Feedback on my photos

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 6, 2007

Hello all, Jeffrey Steinberg here.

I have been on this board for a few years just posting. Well I finally figured out how to make a simple site (thanks Apple; sorry shamless plug) and I wanted to get some feedback. Some friends have been asking me to take portraits and I did my first event a few weeks ago so I am thinking of trying this as a sideline (I know, the grass is always greener on the other side).

www.jsteinbergphoto.com

Any and all feedback appreciated.

--Jeffrey

Drew B. · Aug 6, 2007

Looks fine to me...although this from a guy with no web site of his own! ...working on it though. I would put the "email me" stuff on one contact page instead of each page.

drew

copake_ham · Aug 6, 2007

Jeffery,

I'm having a problem.

I first clicked on your Israel pics - loved the baseball jersey.

I then went to click on Berkshires (Copake is on the NY side thereof - so I was curious) but the Israel pics popped up again.

Same thing when I clicked on another category.

I haven't tried going back on and starting with the Berkshires or something other than Israel - so I don't know if the "glitch" is just that it gets "stuck" there.

I'll try again - but can you "cycle" through the catergories?

EDIT: I went back and tried to start with Berkshires. Still went to Israel first. But I did find that on the Israel page I could then click on to Berkshires and, lo and behold, up popped the Shaker meeting house!

Seems whatever you first click starts with Israel. Interesting metaphor, but perhaps you want to let the visitor pick the order of viewing?

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 7, 2007

Copake is great. I would love to buy 50 acres and grow an antenna farm....

I will look at the link problem.

And the photos?

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 7, 2007

copake_ham said:
Jeffery,

I'm having a problem.

Fixed! Thanks.

MattKing · Aug 7, 2007

Jeffrey:

I like the site. I especially like the "Starbucks" portrait.

Matt

copake_ham · Aug 7, 2007

Jeffery,

Fix worked!

Make that 150 acres with a conservation easement and you can grow the antennas!

Land in Copake is getting chopped up - we need to preserve our open space before it gets too late.

As to the pics - I would suggest a greater emphasis on "thirds".

The bottom left pic on the Israel thread "works for me" because of the "thirds". Interestingly, so does the "wailing wall" shot because even though the devotee is centered, the angle of the shots creates a nice perspective.

You "get away" with it too with your daughter in the field up at Shaker Hancock because the horizonal is on "thirds" and so her centered position is a strong center of interest.

As to the Shaker meeting house shot.

That's a hard one because it IS a round building! So, how does one get an angle shot on it?

Hey, that's a rhetorical question - I don't have an answer! Maybe an aerial shot?

Frankly, not that I'd do any better, but the portraits are basically good snapshots. To be honest, portrait shots scare me - they're just so personal that I rarely want to show them to the subject, much less anyone else.

I think portrait photogs are the bravest of the brave because they are willing to tell the world: "this is how you should see this person".

Quite bold. I much prefer landscapes. As hard as the rocks are - they never hit back!

SuzanneR · Aug 7, 2007

The starbucks portrait is fun. The group portrait would benefit by asking the three kids to bring their faces closer together... and it often helps to ask that they put a hand on someone else. Just gets folks more relaxed. Also... watch the backgrounds with portraits. Less is, well.. less. (Less distracting!)

I have insomnia...so I hope this makes sense! Good luck!

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 7, 2007

SuzanneR said:
The starbucks portrait is fun. The group portrait would benefit by asking the three kids to bring their faces closer together... and it often helps to ask that they put a hand on someone else. Just gets folks more relaxed. Also... watch the backgrounds with portraits. Less is, well.. less. (Less distracting!)

I have insomnia...so I hope this makes sense! Good luck!

Great advice. yes, I am trying to make sure I don't have stuff in the background making "poles" grow out of people's heads (same for trees) but I haven't perfected it yet.

Thanks!

--Jeffrey

BWGirl · Aug 7, 2007

Hey Jeffrey!
I like the simplicity of the site. When you put more pics up, you may want to change things a wee bit, but cross that bridge when you come to it. I do agree with the comment that you should have your contact info elsewhere... maybe make a bio page with the contact info and have a static link at the top with the other links.

I think my favorite pic is the little girl sitting on the ground with what appears to be a sketchbook. But I am also moved by your Isreal pics, too.

wfe · Aug 7, 2007

Jeffrey,
I agree with Suzanne's comments and I would also suggest a reflector to keep the eyes bright and give more catch lights.

Cheers,
Bill

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 7, 2007

BWGirl said:
I think my favorite pic is the little girl sitting on the ground with what appears to be a sketchbook. But I am also moved by your Isreal pics, too.

Thank you. That's my daughter sketching in a sculpture garden for a class project (she doesn't do that willingly, at least not yet).

--jeffrey

wheelygirl · Aug 9, 2007

Excellent job!

Jeff, I think your Web-site is very well done--this is from a neophyte Web designer who is rather confused whether go into photography. . .ooppppss! that discussion is for another thread!
Anyhow, all kidding aside, Jeff: ya did good!

jovo · Aug 9, 2007

I love this stuff. Among the portraits, I either know these kids or will soon enough (I teach in your district) including your daughter. The Middle School art department is absolutely first rate....she'll get the best you can get! The photographs from the Wailing Wall are fine, but (and I realize that intruding on people at prayer or meditation is a sensitive issue) it would have been more interesting to have seen some of those at worship from the side rather than from behind. Otherwise...nice work, Jeffrey....keep it going!

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 10, 2007

jovo said:
I love this stuff. Among the portraits, I either know these kids or will soon enough (I teach in your district) including your daughter. The Middle School art department is absolutely first rate....she'll get the best you can get! The photographs from the Wailing Wall are fine, but (and I realize that intruding on people at prayer or meditation is a sensitive issue) it would have been more interesting to have seen some of those at worship from the side rather than from behind. Otherwise...nice work, Jeffrey....keep it going!

Thank you very much for your feedback. If you teach in the Scarsdale school system, you probably won't meet my kids as they go to a Jewish day school in our county.

Thanks again for your kind words. I am humbled because I think my work fails in comparison to the amazing stuff on this site.

Here you on the back shots but I actually think that's what makes them so powerful.

--Jeffrey

dferrie · Aug 10, 2007

Jeffrey,

Nice work, like others my favourite would be your daughter with sketchpad. In relation to the site I would recommend a contact page, having some link to it on each page is fine but what is missing is your location. We on APUG know you are in Scarsdale, but there is nothing on the Webpage to indicate that.

David

Christopher Walrath · Aug 14, 2007

Hi, Jeffery. I like the site. Simple and easy to navigate. Loads nicely. And I love the image of the boy on your 'Portraits' page. We're the photos of men facing away at The Wailing Wall? Again, I like it.

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 14, 2007

flash19901 said:
Hi, Jeffery. I like the site. Simple and easy to navigate. Loads nicely. And I love the image of the boy on your 'Portraits' page. We're the photos of men facing away at The Wailing Wall? Again, I like it.

Everyone faces the wall (so to say). A better way to call it is the "Western" wall. Some people (not me) don't like to hear it called the "Wailing" wall. The crying part is over the descruction of the temple which stood above the wall. The wall was the western retaining wall of the temple complex.

(just in case anybody wanted some history).

Thanks for your complements. It means a lot to me.

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Aug 14, 2007

Western wall

flash19901 said:
Hi, Jeffery. I like the site. Simple and easy to navigate. Loads nicely. And I love the image of the boy on your 'Portraits' page. We're the photos of men facing away at The Wailing Wall? Again, I like it.

Everyone faces the wall (so to say). A better way to call it is the "Western" wall. Some people (not me) don't like to hear it called the "Wailing" wall. The crying part is over the descruction of the temple which stood above the wall. The wall was the western retaining wall of the temple complex.

(just in case anybody wanted some history).

Thanks for your complements. It means a lot to me.

Stoo Batchelor · Aug 15, 2007

BWGirl said:
BWGirl said:

Hey Jeffrey!
I like the simplicity of the site. When you put more pics up, you may want to change things a wee bit, but cross that bridge when you come to it.

Click to expand...

Hi Jeffrey

You have the makings of a nice, simple, clean site. That said, I do see a problem in the making that I would nip in the bud a.s.a.p, if I were you.

Jeanette touched on it briefly. Assuming that you are going to continue to add images to your pages in the size they are now, as the page grows, it will take longer and longer to download. When most people visit a web site, myself included, if things don't happen almost immediately, we tend to get fed up waiting and go elsewhere. That is why most web sites that show pictures will use thumbnails that can be left clicked on for a larger view, or a 'next image' or 'next page' button, to scroll through your images. Something that you might consider, as it can be quite hard work to change at a later date.

My appologies if this was something that you had allready planned.

What you have so far is a job well done.

All the best

Stoo

Feedback on my photos

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