Critique My Site

You have some lovely photos there, Lanis. I especially like this one:

you'll want more pictures overall, you should start people in collections and break the categories up a bit more.


if you shoot it in a museum, don't make it look like a museum. clone out the string. the description should be about the store, not the method. HDR should only be used when needed, not as a filter, otherwise it looks a bit burnt. tone mapping only enhances the noise in the background. and makes it blurry looking, this could use some sharpening. i'd clone out the fan as well.


not much is in focus in this. the eye should be sharp, but everything is in motion. the background is rather noisy. the description looks like it was lifted from the site. make it less commercial, talk about the bird in your own words. not where you shot it because it could have been anywhere.


those rocks makes it look like a zoo shot. its really not in focus either. its also very small and looks silly on larger things like a duvet. i would remove the duvet or see if you can stretch it on there a bit.


this is the one you throw away. because the guys in the back tell a story, the guy that walked in front, not so much, and he's blocking most of the shot. try not to cut people in half on the right either.


leave off the frames, they only mess up products or anyone that wants a colored mat. your describing these like your in a small photo club, describe it like your talking about the place - as if its interesting. not that you stopped there for a rest. i would clone out the sign posts (in the water too). and call it an abandoned chicken coop because that's what it looks like, and it then has a target audience.


this is a better shot "stopping wise" the position is a bit odd, and its small in the frame. there is a lot of water in there. it doesn't thumbnail well other than a - what is that thing - response when your about to click.

your subjects really jump around a lot. they look like travel shots, but random. in other words, you saw stuff, you shot it, but had no direction on who it would be sold too.


the balloon is nice, but not the tree, i call it a peeping tom angle.

the rest of the stuff looks ok in general, i would work on the descriptions and try to decide who your aiming for when you shoot these.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Thanks JL.

I actually sold that one. :-)

I know I said I would reciprocate with a critique, but will let posters tell me if they want that.
Not going to just assume they do.

i don't need any critiques thanks. i'll take it in the form of sales though.

---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Mr. Savad:

Thanks for the in-depth review. A lot to look at and think about.
As I mentioned in a previous reply, I'll let you tell me if you want any kind of critique. Seems you are very successful, so you may OK without.

A couple of things:

- How far do you zoom in to check sharpness?
- Is motion blur or any blur a no-no to you? I can see that.
- I'm pondering cloning out items that are part of the scene, especially in a very specific scene, but I see what you mean. Maybe a crop? Hmm
- Never thought about leaving out product options, like a duvet in your example. Interesting.
- I see your point on descriptions and will review.

I had more galleries at one time, but looking into re-arranging. Still trying to get a handle on that.

Thanks again.

i click the green box which gives you the 100% view of what it looks like - for those that don't check in photoshop.

i don't like motion blur, i think a face should be in focus at the very least. anyone can take a blurry picture of a bird. getting it in focus and free of most of the motion blur takes the talent. i don't mind some blur because it shows action, but part of it should be in focus.

i clone out anything that doesn't make the scene look better, and anything that my eye travels to. so if i took a picture of a house, i would clone out things like the air conditioner, wires and so on. in a museum shot, i would remove distractions that wouldn't normally be in a scene if it was really that old. like grounded outlets, track lights, cars in a parking lot, wires, ropes and so on. making the scene even smaller than it is, really isn't an option. not a good one anyway. a lot of your images are rather small as it is.

if a product doesn't fit, and the products you have look silly because it doesn't fit, i think it drags the rest of the site down as well. just keep in mind that if you do a price change, all of it will come back. i would aim on not cropping tightly and getting the images as big as you can from the camera.

the easier your store is to navigate, the better off you'll be.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Hi

If you choose not to sell something, leave the space for markup totally blank. Not even a space.

Search pages (such as particular product searches) take 24 hours after the prices added to be shown


Best regards,

Abbie
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Community & Technical Support Manager

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