippie chicks" may dress the part, talk the talk, smoke the pot, but when it comes to walking the walk, it's all:

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|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
|aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa|
&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;&#8211;
​And your website seems to reiterate a "I'm a hippie, tee hee" attitude. Your work doesn't seem very hip, your style doesn't seem very hip, your web design doesn't seem very hip.​


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## Forkie

Derrel said:


> You might be interested to know that hippiecuties.com is a hippie chick porn site...and there are probably a few others...



I was interested to know that.  Bookmarked.  Cheers!



Aside from that,  I think the business name is fine.  I don't get all the negative connotations that everyone else seems to get from the Hippie Chick name.  Hippie for me generally conjures up images of being laid-back, informal, free (spirited!) and open minded.

However, I don't think the website reflects these qualities and needs quite a lot of work.


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## PhotoWrangler

Soooooo you shot a wedding, a few friends tossing their heads around, and a girl in blue who likes to leap and show us her panties..... and you're building a business on that?


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## gsgary

Forkie said:
			
		

> I was interested to know that.  Bookmarked.  Cheers!
> 
> Aside from that,  I think the business name is fine.  I don't get all the negative connotations that everyone else seems to get from the Hippie Chick name.  Hippie for me generally conjures up images of being laid-back, informal, free (spirited!) and open minded.
> 
> However, I don't think the website reflects these qualities and needs quite a lot of work.



Thats because we are British they get everything the wrong way round take Fanny for instance


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## gsgary

Those selective color shots are fantastic


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## Scuba

ceejtank said:


> I wasn't mocking.  The point I brought up is a serious marketing flaw.



There were several comments I was referring to not just a specific one.  You gave a helpful honest critique which I was not referring to with my comment.


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## yayaroo

thank you everyone for the comments. I have a lot to consider and to get done.


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