PHOTOGRAPHERS ! Don't Make These Website Mistakes

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

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[@_drewforsyth]

Lost my breath when you used my site at the end Scott! Thank you very much for your kind words!! Rest assured I've made every single mistake you mention in the rest of the video, before finally getting a site that I'm happy with. One tip I'd add for folks, is get something that is easy to edit. Like, I update my site with new work every couple of months, and it takes all of about 20 minutes. When I was using bespoke wordpress stuff it just took hours and hours so as a result my website didn't change for years and became stale. Keep up the great work on the videos!

[@igg5589]

how your theme is called? :)

[@_drewforsyth]

@@igg5589 I have no idea, I'm really sorry. But it's one of the basic ones that just comes with Squarespace, and then I had a designer make some changes.

[@dvongrad]

CH is the 2-letter country digraph for Switzerland. It stands for Confœderatio Helvetica, or Helvetic Confederation in English.

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

Ah good to know. I’d go with the full name. I’d write London or England rather than GB. But maybe the norm differs around the world

[@rolithesecond]

@@TinHouseStudioUK I assumed everybody in Europe recognizes CH as Switzerland but I was wrong. But certainly within Switzerland, and in the DACH region (D being Germany, A being Austria and CH, DACH is the usual name for this) everyone knows so it shouldn't be a problem. :)

[@matteorolfi6906]

I had almost the same website you describe at the end of the video, with an overview of my work. Then some agents (including mine) said: "You need to bring your viewer on a journey, put your best / most recognizable picture", reason why I changed it and then ordered my portfolio pictures with colors to give a flow. Everyone has different opinions haha...I just wanted to share my experience, I think at the end it comes down to have one that is simple/user friendly and personal (in the way one decides to present him/herself), a single click more or less is not going to change if your work can capture the attention of the viewer right from the start. Of course it is kinda risky XD

[@DavidHarperPhoto]

I am going to take it as my own website is neither terrific nor bad as it was not selected, the trepidation I had watching was immense. great points raised here.

[@3.14ede]

A small advice that came to my mind at the end of the video. You shoul view and comment the website in pc and phone format, because many potential clients don't even see the desktop version of our website. Anyway big thumbs up for your work and your activity here on yt!

[@Photo-Svanfelt]

I've had my website out for three weeks now. I am also happy to admit that I subscribe to your KZbin channel and join the FB group for inspiration and new ideas. Thanks to this video, it came at the right time and immediately made me make several simplifications on my site.

[@rolithesecond]

Great content, as usual. Love it.

[@davemil716]

I really appreciate this video... it really helped me in getting changes done to my website... THANKS!

[@MichaelSutherland-g7j]

Thank you for this video, I am currently building a new website and your advice here will be very helpful.

[@nathan.dunahoo]

Hey man! I love your videos, but timestamps would help immensely. I like to find websites like mine, or jump to the next topic when I'm on my lunch break. Thanks for doing the work you do!!

[@Timothy_othy]

Great info. Thanks!!!

[@luizfreire7304]

CH is the abbreviation to Switzerland and yes it is in Europe. Please don‘t mix it up with Sweden.

[@benharris3949]

Here’s me screaming at my phone saying the same thing 😂

[@symo89]

Hey mate just wondering why watermarks on your images are a bad idea on a web page?

[@kennethlewis2477]

Good stuff, thanks for this!

[@OlyaNovaPhotographer]

"We have an identity crisis here", "It's a pixel fest", "menu madness" 🤣Thank you, Scott! Great review, and many helpful tips. I am not on Facebook, but now I want to join your group there🤦

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

Lots of folks have an account just for the group. Not sure if theres a better platform for it though

[@PaulCoboPhoto]

Great tips, thanks!

[@philliphickox4023]

I think a list of internet resources is needed, ie, word press, the website developer, Light Room, Capture one, instagram, Facebook, KZbin and how much is spent per month, for example Capture one is I believe $40 per month, Light Room roughly $20 per month, Word Press $ ??? per month, sub stack $ ??? per month.

[@scenicguy9610]

i’m a photographer looking to make a website soon. How many categories should you have before it’s considered an identity or trying to do everything?

[@photobizmethod]

All you need is 1 strong portfolio and work that...

[@AndrewButlerPhoto]

Switzerland! (CH)

[@Mahdi-bb4hg]

Hi Scott! I often find people struggling with the spelling, as well as correctly or even incorrectly pronouncing my last name. Do you think it would be less professional if I use my first name and another word for the domain name and then in the about section have my full name there? I think if someone have to type my full name down to get to the website, there is a good chance they will make a mistake and get an error page instead of a website. For the context, I am based in London. Thanks.

[@mateuszpiaseckipiasek2920]

I agree with most, but photos alone are not enough for SEO. After all, we want people to search for our website

[@photobizmethod]

yes but the power is sharing your websites to your ideal clients.

[@21coolie]

Great video, would have been even better if software used was mentioned :)

[@UrbanSavageUK]

Love this, wish I’d seen the Facebook post, would love to get your thoughts on my website

[@benharris3949]

Are you in the FB group?

[@UrbanSavageUK]

@@benharris3949 I am now, joined yesterday, loving the work on there :)

[@Popa_Bogdan_Light_Drawing]

thank you!

[@superjfbm]

...this is amazing!

[@leirumf5476]

Perhaps the very low res page was designed to look at it on a phone? The UI surely felt like phonelike, and that'd explain the low res of the files (it doesn't matter how big your file is, phones are still small so it doesn't matter. Kinda the same as why a lot of pics work for ig or other mobile apps)

[@phildavies7852]

CH - Confoederatio Helvetica - ie Switzerland

[@dvdragon]

What resolution do you recommend for thumbnails and full size photos? Thanks for the tips.

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

Depends, sadly each provider and plug in have different needs. I upload mine at 1200 pixels and 72dpi.

[@dvdragon]

@@TinHouseStudioUK Thanks for the reply. You are a great source for information.

[@TheFilmCouple_]

​@TinHouseStudioUK i find 2000px good as well if they can be kept under 150kb. Look nice snd sharp on 4k screens

[@Steaphany]

What about those of us who do not use facebook ? I gave up on facebook when I realized how their reach is not very effective.

[@hightechoger]

Watermarks. You've mentioned it earlier and this time again to not put them on the photographs. But I don't understand why not. Can you please explain? Thank you.

[@Chevy-jordan]

They look ugly.

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

Ill make another video on it soon. They are a tag on an image that says "no value" You will be hard pushed to find a high value photographer with a water marked image. You can also remove them in seconds so they don't protect your work. Then in terms of branding, your image itself should be your branding. Ideally you want to get to a place where you don't need to tell people you took the image, they should know from how it looks.

[@hightechoger]

@@TinHouseStudioUK not 100% convinced yet. Looking forward to seeing your video about it. I hope you also elaborate on Dali, van Gogh, Monet and Dürer putting signatures on their artworks. Because for me a watermark can be kind of a signature. I've even seen medieval artists' studies with the signature of the artists. I understand though that you would not place any kind of watermark on a commission for a customer.

[@TheFilmCouple_]

Look amateur and tacky

[@TheFilmCouple_]

​@@TinHouseStudioUKagreed!

CH is Switzerland

[@_guillermo]

Almost all of these fail to answer the essential question: What sets you apart?

[@rolithesecond]

Tbf, some of these website do set them apart in as far as they are obviously the one who does not care about their website lol :D

[@aeeam]

Not sure why the newsletter idea is a bad option! As long as it expands on different topics, maybe some project background info and how you structure a shooting or put in action your creative process? What’s the thoughts behind you not advising to build an email list? xx

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

Mailing lists are great. I have a huge one, but if someone is in a rush to find a photographer the mail list will put them off more than make them want to sign up and then browse.

[@leirumf5476]

I think the bigger problem wasn't the mailing list but the fact it's a pop up. As soon as I saw it, before I had time to read my mind immediately went to "If this webpage is asking me to accept cookies I'll ctrl+w it to oblivion". Which is definitely not the mood I'd be looking for to start a connection with a webpage

[@benharris3949]

I hate pop ups, they get in the way and ruin the experience.

[@barneylaurance1865]

@@leirumf5476 Exactly. Offer the mailing list and let people subscribe if they're interested. Don't try to force the subscription decision it on them and get in the way of them reading your website.

[@MrMahia23]

Place your newsletter sub process in the footer. This way it doesn't annoy, pop-ups force people to move away from your page.

[@jonldronevideos]

CH is Switzerland. Not sure why someone would put that on a website, great video by the way

[@jonldronevideos]

@@c.augustin I can understand doing that 20 years ago in a text message but a website, not exactly lack of space, I’m sure writing Switzerland instead of CH isn’t going to make much difference. Anyway from a seo perspective it doesn’t make sense either.

[@jonldronevideos]

@@c.augustin Yes you make some valid points, thanks

[@patrikhennebold4463]

I just detected your interesting videos. great work! also you work :) / by the way, CH means : Confoederatio Helvetica and that means Swiss confederation...means Switzerland.

[@womenlikeboardgames]

I find it interesting that so many of your peers are making these mistakes on their own portfolio pages, yet they're still landing agents and work for the really big clients.

[@kaischmidt730]

confoederatio helvetica… i.e. switzerland.

[@reniesboutique]

❤

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

Thanks

[@reniesboutique]

@@TinHouseStudioUK I will be adding my name to your next shout out 😬

[@JeffCreates]

Ok, this is a real mixed bag of feedback and most of it just feels like you haven't bothered to look properly. You cannot provide quality feedback by commenting on something soon as you've seen it. What I'm getting from this is that you just want a grid of photos on a white background, and that's it. If you think that the only type of website that works is exactly like yours another nothing else...say that! A lot of the successful photographers currently listed alongside you on your agents website have features like the ones you say should be removed here. Most of these examples are not the same kind of photographer as you with the same kinds of clients, so their mission is not the same as yours. That low res website looks like it was designed for mobile only but several years ago - fair enough, that needs massively changing. At least once there was a clear heading that said "Portfolio" and you complained that you couldn't find the photography. That is absolutely not the photographer's fault! Then on a different website that did have a grid layout with a white background but didn't have a nice easy "Portfolio" button to use, you seem fine. Not knowing that .CH is Switzerland for a Swiss photographer isn't their fault. That's exactly what it should be! Then when you realise they're in "Europe" you still try to double down by suggesting that it's useless. I assure you, everyone in Switzerland and the surrounding countries knows exactly what .CH is. All sorts of usability issues that you don't touch upon. For example, putting a video in a gallery of photos that autoplays will distract in many different ways. But that's ok i guess. "Black" is not "busy". They are two separate things. "How do i contact?" Use the contact button in the menu mate. It's not "Lightwizards.com", It's "Lightwizards.com.sg". That's a website for a completely different region to you, and so your feedback on who it's for simply doesn't apply. Sometimes Scott you really have to have the awareness that your expansive knowledge of one area doesn't necessarily fit in all circumstances. It shows a real cultural ignorance. On the "about" section that has a couple of lines in a language foreign to you, you could quickly translate it but you don't bother. On the one with an about section in English that is probably too long, you love it. This is someone over-reaching. If you think that commercial photographers should have a grid design with a white background - just say that, don't spend 18 minutes not saying that!

[@benharris3949]

BRB, need to delete my website…

[@KylaGrace]

LOL

[@Remixthisgaming]

While I get what you're doing.. Ch is Swiss... You live in Europe.. I'm American.. Figure your life out.

[@trancer03]

Lately i been feeling like just deleting my website. I might get more work if i dont have one. Just have it redirect to Instagram.

[@photobizmethod]

Please dont... It's a space that's just yours. Otherwise, you're competing with everyone else on IG

[@trancer03]

@@photobizmethod But my website is bad publicity. It's so terrible compared to my Instagram. Like this i am better not having one.

[@matthieurochette]

And this is the reason why make-your-own-website services like Squarespace, Pix, even Wordpress for that matter, are not made for everyone and should really be avoided by most. Because a good website is so much more than just fidgetting with a few pre-made lego-like bricks, it's several entire jobs (UI/UX designer, front-end and back-end software developers or integrators - granted, in these cases it's mainly front-end, and that's to keep the list short). Now I'm not blaming people that use these services without any UI/UX knowledge, because they've just fallen victim of services with a greedy marketing system that targets people that are on a budget, at their own expense and without them realising it until some expert comes around ans tells them they got f-ed in the a**e. But just like a wedding photographer would advise people against cheaping out on their wedding photos, I as a professional software dev will advise against creating your own website if you do not already have experience with this. Especially for commercial websites that represent most of your portfolio/marketing/branding as a pro photographer, PLEASE use the services of a local web agency, or an independent web developer, or something along the lines. It will be a gain of time for you, you will get a better website out of it, and a better chance to get a return out of the time/money investment of creating a website through this process rather than self-creation. If you absolutely need a place to host for free/cheap your portfolio, I'd argue you should go with something like a social media account (be it Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, or even a public/free-use image bank like Unsplash, if that is an option for you). Those, although not as customisable and therefore not able to communicate your personal style as well, they will get you the benefits of ease of use, easy contact with people, and being able to efficiently show off your work in an industry-standard user interface.