Building a Photography Website

[MidEngine4Life]

Ive been making websites for a long time but i never really stayed up to date. Sites now look crisp and clean and my sites look straight from the 90's. Im no expert at html, all I use is Microsoft Frontpage (because I got my hands on it for free)

Im looking to build a new site but I want this one to look professional. Nothing too fancy though. The truth is i want something like Dingo's site here (www.ozcarsightings.com). Is there a good web site building program out there that i could get or buy that would help me to easily make something that looks that good?

Thanks,
~Paul R. Gornitzka
Gornitzka.us

[Stoopie]

www.geocities.com/rutgerling/carsightings.html

This is my site, I built it with Macromedia's Dreamweaver! Very easy to use, for amateurs like me :D Just create your site, and Dreamweaver creates the HTML code for you!

PS: My site still is pretty amateur IMO, but it was really easy to create, and you can do loads of stuff with that program!

[MidEngine4Life]

Hmmm, it looks like something I could do in Frontpage

[Stoopie]

^ I know, but I created it in a matter of minutes ;)

Here's more about Dreamweaver:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macromedia_Dreamweaver

[Fleischmann]

I'm guessing this will be for non-commercial use ? If so then why not just download a template and work on that. If you prefer to do your own design then Dreamweaver is the best (but it costs quite a bit).

[MidEngine4Life]

Well i payed for a subscription at bravenet to get access to templates that are very nice but when I put them in frontpage its like a jigsaw puzzle and if you try to customize anything it doesnt want to work or its so complicated I dont understand how to work it.

Its like one image on the page is split into two boxes on the page and if I want to add my own image I have to split it into two and try to make them fit which takes hours? i never understood how its supposed to work.

heres an example of one i tried:
http://assets.bravenet.com/common/images/template/5/540.png
Trying to put my own images in there was a nightmare. And to make a gallery of photos which mean changing the format but keeping the style was impossible

heres another i more recently tried. Nice and simple but if you try and resize any of those boxes....well i cant i have no idea how and ive tried for a long time. putting a large picture in there is a no go.
http://assets.bravenet.com/common/images/template/5/527.png

I started building a new site because ive had some complains about current site. I tryied to avoid frames but it just seemed the best way to do it with my abilities. But then I stopped, because frames are ghetto lol.
http://gornitzka.us/index4.htm

[Stoopie]

That's the bad part of templates, the images that they show you are exactly fit for the frames the site contains. That usually means you have to do loads of editing on your pictures before they fit.. I say create your own frames, you have less editing to do! You can easily create a site that looks like the one above with Dreamweaver. Just create a few background pictures with PS and you can do the rest with Dreamweaver!

[Mattk]

I recently designed a site: http://www.freewebs.com/unswdevelopment for my uni's debating society. It looks like the kind of sites that first came out when I first encoutered the internet some 11 odd years ago.

Nevertheless, if you want a professional look, a template is the best way. They are highly inflexible, but unless you want to spend lots of effort learning new tricks, it's best to go with a template.

[Sir_GT]

If you want your site to adjust automatically with regards to the size of the photos (i.e. they "wrap" around), I suggest you take the time to learn a bit of css.

Visit: http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp

You only need the basics anyway. Basically if you understand html and how that works, css should be easy.

Here's a very basic site I did recently for client which only uses CSS. The "levels" adjust according to the size and volume of the text.


http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6033/ondahv2.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ondahv2.jpg)

CSS is great. Codes are shorter, layouts are more precise, and is far more versatile with what you can do.

[TopGearNL]

I like to use Dreamweaver too.

Have used HTMLkit too though..

[MidEngine4Life]

Mattk your link doesnt seem to work. Thanks for the advice Sir_GT. Ill give that a go

[Mattk]

It should work now. I know friends who use php. They seem to come up with some good results.

[dingo]

I've used php on my updated website, works very well.

Its just a matter of reading alot and or talking to someone who knows more than you (I have a friend who helped) and then having patience.

Very satisfying when complete. :D

[MidEngine4Life]

I have a friend who knows php quite well but im afraid i may not be on his best side lol. A site I created in 2003 was about to expire and it was for a game that was totally burnt out so I refused to help him renew the domain and whatnot. Ill have to do a little ass kissing lol

Edit:

OK i was so bored I did my best to get creative with the skills I already have. Heres my test site. Hows it look for you guys?

http://gornitzka.us/test.htm

[P_Zero_Rosso]

My site (www.dnpproductions.be) is pretty basic too; only using html and basic css.
I've made it with a combination of dreamweaver, frontpage and html kit.

I would love to make a more professional looking website but I lack the time to study other 'languages' and new techniques.

[Sir_GT]

I have a friend who knows php quite well but im afraid i may not be on his best side lol. A site I created in 2003 was about to expire and it was for a game that was totally burnt out so I refused to help him renew the domain and whatnot. Ill have to do a little ass kissing lol

Edit:

OK i was so bored I did my best to get creative with the skills I already have. Heres my test site. Hows it look for you guys?

http://gornitzka.us/test.htm

Looks better than the gray one IMO.

[TopGearNL]

I have a friend who knows php quite well but im afraid i may not be on his best side lol. A site I created in 2003 was about to expire and it was for a game that was totally burnt out so I refused to help him renew the domain and whatnot. Ill have to do a little ass kissing lol

Edit:

OK i was so bored I did my best to get creative with the skills I already have. Heres my test site. Hows it look for you guys?

http://gornitzka.us/test.htm

Looks very nice! :D

[MidEngine4Life]

Cool thanks im glad you like it. I guess ill finish it all up when I get home from work tonight =)

[MidEngine4Life]

Well thanks for all the advice guys. I went through and finished up my new site. Check it out!

http://gornitzka.us

[Mattk]

Some excellent photos there. The design is also pretty user-friendly. Have you considered using frames? It makes thing more cluttered, but is good for navigation. It can work out to be better or worse, but it's worth considering.

[komotar]

great, great, great ... 8)

bookmarked the site in a sec! 8)

[silentm]

that homepage looks cool, i like your photography a lot :)

[TopGearNL]

The end result is great, I love it! :good:

[Sir_GT]

Paul, you should add "alt" or "title" tags on your image links, because when I let my mouse hover on them, they don't show anything.

(actually, it should only be "title", but IIRC, IE doesn't recognize "title", but reads "alt" instead. So I put both, although it no longer validates because of the alt tag).

i.e.

[MidEngine4Life]

So what you want captions? Use your imagination ;)

I just added the titles on the main page but to do them for every photo I think is unnecessary

Maybe if i get bored ill do it for the car section just in case someone doesnt know what the car is. Thanks for the idea

[Sir_GT]

So what you want captions? Use your imagination ;)

I just added the titles on the main page but to do them for every photo I think is unnecessary

Maybe if i get bored ill do it for the car section just in case someone doesnt know what the car is. Thanks for the idea

Well, it's up to you, but it really is good practice to at least give the photos a title.

Although I do understand what you're saying from an artist's standpoint. Although do keep in mind that google cant read photographs or image names, so the alt and title bits do help with search engines. :)

[Pimp Racer]

Looks great man although I think the the logo on the left is a bit big but thats just me. :)

[blue8]

The site is very good -- simple and effective. I especially love the automotive pictures!!

[MidEngine4Life]

Im glad you like it guys. Thanks a lot!

I think when I get a few more car photo shoots ill categorize the car section like i recently did with the modeling section. "Photo Sessions" "At The Track" "One The Road" "At The Dealership"