Top do's and don't for websites

[Frank Petronio]

Oh but on the commercial side, from the big-ticket guys who are making real money, they will spend $10-15K on a fancy Flash site all the time. They just remain stagnant for far too long.

[Gordon Moat]

Haha yeah that was aimed more at small to medium sized businesses but your point about photographers is right on.

I just was looking at the local commercial photographers after the ADDYs and most of them had not updated their sites in 3-4 years! And they are trying to get work!

I think the cost of updating their own site scares them away... especially the Flash type sites -- at least w LiveBooks they can easily swap photos but still....

A quick glance through PDN Forums reveals the popularity of LiveBooks and similar application driven services. Photographers like just being able to upload images, and they drop into a layout.

What I find a little humorous about it all is that I cannot recall a LiveBooks driven website ever making it into the PDN Annual. Seems that LiveBooks, et al, might be more middle of the road in design. Unfortunately, this is a time in commercial photography when the low end and high end are active, and the middle ground is fading more and more.

I think well known high end commercial shooters carry a little ways on their names, and on being prevalent at other websites (Lürzer's, CommArts, LeBook, etc.). However, like some ad agencies, a few big name photographers get a bulk of their work from a handful (or very few) big clients. If, or when, one of the large clients goes away, they can find themselves struggling.

As a commercial photographer, it is more about yourself as a brand; you are the creative partner of those for whom you will work with on projects. Everything from business card to attitude . . . to the way you look, will either reinforce or hurt that brand. It is becoming much less about your imagery, and more about what you will be like to work with on projects.

All this is very different than the art world of photography. However, I don't understand why some feel that their approach should be that much more different. Everything I have ever heard from people who bought or collected artwork was that they wanted to get a feel of how the artist was thinking. To me, that seems like the artist as a brand . . . unless of course someone is simply trying to sell something to match the carpet, drapes, or couch.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography