9) Web Presence, Nick Bright - 1/2/18
- Alice Lock
- Feb 3, 2018
- 4 min read
On Thursday we had a Professional Practice lecture with Nick all about our online presence, specifically touching on how to make and improve your own website. My notes from the lecture can be seen below.
He started off by explaining some basic aspects your website should be, such as easy to navigate, visually appropriate, regularly updated and functions well. Once all these aspects are within your website, then focus on the aesthetic.
One thing I'd never heard of before was 'metadata', which you can use as proof of copyright for your images. This is something I want to explore more of, because I know how often people's images are taken and put on other people's websites. I want to work out how to do this on photoshop or bridge to ensure I can prove my images are my own if I ever have to.
Another way to combat people taking your images from your website and claiming them as their own is to upload low res JPEGs. This also helps your page load quickly which is an added bonus! Around 100 dpi is fine for this.
One quote which stood out to me was Fiona Shields':
“This landing page is a shop window for your talents so be scrupulous over quality and keep the edit varied but tight. Any picture editor will be frustrated by a complex portfolio that can’t be accessed easily.”.
This is because I feel it describes my websites 'landing page' at the moment (see screenshot below). My website displays a messy slideshow of images which when clicked on do not lead to the project it is from. I feel as though I need to change the edit of images, as well as the whole layout of the landing page, partially in terms of the images themselves, but also how the images are presented. Currently I'm finding Wix isn't allowing me to present the aesthetic and style I'd like, so I'm going to start from scratch and make a completely new website.
Nick then went on to speak about Content Analysis of our website in three steps:
1. WHO are you and who is your audience?
- Create a positioning statement including the type and style of images you produce, the subject you focus on and the audience for these images. Express your personality, this helps you choose images and present a coherent body of work.
2. WHAT do you offer / do?
- You may want them to see your portfolio, blog, shop or all three. Do you need potential clients to know about you?
3. HOW should people contact you?
- This could be by phone / email / social media. If social media, your accounts need to be controlled and not overtly personal. Other ways of contacting include twitter, instagram, Linkedin etc.
One really important point which Nick mentioned is that you need to stay on top of your wellbeing within this industry. This is difficult because people are always posting the best versions of themselves and only documenting their successful work, not any rough times. This can make you perceive yourself as not being as good as everyone else, when in reality they're just showing the highlights of their career. I think this is imperative to remember in terms of industry and in the real world also, so I'm glad he mentioned this.
He then went on to show us lots of helpful examples of websites that we could get inspiration from. Some of my favourites include:
I love the collage of colourful, eye catching images on the landing page and the slick nature of the text and headings.
I really like the style of this website, having the information all down the left hand side and then leaving the rest of the webpage for displaying images. It looks really clean and professional, and the design doesn't take your attention away from the photography.
I really like the idea of having one big image underlaying all the text info, because most websites for photographers now have the white wall gallery look. I think it makes the website look more inviting, however I feel it could be risky to use because if the person viewing your website hates the first image they see, you could deter them straight away.
I'm going to take all my favourite aspects of these websites into consideration when creating my new website, for instance the left-sided menu, collage of images, and a clean slick look overall.
The rest of the lecture was just going over other little helpful tips, like how to get a domain name (123reg.co.uk OR UK2.net OR GoDaddy.com), and that designing your website on paper first may make the whole process easier to get your head around.
Overall I found the lecture pretty interesting, and it's spurred me on to improve my website further to make it reflect my own identity as a photographer more. I also took away lots of helpful and practical tips such as how to use metadata, finding a domain name and content analysis of your website.
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