I think it looks amateurish. Some things you'll want to look at:
1) Spelling/grammar/phrasing. There are some mistakes and some awkward phrases. "Some content maybe 18+" should be "Some content may be 18+". You don't edit for Model Mayhem, you edit the pictures of photographers who you've connected with on Model Mayhem.
2) You need to think about how your site markets you and how it comes across. Right now, the font choice, site layout, and individual images tell me you don't have a lot of experience. And that's okay! But it does read that way. I can't help you in regards to website design, but I think it would be beneficial if you did some more research on your own.
The work aside, I'm wondering why some of the before/afters are misaligned?
It might be good to have some text with some of the images and examples of
things you referenced.
I think it looks amateurish. Some things you'll want to look at:
1) Spelling/grammar/phrasing. There are some mistakes and some awkward phrases. "Some content maybe 18+" should be "Some content may be 18+". You don't edit for Model Mayhem, you edit the pictures of photographers who you've connected with on Model Mayhem.
2) You need to think about how your site markets you and how it comes across. Right now, the font choice, site layout, and individual images tell me you don't have a lot of experience. And that's okay! But it does read that way. I can't help you in regards to website design, but I think it would be beneficial if you did some more research on your own.
I will defiantly go back and fix those things. I am not good at websites so I am doing the best I can with a free website program. I am going to work on saving money to have a site made for me.
Motordrive Photography wrote: ^ ^ ^ ^
all are good points.
The work aside, I'm wondering why some of the before/afters are misaligned?
It might be good to have some text with some of the images and examples of
things you referenced.
The reason some of my before and afters are misaligned is because some of the afters were resized smaller than the befores. It looks a bit funny, but I didn't know what else to do.
What text are you referring to? What do you mean by examples?
I mean the -About section- change clothes color/example of change clothes
change background with change background example
with text saying what you did and aprox. cost
Motordrive Photography wrote: I mean the -About section- change clothes color/example of change clothes
change background with change background example
with text saying what you did and aprox. cost
I added an edit that shows all of the examples I posted.
First, you most likely don't own the copyright on the photos you show in your before-and-after galleries. Unless you took the photos yourself, or unless you got an assignment of copyright from the photographer who took them, it is highly improper for you to stamp the before-and-afters with your copyright indication. If you did take the pictures yourself you may disregard this criticism, but others similarly situated should take note.
Second, your home page says "I edit photos for models and photographers." Most likely, the models don't own the copyrights to photos of themselves, and they thus have no right to have you retouch them. You should know this and decline work from models unless they can show they have a license from the photographer to alter his or her images.
Something else that merely irritate me:
You work for free. You are doing a disservice to other retouchers by doing that. Sure, I shoot for free. I donate my time by photographing families of servicemen overseas, and women at the women's shelter. But that's not the sort of thing you're doing here. You are devaluing the work of others as well as your own. If you're any good and you're in the business, you should charge an appropriate rate for your services. If you're NOT in business, you should say so so that people won't get the idea that retouchers are not worth anything.
WCR3 wrote: Something else that merely irritate me:
You work for free. You are doing a disservice to other retouchers by doing that. Sure, I shoot for free. I donate my time by photographing families of servicemen overseas, and women at the women's shelter. But that's not the sort of thing you're doing here. You are devaluing the work of others as well as your own. If you're any good and you're in the business, you should charge an appropriate rate for your services. If you're NOT in business, you should say so so that people won't get the idea that retouchers are not worth anything.
... Wait what?
She's new, she's learning. If the person who's hiring a retoucher can't tell the difference between high end and expensive, and beginner and free, then they have a whole slew of issues that have nothing to do with the OP attempting to learn her craft better.
Your comment would be like coming into the critique of a model's website and berating her for doing primarily TF to build her portfolio. I agree with you on some of your other points, but this one is super counterproductive.
To be honest, I don't think you are at the level where you should consider a website. Definitely don't pay for for one yet.
Over and above the comments other have made,
concentrate on developing basic skills for a bit and come back to your website when you have better quality work to show.
Tangent Pictures
Posts: 43
Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
OP, you might seriously reconsider using the picture that actually shows retouching (in the About me page). I won't name her here, but she's not an MM model at all and the "before version" is one of her official pics.
edit - unless you've got a license from her agent, I mean.
If i were you just get rid of the website until you can afford one. A crap website will hurt you more than not having one.
FYI you can get a professional site for about $150. Using Wordpress with a hosted instal. You can buy a pro theme for $50 and get hosting at Godaddy or the like for less than $10 a month. Godaddy is $6.99 for full hosting a month right now and if you pay for a year up front its even cheaper than that. A real domain is less than $20 for a year.
T A Y L O R wrote: ... Wait what?
She's new, she's learning. If the person who's hiring a retoucher can't tell the difference between high end and expensive, and beginner and free, then they have a whole slew of issues that have nothing to do with the OP attempting to learn her craft better.
Your comment would be like coming into the critique of a model's website and berating her for doing primarily TF to build her portfolio. I agree with you on some of your other points, but this one is super counterproductive.
I guess I have to disagree with you here.
There's nothing on her Web site, other than the quality of the work itself, that suggests she is anything other than a commercial retoucher.
In contrast, her MM profile perfectly spells out that she's just learning: "I am working on getting better and better. I love getting advice on how to get better." Her "commercial" Web site says nothing of the sort. So someone who stumbles onto the site and isn't in the industry (like a lot of small business clients who want everything on the cheap) gets the impression that retouching services really have little or no value. I would be particularly vexed by this if I were in that business.
WCR3 wrote: A couple of things that really piss me off:
First, you most likely don't own the copyright on the photos you show in your before-and-after galleries. Unless you took the photos yourself, or unless you got an assignment of copyright from the photographer who took them, it is highly improper for you to stamp the before-and-afters with your copyright indication. If you did take the pictures yourself you may disregard this criticism, but others similarly situated should take note.
Second, your home page says "I edit photos for models and photographers." Most likely, the models don't own the copyrights to photos of themselves, and they thus have no right to have you retouch them. You should know this and decline work from models unless they can show they have a license from the photographer to alter his or her images.
Something else that merely irritate me:
You work for free. You are doing a disservice to other retouchers by doing that. Sure, I shoot for free. I donate my time by photographing families of servicemen overseas, and women at the women's shelter. But that's not the sort of thing you're doing here. You are devaluing the work of others as well as your own. If you're any good and you're in the business, you should charge an appropriate rate for your services. If you're NOT in business, you should say so so that people won't get the idea that retouchers are not worth anything.
First, I have the permission for all he before and afters. I would not post them if I didn't. I always ask if I can post them to my stie before I post them.
Second, I have been asked by models to edit there photos. They have the rights to there photos and ask me to retouch them. I always make sure of that.
Third, I am just starting out in charging people. I want to make sure I can get clients. So I am doing 3 photos free and the $5 per photo.
There's nothing on her Web site, other than the quality of the work itself, that suggests she is anything other than a commercial retoucher.
In contrast, her MM profile perfectly spells out that she's just learning: "I am working on getting better and better. I love getting advice on how to get better." Her "commercial" Web site says nothing of the sort. So someone who stumbles onto the site and isn't in the industry (like a lot of small business clients who want everything on the cheap) gets the impression that retouching services really have little or no value. I would be particularly vexed by this if I were in that business.
I agree with almost all points mentioned above.
If you must have a website, go with an html5 one from wix.com. They have great free layouts that are easily customizable.
Check mine for example.
http://www.velvetpaperphoto.com
Tangent Pictures wrote: OP, you might seriously reconsider using the picture that actually shows retouching (in the About me page). I won't name her here, but she's not an MM model at all and the "before version" is one of her official pics.
edit - unless you've got a license from her agent, I mean.
37photog
Posts: 592
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
It's got alot of problems. One, is that it lacks content. The landing page (home page) has only 3 brief statements. Why not copy & paste your MM profile info there. The "About Me" as well, just a few brief comments. More content might help. Secondly though, I hate the theme. That wierd looking bench on the bottom, the brown, it just doesn't say "Photo Retouching Website" to me. I agree the Sign in & Guestbook are confusing. I'd also suggest using a Wordpress theme, they're pretty easy & generic, yet have tons of free themes you can choose from. Go with something basic if you need to, or research your webs.com site offerings. But don't just use a template with a wierd looking bench just because it's using a photo in it. Better to go with a nice background or colors or patterns. Also, if you find settings, just try 3 or 4 pages, Home, About, Gallery, Contact. Not sure if you can turn off Pricing and Guestbook or not.
Honestly right now you're better off just showing your MM page.
37photog wrote: It's got alot of problems. One, is that it lacks content. The landing page (home page) has only 3 brief statements. Why not copy & paste your MM profile info there. The "About Me" as well, just a few brief comments. More content might help. Secondly though, I hate the theme. That wierd looking bench on the bottom, the brown, it just doesn't say "Photo Retouching Website" to me. I agree the Sign in & Guestbook are confusing. I'd also suggest using a Wordpress theme, they're pretty easy & generic, yet have tons of free themes you can choose from. Go with something basic if you need to, or research your webs.com site offerings. But don't just use a template with a wierd looking bench just because it's using a photo in it. Better to go with a nice background or colors or patterns. Also, if you find settings, just try 3 or 4 pages, Home, About, Gallery, Contact. Not sure if you can turn off Pricing and Guestbook or not.
Honestly right now you're better off just showing your MM page.
I fixed up all of information. I also changed the layout of the site.
First, I have the permission for all he before and afters. I would not post them if I didn't. I always ask if I can post them to my stie before I post them.
Second, I have been asked by models to edit there photos. They have the rights to there photos and ask me to retouch them. I always make sure of that.
Third, I am just starting out in charging people. I want to make sure I can get clients. So I am doing 3 photos free and the $5 per photo.
Young lady, you may have permission from the photographers who own the copyrights to the images to retouch them, and you may have their permission to show them on your Web site. But unless you paid them a LOT of money, I'm sure you don't have their permission to put YOUR copyright notice on them. You need to understand what the federal copyright law is all about so you don't get yourself in trouble.
Second, you mention you have been asked by models to edit "their" photos. You apparently do not understand it, but the photos are not "their" photos. Even if they have been granted a reproduction licence by the photographer who took their images, it is almost certain that the photographers did not grant the models the right to make or have made derivative works of their images, which is what your retouched images are. I can think of no photographer who could find his butt with both hands who would do that.
Finally, as others have said, you should probably refrain from putting up a "commercial" Web site until you are ready to be a commercial retoucher. It is likely that will take some time, both from a business standpoint and an expertise standpoint.
Your MM profile does a very nice job of telling people what you are all about, and where you are in your development. Stick to that until you've mastered your craft. And then, charge a decent rate for your skills and talent.
Well, there's free and then there's bad free. Having nothing is better than having bad free something.
Home page: 1) "received" is spelled wrong; "email" is spelled in two different ways; "ModelMayhem" is two separate words, not one; "turn around" (the noun) is one word - run your text through a spell-checker; 2) why is each sentence in that first section a paragraph - that looks like a poem; 3) This sentence - "I edit photos for people on a site called ModelMayhem" - is very strange and has no relevance to your own site.
About Me page: repetitive; more of that odd poem-style text layout; text doesn't flow when reading; remove that picture of the famous actresss unless you have a license to use it.
Gallery page: "be" should be capitalized to follow the same style as all the other words in the sentence; resize the before / after pictures so they are the same size.
The site loads fast, which is good; but it's very amateurish-looking. Not sure that's what you want to convey, even as a beginner. Even Wix - which I loathe - may be a better option for you. Even with their ads, it's a better-looking site than what you currently are using. Or maybe using a different template at the site you're using would improve things.
ME_ wrote: Well, there's free and then there's bad free. Having nothing is better than having bad free something.
Home page: 1) "received" is spelled wrong; "email" is spelled in two different ways; "ModelMayhem" is two separate words, not one; "turn around" (the noun) is one word - run your text through a spell-checker; 2) why is each sentence in that first section a paragraph - that looks like a poem; 3) This sentence - "I edit photos for people on a site called ModelMayhem" - is very strange and has no relevance to your own site.
About Me page: repetitive; more of that odd poem-style text layout; text doesn't flow when reading; remove that picture of the famous actresss unless you have a license to use it.
Gallery page: "be" should be capitalized to follow the same style as all the other words in the sentence; resize the before / after pictures so they are the same size.
The site loads fast, which is good; but it's very amateurish-looking. Not sure that's what you want to convey, even as a beginner. Even Wix - which I loathe - may be a better option for you. Even with their ads, it's a better-looking site than what you currently are using. Or maybe using a different template at the site you're using would improve things.
I have changed some of the things you mentioned. I am happy with the site I am using for now.
Young lady, you may have permission from the photographers who own the copyrights to the images to retouch them, and you may have their permission to show them on your Web site. But unless you paid them a LOT of money, I'm sure you don't have their permission to put YOUR copyright notice on them. You need to understand what the federal copyright law is all about so you don't get yourself in trouble.
Second, you mention you have been asked by models to edit "their" photos. You apparently do not understand it, but the photos are not "their" photos. Even if they have been granted a reproduction licence by the photographer who took their images, it is almost certain that the photographers did not grant the models the right to make or have made derivative works of their images, which is what your retouched images are. I can think of no photographer who could find his butt with both hands who would do that.
Finally, as others have said, you should probably refrain from putting up a "commercial" Web site until you are ready to be a commercial retoucher. It is likely that will take some time, both from a business standpoint and an expertise standpoint.
Your MM profile does a very nice job of telling people what you are all about, and where you are in your development. Stick to that until you've mastered your craft. And then, charge a decent rate for your skills and talent.
I am checking into the permission of using the photos with my watermark. I see many retoucher's on Model Mayhem that add their watermarks to photos, so I thought since the editing is my work I could do that, and still credit the photographers and models.
MMRetoucher wrote: I am checking into the permission of using the photos with my watermark. I see many retoucher's on Model Mayhem that add their watermarks to photos, so I thought since the editing is my work I could do that, and still credit the photographers and models.
That little copyright symbol you have before your name means something: it means you are claiming to own the copyright of that photo. I don't think you will see many, if any, retouchers here with a copyright notice on pictures they have retouched unless those pictures are ones they shot themselves. They may have a "retouching by" watermark, or their retouching profile's name on there; but they will not have a copyright watermark. If they did, they'd hear it from the photographer, not to mention the rest of the people in the thread.
Your About Me page is somewhat improved, so that's a start.
That little copyright symbol you have before your name means something: it means you are claiming to own the copyright of that photo. I don't think you will see many, if any, retouchers here with a copyright notice on pictures they have retouched unless those pictures are ones they shot themselves. They may have a "retouching by" watermark, or their retouching profile's name on there; but they will not have a copyright watermark. If they did, they'd hear it from the photographer, not to mention the rest of the people in the thread.
Your About Me page is somewhat improved, so that's a start.
Ok I guess I didn't think about the copyright sign. Thanks much.
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