Multimedia Exchange - Need Some Input From You Multimedia Buffs (Website Critique)

http://www.gullimages.com

I am officially 100% online now. Everything is up. There is one picture that got misplaced in the "Other" album that should go in my people album but aside from that minor correction the site is up. Material will continually be added and I'll be working hard on getting more portrait and other miscellaneous photography for the other galleries while we go through the colder months and all the car stuff is on hiatus until the spring. Also looking to add in a "Store" section soon once I'm locked in on the place that's going to be doing the Gull Images t-shirts that will feature the banner graphic on the site, and possibly another small addition or two, but otherwise the site is basically complete.

Thanks for any comments or constructive criticism on the site layout and design. And if you know anyone with photography experience or an eye for design and/or web page layout please forward them the link as I'd love to have as many opinions and as much input as possible to make sure we're on the right track with this. Thanks everyone, it is greatly appreciated.

about me .. umm i really enjoyed browesing it man .. love the design, pictures, fonts ... etc.
so keep your great works up brother .. goodluck bro :)

Peace

That is a statement in the whole "Elegance in Simplicity" thing. I really like it bro. Not too much crap taking away from your work.

Only thing is it might work to make the thumbs a bit larger. Don't show the whole pic in the thumb, keep the preview just like you have it. It holds your sense of curiosity not being able to see the whole pic.

Overall :thumb: :thumb: VERY well done!!

Is there a way to make it take up the whole window? It seems to only take up a 1/4 of my screen...

Also if there is an option to add some music, I would do that too.

Website looks good man. :cheers:

.....Also if there is an option to add some music, I would do that too.No! This isn't MySpace. Websites with music is annoying.

No! This isn't MySpace. Websites with music is annoying.

Okay sparky, I am a professional photographer and the music helps the website (not a myspace site), it puts more emotion/attitude in the images, but keep on keeping on since you know all.

And Mr. Gull, you have a nice start on your site. :)

great job

sweet.. I love the colors of the background it really adds to the pics and the simplicity was awesome...

Okay sparky, I am a professional photographer and the music helps the website (not a myspace site), it puts more emotion/attitude in the images, but keep on keeping on since you know all.I'm not sure what being a professional photographer has anything to do with this. This is about website design, which is what I've been doing for seven years. And, in my experience, background music in website design is a bad idea and should almost always be avoided unless it's for a band/musician. But, don't take my "know all" word for it, a quick Google search (http://www.google.com/search?q=website+design+tips+music) confirms this:

"Avoid using music on your WebPages"

"Always keep in mind that visitor may not agree with your music preference and it may turn him/ her away from your website no matter how attractive the website design is."

"unless you are a musician or selling music, please opt out of music files. Most of us have a different preference in music. Should we want music while we surf, we play our own. Audio files slow your page loads and irritate many visitors."

"Avoid music and sounds. Very few people like to have music forced on them while they navigate, especially if they are already listening to music or surfing at their job! If you really cannot do without music, turn it off by default and ask visitors to start it themselves. "

"Background music is a novice item and should be avoided on professional sites"

"It is very annoying if your background music/audio plays automatically everytime the website is loaded."

^ They speak the truth. Personally, if I open a website with background music, I almost always close the tab/window immediately.

/hijack thread.

I'm not sure what being a professional photographer has anything to do with this. This is about website design, which is what I've been doing for seven years. And, in my experience, background music in website design is a bad idea and should almost always be avoided unless it's for a band/musician. But, don't take my "know all" word for it, a quick Google search (http://www.google.com/search?q=website+design+tips+music) confirms this:

"Avoid using music on your WebPages"

"Always keep in mind that visitor may not agree with your music preference and it may turn him/ her away from your website no matter how attractive the website design is."

"unless you are a musician or selling music, please opt out of music files. Most of us have a different preference in music. Should we want music while we surf, we play our own. Audio files slow your page loads and irritate many visitors."

"Avoid music and sounds. Very few people like to have music forced on them while they navigate, especially if they are already listening to music or surfing at their job! If you really cannot do without music, turn it off by default and ask visitors to start it themselves. "

"Background music is a novice item and should be avoided on professional sites"

"It is very annoying if your background music/audio plays automatically everytime the website is loaded."

^ They speak the truth. Personally, if I open a website with background music, I almost always close the tab/window immediately.

/hijack thread.

I was using my profession to clarify that I know what is good... Ive been to hundreds of Pro photog websites and the biggest and best ones all had some sort of music to help set the mood of the page/images.

I would agree that music on a web page such as best buy or circuit city might get annoying, but a photographers web site is about them and their style... The music will help people get a feel for the photographer and their style.

In the end it is Mr. Gull's decision, but coming from someone in the business he is now entering, I just thought my input might do some good.

We still friends? :angel:

The website looks great! Just some web advice: You might want to get some plain text on there outside the Flash stuff as well as keyword meta tags, if search-ability is a concern to you. Google and what not are getting better about reading text within flash files, but not everyone is to that point yet.

I am not a "Multimedia Buff" so I will not give you my advice because I would probably advise you wrong. But your site looks great!

My sister's friend is a photographer and has taken some pictures of the family. Here is his site: photo.rascondesign.com.

I like your theme better with the shades of gray, black and red. It's also who you are too but I like the way his was set up. Sorry if that sounded rude. Jus' trying to give you some constructive criticism.

Good luck with your business!

Some very good input in this thread.

On the music, I can see the point of it setting a mood for the photos, but it's definitely not for me.

GREAT tip on the non-Flash text so that search engines catch the site.

I was just the idea man on this. My a good friend of mine is a graphic designer and she did the site for me. She was just learning the details of Flash so she wanted to keep it simplistic to learn more about Flash without getting in over her head and I wanted to keep it simple because I think less is more on websites and wanted to let my work speak for itself.

Thanks for all the comments and input guys and for any more. It is greatly appreciated.