Jared Polin, froknowsphoto.Com. Welcome to another Squarespace Rapid Fire
Critique where I take one of your websites and give it a critique. A critique should know, if you're looking
to build your very own website, I highly suggest you check out squarespace. It's what I personally use for jaredpolin.Com.
You can get a 14-day free trial over at squarespace.Com/fro
to get that with no credit card needed until checkout. And if you decide it's for you, go ahead and
use the code fro at checkout to get 10% off your first order. So, this is Rich Photography. Let's take a look.
Obviously, it looks like they do weddings,
memories, moments, your love story. Ooh, look, a button that says we're online. Are you online? Hi. Let's see if they reply, because that's important
to me if you're going to have this, you better reply.
I'm going to leave that right there. So let's scroll down, what do we have here? We've got a bunch of saying, we are wedding
photographer based in Johannesburg. Okay. So that's interesting.
The site is laid out very well. It's not a squarespace site, which is interesting. When I say it's interesting, I mean it's laid
out very well. I'm saying it's done very well, looks like
a very professional photography website.
Let's click on weddings and see what we have
here. I'd normally go to the about page, but we
know they're professionals looking to do weddings. These photos are fantastic. I like what I'm seeing as I scroll down this
thing and by the way, I think this is going to be a pretty long website critique, because
this is a very highly detailed website.
So, I click on this image, makes it larger,
looks like I can go like this to arrow through. We can also click on the enlargement button
and things along those lines and let's go back. Let's find another image. Okay.
Actually, I love this shot right here. That's a great, hey, where did it go? This one, click on it. This is a great shot. Now looking at the top, I see something that
is a heart.
So if I click it, it says number -- it says
two. Now, I'm not sure that I would have something
like this on my website. I'm not sure that I would have a heart there
because what this is showing me is that nobody's like this before. I mean one person has liked this photo before.
I don't want to see -- I think it looks bad
if you're asking people to like photos on your website, especially when there's not
a lot of likes. It could look poorly on you that maybe won't
-- maybe other people don't like these images, why don't they like these images? You've picked these images because you think
they're the best. So just live with that, don't give people
the option here to go ahead and click the heart. This isn't Instagram.
If you want them to heart something, go on
to Instagram and let them heart it there. But I wouldn't do that. Did they reply to me yet? No. Please reply to me.
These photos are great. I really like what I'm seeing. It's a nice selection that tells a nice story,
right. I mean, beautiful shots, really nicely done.
Keep scrolling, keep scrolling, there's a
lot of images here. I think anybody right off the rip would find
that these photos are great, because why did you reload to the top. I did not move anything. I just find that interesting.
Why did it reload? I don't know. So I'm going to close this. Maybe, they'll reply to me. So what I like about what I see on the site
so far on the images, yes, there's a lot of them, but I see great images.
They're not just really bad ones. They're the best of the best. We see happy times, we see people, we see
the great moments captured, just really nice images, nice clean, just a nice cross-section
that I like to see. So we keep scrolling down.
Jason and -- so what does this say, contact
us for pricing. Here's Jason and Adriette's wedding, Avianto
Johannesburg. So looks to be a blog. This one's from May of 2015.
Very nice images. Look at that dress. Is it not on yet? Or is that what it looks like? Can I zoom in? Oh, looks to be a one thingy dress. It's actually a very sexy dress.
It's a very nice look. Look, how much back it shows. I like this. I like capturing the spray in midair.
That looks awesome. Really solid images. I want to just tell them I like your work. Exclamation point.
Now, can you please damn respond? I want to tell you some stuff. So let's keep scrolling, beautiful images,
Holy Jesus, there's a ton of images here. These are great, really solid. I would hire these people.
I like what they're doing. These images are -- I'm not sure about that
image though. I'm not sure about that image. But this is a very good looking bride.
Oh. Look at her sister -- is that her sister? Anyway fantastic. All right, let's get back to the top here,
really nice across. See what I like that they did is they're showing
you this is the amount of keepers I just saw in that page would make me happy in a wedding.
Maybe 100 pictures there. If 100 pictures was all I was delivered and
that's what they look like, I would personally be happy. I am not a big fan when people deliver 2000
images and many of them aren't great. And they are just trying to shoot for numbers.
These images were spectacular. So, let's keep going here. Let's click on the about and finally see who
they are. Please like us on Facebook.
I don't want to like you on Facebook. Why is there a pop up? I don't want a pop up? As you know, we are photographers. All right. We photograph weddings in all aspects of photography.
We are based in Johannesburg area and photographing
weddings throughout South Africa and internationally. So pretty pictures. Yes, that's what everyone wants and it's what
we always strive to achieve, however, what most people don't always consider is who is
your photographer and will they be someone you can relax with, be yourself around. I mean that's a good point to make.
So this is Richard and Michelle. I like that they have pictures of both of
them. We are fun loving and recently married couple. We are photos -- we photograph every wedding
engagement session and event and model shoots together.
That's nice. How did photography start for us? So, this is a nice background story. I'm not going to read it. You guys can read it yourself.
What makes us different? By now, I'm sure you have been through our
work and if you're reading this, a styled photography is probably something you like. Maybe is photography more than that? Definitely. But what more do we offer our brides? Let's get straight to the point. 16 Paragraphs in.
Michelle studied professional make up, see,
I'm not sure that I would get right in to makeup. I care about your photography. I get that you offer extra here. Right after here is probably where I would
make a pitch for the sale for your weddings.
Would you like us to shoot your wedding, contact
us now? And if you're going to have this damn thing
that says we're online, then be online or have it say offline, because I've said hi
and I like your work, I am looking to find out more about your packages. Yeah. I'm trying to get them. Maybe I don't know what time it is in Johannesburg.
But right here is where I would ask for the
sale. What makes us different? All right, now you're getting into Michelle
studied professional makeup and hair and now specializes in photographic bridal make up. Okay. That's good as something you offer.
I wouldn't click on this to have me go to
her website, because now you're taking people away from your photography website and it
looks like you're doing the same thing down here. We search for a brand -- eligible and premium
brand. We could associate with Rich Photography a
brand that would complement. So I wouldn't be selling anything other than
your photography on this about page.
What I would do though is when somebody hires
you or looks to hire you, you can say, oh, by the way, do you have somebody to do your
make up? Where are you going to go to get your gown,
because Michelle not only is a photographer, but she's also a professional makeup artist? Oh, and by the way, we've connected with a
great bridal gown place for you to get a discount on a gown. That's something you do as added value after
you make the sale. Your main focus is get the sale, get the wedding
booked and then offer the other stuff. But here, you're sending people to a bridal
website, to get a gown.
You're sending them to the makeup website,
when the focus should be the photography aspect or when it gets to packages and there's something
there, then you can mention it, but I wouldn't mention it right here in the about page. Did you reply to me yet? You are obviously not online. All right. Let's keep going here.
Weddings, we've already clicked on. Did I click on weddings? Yes. We've already clicked on weddings. Other portfolios, couples engagements, family
and lifestyle, glamour, matric farewell.
Does anybody know what a matric farewell is? Could somebody please leave it in the comments
because I've never ever in my life heard of something called a matric farewell portfolio
photography, glam photo? Wow, that's a mouthful. The photos are gorgeous, but I don't know
what matric is. Matric farewell photography in Johannesburg
and Pretoria. You only live once.
Thanks for reminding me. Make sure you capture your matric farewell. Over the years, matric farewells have become
a big part of your school career. It's a day you look forward to from when you
hit high school.
Is it when you graduate? Is it when you lose your virginity? Is it when you graduate college? I don't know what that is, but people there
probably know what it is. NPs, they're like Nikon professional shoot. The shoot with Nikon. What else do we have here? Social media.
Let's click on the news feed. I don't like this news feed personally. I don't like this. I don't like this at all.
Not because it has the same pictures, but
send them to Instagram. If you want them to go to Instagram, send
them to Instagram, right. Send them, okay. That's my Skype, nobody worry.
So wait, that's interesting. Instagram loaded right here, but I don't see
a way that I could like your page. I would send that out to somewhere else to
Instagram. I don't know that I would have a social button
here.
I don't actually like the social button. Google plus get rid of it. Google's getting rid of it, you get rid of
it. Social button -- give me social buttons up
here somewhere.
I don't need all of this stuff. We've already done the about. Let's see contact. All right.
Scrolling down. Oh, hi. I'm Richard. What are you doing? Actually, let's change that voice.
Hey, I'm Michelle, what's going on. I'm Richard. I look right at the camera. Michelle is looking over there like, what
are you talking about, buddy Richard.
Aren't you supposed -- she's like lovingly
-- look, these are great photos. You guys have awesome photos. It's a great studio photo. Let's get together and know each other.
If you prefer to meet, let's chat about your
wedding. I would like to if you were online. Our Nescafe pod machine loves our clients,
all right. So you're enticing people with coffee.
I would call you if it wasn't Johannesburg,
great photos of you two right here. I like this. Wedding engagement, event date, subject. Okay.
I guess I could type that in. Okay. So we got this. I like that.
Let's click on FAQ and see what we have here. Holy Jesus, your questions answered, our basic
terms and conditions. This is where you scare people often. Often, we are asked the same questions as
most our clients are first time brides.
Holy shit. I'm not sure I would put that, most of our
clients are first time brides. I think I would leave that to -- and also
you offer other things and weddings. Often we are asked the same question.
So to clear this up, we've created an FAQ
section to help you better understand how we work. That's what I would say. Grooms or even couples, generally the models
we photograph have gone through numerous shoots, but to help clarify all of your questions,
it's too wordy. Get rid of it.
Hey, this is where we have our question. There's a lot of questions that get asked
that many people seem to ask the same things. So in order to answer -- we've created an
FAQ section, we hope it helps you out. I hope it clears out some.
How long will I wait for my photos? Really, that's the first thing people are
asking. We try to make sure -- this is where it's
going to take longer, because I think this is important that you guys pay attention. Let me make sure I have enough time here. We try to make sure you wait as least possible
time, wait the least possible time, however, our weddings are our major focus, we always
photograph other shoots and events, such as couples, models, matric farewells, I still
don't know what it is, et cetera.
As a bride and groom, you will generally wait
4 to 12 weeks. I would not say wait. I would say, it will take up to 4 to 12 weeks
to deliver your images, saying waiting pisses me off. If by any chance we are able to get it sooner,
we will, all right.
So how long does it take to get my photos? It generally takes 4 to 12 weeks. Why? Does that seem like a long time? Actually, it's not a long time as it does
take a lot of time because we spend I would say something like this, we make sure that
we edit each of your photos to perfection, some be like that, because we want to deliver
you the best final product possible. So it does take time in order to edit your
images. It may take 4 to 12 weeks, but please understand,
we are shooting a lot of weddings.
It's nice to say that you have a lot of shoots
because that makes people think that you're busy and you are and that they should hire
you. So I would go along the lines of, if we can
deliver it quicker, we will, but please understand that the weddings that we shoot before yours,
we will edit those first in order so that everybody gets their images as they're done. I would do that, coffee table books, skip
that, if you're surely, it's every photographer's request that you please do not ask how long. Come on, some of this is common sense.
This would piss me off if I read that. Have you replied yet, because that pissed
me off even more? No, they haven't. You are not online. How long is an engagement/couple/matric farewell
shoot? Okay.
You list a time. That's fine. Will you put my photos on Facebook or website? As a photographer, artist, work is our own. Okay.
So that right there is basically a lame way
of saying, we own the rights to your images, which you technically do. What I would say is, will you put my photos
on Facebook or your website. Yes, in our contract, it states that we have
the rights to use your images for advertising or publicizing our work. If there's any reason you would not like that,
please let us know and we will change that in the contract or something like that.
I think it makes it easier. Do I need to pay a deposit? Yes, every shoe require a 50% deposit. That's good. Your booking is only confirmed once a deposit
has been received.
If you have not yet paid your deposit, the
date you are inquiring about is available to any other person, oh, you want to -- so
it's good to offer a deposit. The balance is due 48 hours prior to your
shoot/booking. Sometimes, that's more difficult because,
are people going to show up and deliver it to your studio. You said you're busy, how am I going to pay
you in 48 hours beforehand.
I don't mind this. I used to do the same thing myself. You had to pay me before the wedding, at least
the second half. By not paying the balance before 48 hours
may lead to your shoot being cancelled.
This your deposit. Okay, it should say, thus, your deposit will
be lost and you would need to reschedule. Shit, I don't think I would want to work with
you again if you're going to take my deposit and keep it and make me not get paid -- lose
my money. Please understand that numerous shoots are
sometimes not paid.
That shoot may be completed. Six months later, these clients contact us
asking for their images even though no payment has been made. The client will still inform family and friends,
of course, this is poorly worded. I would def -- I need to move on, but that's
poorly worded.
Can I pay you when I receive my photos? No, we know that from above. My wedding is on a public holiday. Yes, you charge more. Can I give you a list of photos to take? This is fine.
Make sure, people know that yes, we -- give
me a list of people that are important, types of images you want to get, but that doesn't
mean I will be able to get to that and I won't be able to match other photographers' creativity
because that's not what we do. What does your full day coverage entail? This is nice to have. Can we get all of your photos? That's nice to explain. And how long in advance should I book? Well, that's obvious.
You should book as quickly as possible. So most of these things could be worded a
little better. It's a little verbose in my opinion and I
also think that it's starting to make people -- maybe, they're going to question that it
may be difficult to work with you. I'm not sure that, I would clean up the FAQ
page and make it as little confusing as possible and also try not to scare people.
This is something that you could scare somebody
away, your photos and work are great. I wouldn't want to scare people away with
the FAQ page. I like that you list the FAQ, just pare it
down, make it simpler and quicker to the point. Some of it was -- could be misconstrued and
confuse people.
So, I absolutely like your work. I like the layout of your site. It is immense. There's a blog.
You have it up to date. That's important. There are so many things going on here. I don't think it's confusing, but somebody
could get lost on your site.
Oh, I did notice something down here. It says and you do have the social buttons,
which is great by the way. Visits as of January 2014, no. Get rid of the date and 28061.
I don't want to see that on your site. I don't care how many people have come to
your site. I don't care how many people have liked the
photos on your website. All you should be caring about is how many
people do you convert into paying clients.
Wow, I just took a weird breath. How many people come to your site is of no
matter to the people coming to your site. I don't think, don't show that and don't put
since January 2014. That just makes it seem like, well, you're
not popular and when you don't get enough likes on your photos that makes you seem like
people aren't liking your photos.
That could be a bad thing. I would not do that. That's where I'm going to leave, that's a
Squarespace Rapid Fire Critique guys. It was a little longer than normal.
There was a lot going on here. I personally like your work. I would hire you and recommend you to be other
people's photographers, though I didn't see how much your prices are and it says, you're
online and you're actually not. And I'm trying to say hi to you and get more
information.
So if you're going to have that pop up on
your site, make sure it's off when you're not on and make sure it's on when you're on. And so it looks like I went over the 20 minute
limit that the DA 10 offers, but that is that Squarespace Rapid Fire Critique. If you'd like to check our Squarespace, which
is what I personally use for jaredpolin.Com and my portfolio, I highly suggest you check
it out, go to squarespace.Com/fro to get a 14-day free trial, no credit card is needed. And if you decide that it's for you, go ahead
and use the code fro at checkout to get 10% off your entire order.
That's it. Jared Polin, froknowsphoto.Com. See you..
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