Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
I’m working on a redesign of my current website. Below is a link to a sample of what would be the gallery “engine” of the website. Currently I use Livebooks to power my website and while it has worked well, I’m getting a little tired of the format (that and it seems like every other photographer’s website I go to lately is a Livebooks page with the same basic layout).
So far, I like the new gallery (although I don’t know what I’d do with the overall site design just yet). However, I often like things because they are new and different rather than better… I tend to get sick of things and I’ve had the same web design for a while.
We all know that most photo buyers prefer a simple “show me the damn images” website without being fancy. It’s usually the photographers who get off on the elaborate, intricately designed and oh so clever websites that take forever to load and are impossible to navigate but are supposedly “worth the hassle.”
Some things I like about the new gallery:
- I like being able to see all the images at once in the thumbnail view
- I like that the images are a lot larger when viewing full size
- I like the interface and prefer its navigation (when using the arrow keys its quicker to go from image to image).
Some things I don’t like about the new gallery
- It seems to load slower
- The images are displayed in random order. This means I can’t put the images in the order I want.
- The image order changes every time you load the page so if a buyer wants to show another buyer a particular image and say’s “I like the 3rd picture on the 2nd row” it means nothing because that image changes location every time the page is loaded.
So, if you’d like, check out the new gallery and let me know what you think or if you have any problems with the page:
http://www.jeffsingerphotography.com/testnew/test/
And of course you can see the current design here.
-------------------------Written by Jeff Singer - Visit my portfolio website here and buy custom prints here.
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18 Responses to “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes”
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Hi Jeff,
I get what you are wanting something a bit more fresh.
I have seen a number of recent liveBooks sites with fresh but still functional home pages in our “sites of the week” http://www.livebooks.com/community/sitesoftheweek section. Check them out, or better yet, make an appointment to come in and talk to Dinno or Jon, have them show you what is possible. Our flash designers have been doing some pretty great work lately. Another idea is to make a creative display, like your new test, and put a link in your main menu with a clever name that will take visitors to that unique experience of your work.- Michael
I really like the new gallery and it loaded fast.
Good work!
Jeff,
Looks real good to me. The pictures are a little bit large to display fully on this 15″ laptop screen. That’s a little bit annoying.
Did you do that in lightroom?
Paul
I used my 15″ MacBook Pro screen as a guide for how large I wanted the images. Using Safari in a full vertical screen, the zoomed images fit with a little room on the top and bottom.
Using web viewer tracking information over the last year I found that 85% of my site’s visitors have a vertical resolution of 768 pixels or higher, so I used that as a guide as well (to the other 15%… you really need to update your computer & monitor. For the really small screens, I’m considering a mobile version)
I’ll likely make the images a bit smaller in the final version.
Thanks for the feedback.
i like being able to see all the thumbnails at once but, the aesthetic of how they are all laid out and some tilted makes it look kinda like a family photo album….i get this kinda amateury vibe from it……i think apple ilife…i dunno….
have you seen Lee Crum’s site?
http://www.leecrum.com
not to be a downer but, it’s a better execution of the same idea imho.
i think your interface is fine, loads fast, zooms fast, pictures are big and clean….but, i think the design aspect could be enhanced; more sophisticated better aesthetic.
Mom is that you? Those are the exact things my mom said about the new layout. So far it’s only been you and her to have that opinion though (at least as far as people who’ve contacted me). And, I know, should listen to my mother.
This is where personal taste kicks in. Because, the thing is, what you say about the new gallery is exactly what I like about it. I like the fact that it looks like a stack of my pictures were tossed on the table and then being rummaged through. With Lee’s site, everything seems too vertical. I also don’t care for his use of “frames” either.
Actually, the PS3 has an extremely cool photo viewer that I would love to have as a gallery design. It does what my test gallery does and takes it a lot further with a great 3D interface. Here is a crappy youtube video I found of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enc26o8tNCk
Thanks for the feedback.
The new gallery works great!
i agree with anon. looks amateur for a pro photographer. i totally understand bucking the livebooks everybody’s got it format though. livebooks is very forgettable. i’d keep searching. not pro enough yet.
I agree on the amateur feeling of the site. While livebooks does seem stale after awhile, I know that they are doing more to help customize site design these days for their customers. I’ve looked into a livebooks site as of late, but still find myself wanting to “not go there,” simply because, you’re right, there are a lot of them out there. who wants to be the same?
sites with too much movement can start to throw my equilibrium off (the worst are images sliding in from the left or right constantly… they make me spin!). maybe it’s just too much time at the computer, or perhaps I need to start taking dramamine. regardless, I start to tip over in my chair.
next time I surf the web I’ll be sure to bring my lifejacket.
I actually like the site. My one concern when looking all the images at the same time is that it looks like you are making the same image over and over again. I think that is true of all of us but we are able to hide it by dividing images into different categories.
I like the concept quite a bit.
The images are going to get cut off on smaller (laptop) screens, so that’s something to consider.
Also, the thumbs have a bit of pixelation, which happens often when you scale down images in Flash.
Overall its nice.
That looks like it’s Postcard viewer from Airtight interactive, right?
I like there stuff, but you should be careful, as the guy always uses the latest flash versions for his stuff, and it’s not super compatible with a lot of computers.
Straight up HTML is the best way to go with a Pro-Site, with may be a little Java script thrown in.
I use his SimpleViewer gallery system for my music photo site (live.lightninja.com), and it seems to work, but 1 in 20 people have issues with it.
if you are okay with images displayed at the angles you don’t intend them to, then this works… otherwise, i wouldnt recommend. I’m sure you put alot of work in getting the right composition… only to have it completely busted up by your gallery.
I’m starting to see more sites like this, so it might not take long before it becomes stale as well. I’m not completely sold on the concept myself, but one of the best sites I’ve seen so far is teristudios.com. The full screen images are stunning, but I still think some of the visual effects are a bit self-indulgent. It also has the same problem with random images that you are concerned about.
Cheers,
Andrew
Hey there,
I use this on my site: http://www.pujaparakh.com/
I’ve generally had great response to look/feel about it, but i often to here this sorta, “um, how does this work!?” and it takes a minute or two for folks to figure it out
i still think it looks cool enough not to want to change it.
Love the images. I’ve included your blog in a recent posting “20 Awesome Photoblogs – San Francisco”. Check it out when you have a moment. Best of luck and keep up the great work!
I agree with you that its loading slowly, otherwise its nice to see all tubnails in one page. I would like to you it in my site too but l dont know how can l install it.
Thanx for sharing!!
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