Websitephotography.com frequently asked questions./title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="INDEX, FOLLOW"> <meta name="MSNBOT" CONTENT="index,follow"> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"> <meta name=”Revisit-after” content=”2 days”> <meta name="robots" content="ALL"> <meta name="description² content=websitephotography provides visually exciting photography for websites."/> <meta name="keywords² content=websitephotography, visually eciting, advertising, website photography, photographer, product photography, commercial photgraphy, professional photography, digital images, digital photographs, produced photography, studio photos, stock photophotography, digital format, web readypicture, pictures, stills, stock, internet, web net photos."/> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <div align="left"> <table width="81%" border="0" height="537" align="center"> <tr> <td height="1403"> <p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b> <a href="http://www.websitephotography.com">HOME</a></b></font></p> <p><font color="#C2C2CD"><font size="6" color="#ED181E" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Frequently asked questions</font></font> </p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000"><b>Why is important to have images on my company's website?</b></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"> <a href="Faqweb2.html"><img src="images/razorwbt.jpg" width="128" height="80" align="left" border="0"></a><font size="3">"Advertising is seen not read," says Jerry Della Femina, advertising icon. Nothing could be a more apt saying for the internet age. In a society where it takes less effort to click a mouse than to turn a magazine page, you have to stop the viewer and deliver information as quickly as possible. (Click images for larger size)</font></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><b>How can you do this? Fill your web pages with the most wonderful prose you can find?</b></font><font color="#ED181E"> </font></font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"><a href="Faqweb3.html"><img src="images/gatewbt.jpg" width="141" height="100" align="right" border="0"></a><font size="3">When was the last time you enjoyed looking at a page full of text? More likely, if you are REALLY interested, you will skim the words. Otherwise, you take a quick look, then click away to somewhere more visually exciting. Can you imagine how much text it would take to describe the atmosphere around this Gateway ® computer photograph? </font></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"> <b>What about images from those photography disks I hear about?</b></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"> Will a generic, royalty-free image work? Sometimes, if you are talking about a pure concept image. However, when you use an image from a widely distributed disk, you take the risk the viewer has seen it many other places before. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">Generic images tell the viewer nothing about your product. How comfortable are you buying a product sight unseen? You want to make it easy for your customer to feel good about buying from you. </font></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><font size="3"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Can someone in my company take the pictures?</font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In some cases when the subject is simple, outdoors, well lighted, the answer is yes. <a href="Faqweb4.html"><img src="images/knifewbt.jpg" width="56" height="80" align="right" border="0"></a>However, in such a visual society, it is the subtleties that an</font><font size="4" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="3"> image conveys that make a difference. What are you trying to tell the viewer about your company or product? Is the person taking the photograph able to bring this out in an exciting manner? Is the photo taken from the best angle? Are important details illustrated? Does the atmosphere help or hinder the presentation? Is the photo too complicated to easily view on the web?</font></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"><b><font size="3">What about fixing it later in the computer?</font></b> </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">The motto, "We'll fix that later," should always be followed with "garbage in, garbage out." Can things be changed and enhanced in retouching later? In many cases, yes, and in some cases it is the only way to achieve an effect. But it is more expensive and often requires better original photography if you wish the manipulation to go unnoticed. It also takes specialized image processing software, such as Adobe® Photoshop®, and experience in using it.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"> <b>Many people put their own pictures on the web. Why shouldn't I?</b> </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"><a href="Faqweb5.html"><img src="images/chipswbt.jpg" width="52" height="80" align="left" border="0"></a><font size="3">There is a BIG difference. Snapshots of family, friends or vacation will interest acquaintances, reqardless of quality. Stopping anonymous viewers and holding their attention long enough to keep them from clicking out of your website before buying is a totally different matter. A lot is riding on the quality of that image.</font></font></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><b>Where can I get my photographs done?</b> </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">Can you call up any professional photographer and have him/her take the pictures? Unfortunately, that doesn't always work either. The photographer might be able to do a great job with a wedding or portrait of your family, but be totally unprepared to provide web-ready photography. You should look for a photographer experienced in creating great web-ready commercial images. You want to create the best company image you can. Start with great images on your website. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><b>What makes a web-ready image?</b> </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">Keep it fast. If you don't need a background, drop it out. Sometimes backgrounds are necessary to tell a story or for page aesthetics, but if not, get rid of th<a href="Faqweb6.html"><img src="images/goldwb.jpg" width="125" height="80" align="right" border="0"></a>em. Large file sizes increase your load time -- a big no-no on the web. There are ways of either keeping the background simple or replacing it with one that helps with load time. But again, it requires preplanning by an experienced professional to make it look good, as well as load quickly. Keeping it simple also means minimizing the clutter and maximizing only the details needed to get across the information you want to communicate. These factors can be controlled by careful lighting and camera angle. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><b>Do your website images retain sufficient detail while loading quickly?</b> </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">If the answer is no, the viewer is missing out on desired </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"> <a href="Faqweb7.html"><img src="images/edwbt.jpg" width="65" height="80" align="right" border="0"></a><font size="3">information -- or</font> <font size="3">worse yet -- has moved on before the image has even loaded. Experienced web surfers do not need Alan Weber, founding editor of <em>Fast Company</em> <em>Magazine</em>, to tell them that "speed" is the key word on the web. If a large image file exists even after the professional photographer has used all possible techniques for creating expert web photos, he/she should be able to create an file that will load progressively, or in interesting pieces, to </font></font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">hold the viewer's interest. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"><b><font size="3">A last note. </font></b></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3">Now that the web has become such an important marketing tool, professional photography can make a world of difference to the effectiveness of your website.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"> Make your site stand out from the crowd. Visit <a href="http://www.leewhitephoto.com">www.leewhitephoto.com</a> to see more of Lee White's images.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.pwdrpuff.dreamhost.com/Request1.html"> </a><a href="http://www.websitephotography.com">HOME</a></b></font></p> <p align="center"><font size="4">e-mail:<a href="mailto:lee@websitephotography.com"> lee@websitephotography.com</a> </font><font size="4">ph. 818.779.1002</font></p> <p align="center"> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4"> </font></p> <p> </p> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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