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iNYONi Images

business branding marketing inyoni

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13 replies to this topic

#1
iNYONi

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Over the last year and a half I've been busy trying to get my photography business off the ground, tried re-branding, advertising and just getting nowhere.

On Monday I had a meeting with a professional marketing adviser. He specializes in photographers (He also runs his own photography business). So he knows what he's doing.
Since then we have both been very busy updating my social media and website.

I would be very, very grateful if you could take 5 mins from your day to visit my site www.inyoniimages.com and if you get a chance and have facebook/instgram, please have a look at these also.

 

Any feedback or ideas you may have would be  great. 



#2
nbanjogal

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Hi, Rob! Good to see you again. I took a few quick minutes to check out your website--it looks fresh and up-to-date. Nice work. Because of the pink background and all the portraits of women on your front page, I'm going to say that women are your target audience, yes? (I know men like pink too--maybe it's an American thing to have pink as such a girly color.)

 

Font looks modern and fresh, as do the photo layouts--that long horizontal is quite attractive.

 

It's easy to navigate--menu looks clean and simple, and the links I spot-checked seem to be working as they should. I like that you included your personal photography interests, but it's nice that they don't overshadow and confuse what you are offering. It is absolutely clear that you are running a portrait photography business. (I've never made that clear-- my own website is quite the hodge podge. I mostly use it as a portfolio site to send prospective clients to--all my clients are word-of-mouth. It's definitely not a marketing site.)

 

You might want to reconsider including the last names of your portrait clients, unless they've agreed to such in a contract. One thing I found odd--and this could just be a cultural difference in how we do business--is that clients can apparently pay for a session before they've consulted with you or signed a contract. It would seem they're paying without really knowing much about what they'll actually get.

 

Anyhow, this is just a quick rundown of my first impressions. Quite positive, I must say. And I really need to get around to updating my own website! You've inspired me. :)


P.S. I see a few typos or repetitions or other little mistakes. I don't know if you're looking for that kind of feedback yet, but when you're ready for it, let me know. I'm an editor by profession, and I'd be happy to take a more thorough look if you'd like.



#3
Merco_61

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Much cleaner than your earlier versions. It is interesting that a font that was released in 1928 still feels so modern. Paul Renner was a genius.

 

I agree with Nicole that full names can give a headache later on.



#4
Malice

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Just a quick kind of technical feedback for starters: I find the mouse-over effect on the landing pages a little distracting. Once you move the move over an image it is either darkening a little or turning a little pale.

 

If you like it that way, I'd stick with the same kind of effect for all pages. Still, I find it a little strange that the images you're steering to with the mouse are suddenly moved a little out of the viewer's focus by the mouse-over effect.

 

I don't, if you can follow, what I'm trying to say, so in other words: I'd chose a different technique for highlighting the (pre-)selected images.

 

(OT: man, Scotland's such a beautiful place and it's a shame that it's been more than ten years since I've visited)



#5
nbanjogal

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Also, maybe I've just missed it, but do you have links to your Facebook or Instagram accounts anywhere on your website? I would check them out too, but I'm not 100 percent sure where to find you. :)

 

I agree with Merco on Renner's genius, heh. Funny how that font is nearly 100 years old but still feels fresh. Whereas Times New Roman, which is tiny bit younger, definitely lends age anywhere it appears. For some reason, it seems like a font of the 1980s to me. Dunno why... Maybe because word-processing softwares were using it as a default back then? Anyway, that's irrelevant--sorry!

 

I also agree with Malice that the mouse-over effect may not be super effective. I have it on my website only as a default of the theme I've used, and I really, really dislike it. It's one of the things I most want to change about my site. 



#6
iNYONi

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Awesome feedback, exactly what I need. Nicole, I would be very grateful if you could give me pointers for my wording and its layout. I'm updating the site as we speak, surnames removed and trying to figure out how to disable the highlighting issue

#7
Merco_61

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Rob, your signature here on the forums still leads to the old, hyphenated, URL.



#8
iNYONi

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Thanks Peter, all sorted now.
Website has been updated and the highlighting issue fixed.

 

Rob



#9
Malice

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Website has been updated and the highlighting issue fixed.

 

Nice!

 

 

After looking around a little more, just a few things I've noticed. But before I go on: please don't take my comments the wrong way, I really like your site and your images!

 

Having said that, I'm not sure if the price tags are really a lot of help in finding new customers. At least for the "professional" sessions you're offering. Customers looking for private photos for themselves, family, friends or maybe for a job application might find this helpful. Companies looking for a set of photos for company profiles and such, will probably rather expect you to give them a quote. But that might as well be a german thing. I don't know.

 

Anyway, also for the other sections, having the "purchase"-button right there on the page might be a little too direct. I guess, for some potential customers getting pictures taken is a pretty private affair and that they'd like to get to know the photographer a little, before agreeing to step in front of the camera. For them it's not a business type service. All in all, I think I'd remove all the "buy now" features and underline a little your peoples skills and that everybody will be in good hands when you will take their pictures. Again, this might be a german thing.

 

Another nit picky thing, which might also be a technical issue, in your "professional headshot" section you announce the images as "crystal clear". At least on my system (FullHD 21.5" iMac with OS X 10.11.6 and Safari 11.1) the image you've chosen for this page seems a little soft, almost on the verge of being out of focus. I'm sure that's not the case with the original image, but the version on the page gives off that impression. So, maybe to underline the advertising idea of "crystal clear" a very slightly over sharpened image or a foto with a lot of resolvable details might better match with the text part. Another way is of course to come up with a different text.

 

Your writing style is drifting a little from business like concise information to a more easy going "just to let you know" kind of tone. So, in my opinion, this needs a little cleaning up to produce a more consistent impression overall.

 

Again, these are just things coming to my mind. If they're helpful, good. If you chose to ignore them, just as well. It's your site, your business and you'll know what you want. I'm in no position to tell you, you're wrong.



#10
iNYONi

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Nice!

 

 

After looking around a little more, just a few things I've noticed. But before I go on: please don't take my comments the wrong way, I really like your site and your images!

 

Having said that, I'm not sure if the price tags are really a lot of help in finding new customers. At least for the "professional" sessions you're offering. Customers looking for private photos for themselves, family, friends or maybe for a job application might find this helpful. Companies looking for a set of photos for company profiles and such, will probably rather expect you to give them a quote. But that might as well be a german thing. I don't know.

 

Anyway, also for the other sections, having the "purchase"-button right there on the page might be a little too direct. I guess, for some potential customers getting pictures taken is a pretty private affair and that they'd like to get to know the photographer a little, before agreeing to step in front of the camera. For them it's not a business type service. All in all, I think I'd remove all the "buy now" features and underline a little your peoples skills and that everybody will be in good hands when you will take their pictures. Again, this might be a german thing.

 

Another nit picky thing, which might also be a technical issue, in your "professional headshot" section you announce the images as "crystal clear". At least on my system (FullHD 21.5" iMac with OS X 10.11.6 and Safari 11.1) the image you've chosen for this page seems a little soft, almost on the verge of being out of focus. I'm sure that's not the case with the original image, but the version on the page gives off that impression. So, maybe to underline the advertising idea of "crystal clear" a very slightly over sharpened image or a foto with a lot of resolvable details might better match with the text part. Another way is of course to come up with a different text.

 

Your writing style is drifting a little from business like concise information to a more easy going "just to let you know" kind of tone. So, in my opinion, this needs a little cleaning up to produce a more consistent impression overall.

 

Again, these are just things coming to my mind. If they're helpful, good. If you chose to ignore them, just as well. It's your site, your business and you'll know what you want. I'm in no position to tell you, you're wrong.

Thanks for the feedback, yeah I've not been happy with the content and layout of the products page. I'll be looking at redesigning this over the next week or so. I just cant seem to figure out how to remove the buying option but leave the image and wording, i think it's the setup of the template i'm using from Squarespace. Yip I also agree on the images chosen for the headshots, I need to get clearer, cleaner images uploaded on there.
It's all a work in progress and the wording is also a source of pain for me. I keep rewriting and changing it. That will also get sorted soon, I hope..... 



#11
Ron

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Hi Rob... I tried twice to visit your site but got a message from my security software both times stating that it was very risky. Might be a false positive but you might want to look into it.

 

 

inyoni website warning.PNG

 

--Ron

 



#12
Merco_61

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Rob, the hyperlink in your sig still leads to the old URL, even if the text is corrected.

 

Ron, the hyphenated URL is for something completely different than our friend's site.



#13
Ron

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Peter, I didn't see any other URL in the post or comments. Do you have the correct URL?

 

--Ron

 

OK, never mind I guess... after rereading the original post I now see an URL... I guess I got thrown because it isn't a live link. I'll give that one a try.



#14
Ron

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OK, using the URL in the original post worked.... however, if you google it, google asks if you're sure and wants to send you to the old site. That really needs to be cleaned up.

 

I'm not crazy about the pink background but that's just me. The photos, of course, are gorgeous. I like the responsive design and all of the links seem to work correctly. Like Nicole I'm an editor and I noticed a few typos that should be cleared up. No biggies though.

 

It seems odd that there's a purchase button on the Corporate Profile page since you require a free consultation before giving a quote. A contact button would be more appropriate. 

 

I love the personal image section but wonder... are you making prints for sale? There is certainly a market for that type of work and I think you should take advantage of it. Also, rather than list a set price you might want to just add a contact button that leads to a page with different prices for different size prints. An alternative to that would be to simply point to your generic contact page where someone could ask about pricing for a particular image at a particular print size. Again, assuming you want to take advantage of another possible revenue stream.

 

Some of the commissioned images fall into the glamor category. If you'll be doing glamor then I think you should state that up front. Here in the states, Glamor Shots are big business.

 

Nicole... please wash your mouth out with soap for even mentioning Times New Roman! :P

 

Overall I came away pleased with the site. I think you've done a very good job with it.

 

--Ron

 







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