PDN recently recruited three brides-to-be to critique the web sites of five wedding photographers, and published an edited version of their comments in our April issue [“Here Come The Brides,” p. 52]. Here, we are posting the brides’ unedited critiques, along with responses from the photographers.

The project was intended to help readers understand what actual brides (read: clients) like and dislike about wedding photographers’ web sites. That’s important because web sites are primary marketing tools for wedding photographers, but content, design, and structure of their sites varies widely.

In reviewing the web sites, the brides answered a series of questions, including what they thought about the quality and quantity of the photography, whether the sites provided enough images and enough information about the photographers’ services, and whether the sites conveyed the photographers’ personalities.

The three brides were Emily Jendrek of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jennifer Saba of New York City; and Melanie Erb of Ellicott City, Maryland. The photographers whose sites they reviewed were Charles and Jennifer Maring of New York City and Connecticut; Ben Chrisman of San Francisco; Frank DiMeo of Ithaca, New York; Dana Rossini of Los Angeles; and Matt Mendelsohn of the Washington, DC area of northern Virginia.



Charles and Jennifer Maring
www.maringphoto.com

1) Immediate first impressions once you were in the home page?
Jendrek: Attractive and straightforward. Polished in a slightly impersonal way.
Saba: OK, seems a little corporate.
Erb: I like how you can click anywhere on the photos to link to other pages.

2) What are your thoughts on the quality of the photography and how it is being presented?
Jendrek: I liked the idea of how they presented their wedding photo gallery and being able to click on a corner to proceed to the next images, however, I really didn’t like the digital photo album effect they used to view the images. There was the sound of pages turning when ever you clicked and the photo started folded and spread out which was a strange effect too.
Saba: The opening quote to the wedding section is frightening: “It’s not about the moments that you breathe. It’s about the moments that take your breath away.” It took me a while to figure out how to launch the wedding portfolio. I’m not a fan of an actual page turning.
Erb: The presentation is very well done and gives a professional feeling. The photography was well organized and easy to view. I would have liked to see some thumbnails though or had an idea of how many photos were in each group while viewing.

3) Did you want to see more or less photos?
Jendrek: I would have liked to see a great variety of photos and more of them.
Saba: They presented the right amount.
Erb: Not sure exactly how many there were.

4) Could you make an informed decision about the quality of the photography from what you saw from the site?
Jendrek: The photography is high quality, but not my style. The photos look retouched and lighting effects were used to give everything lots of glow. There is a lot of softening of edges for that really romantic dreamy look. Overall I thought a lot of the photos looked like professional magazine photos, which don’t have the personal or intimate feel I’d want for my own wedding. They said that they use light to convey inner emotion more than the raw look of photojournalistic. I guess I prefer that raw look.
Saba: Yes, I definitely get a sense of the style. Most of the photos seemed staged. The few natural looking shots they had I liked. As for the quality, it was top notch.
Erb: I think so, yes, I would expect quality photos from this artist.

5) If they have a blog, what did you think of it? Did it hold your attention?
Jendrek: The blog was more like a journal and definitely written in mind of clients reading it. I wasn’t overly interested.
Saba: N/A
Erb: Yes, great mix of wedding topics and personal adventures.

6) Does the personality of the wedding photographer emerge from the blog?
Jendrek: Yeah, I got that they love photography and snowboarding. And hosting workshops.
Saba: N/A
Erb: Yes, I felt the personality of the artist was portrayed in pretty much every aspect of the site, including the blog.

7) Was it clear from the site about the kind of services that the wedding photographer is offering and what they are charging for these services?
Jendrek: They’re clear about the whole personalized service, but not about price or what service includes. I know that they print their own photos and are willing to travel.
Saba: The first question in the FAQ portion of the Web site, “I’m not a celebrity… Is Maring right for my wedding?” is a complete turnoff. They are clear that when you book them, they will dedicate their energies toward your wedding. However, and this is just my take, I get the sense that you should feel privileged if they decide to photograph your wedding. Plus, they have no pricing information, not even a ballpark figure.
Erb: It seems they do all kinds of photography, from weddings to studio portraits to commercial advertising. I didn’t see any kind of pricing. Would have liked to see a starting price.

8) Were there any extra features on the site that really appealed to you?
Like video etc?
Jendrek: I liked the video of meet the artist because it’s nice to see them talk about their work. It gives you more of an idea of what to expect with them than just reading their website. It’s a very polished video and defiantly aimed at high-end clientele.
Saba: There was a video portion about the photographers Charles and Jennifer and how they work. It was helpful in that it really defined their style.
Erb: I especially liked that they included themselves in many of the videos. You really get to see and hear what your experience might be like.

9) Was this site easy to use and navigate?
Jendrek: Very easy. I just didn’t like the photo album effects for flipping through the wedding pictures.
Saba: I would say yes.
Erb: Yes, except, I didn’t really like how each link opened in a new window. It is my personal preference to have just one window and have each page contain a link back to the home page.

10) What ways could this photographer improve their site?
Jendrek: See above.
Saba: They could put more information about pricing—at least a starting point. And it seems to be too much about Charles and Jennifer and less about the people they were shooting.
Erb: Add links to the home page, and give more of an idea as to how many photos are in each grouping.

11) If money was no object would you hire this photographer based on what you have seen?
Jendrek: No. Our styles didn’t match. It looked too Photoshoped and too many lighting effects. Also I didn’t like the portraits. They just weren’t the type of pictures I would want to pull out to show my grandkids. They reminded me too much of perfume adds in magazines for my taste.
Saba: No. They have a different style than what I would like.
Erb: Yes

12) Any other additional comments?
(None from any of the brides)

Charles Maring replies:

Thanks to all of the brides and PDN for sharing our website and for commenting. It was nice to get perspectives from brides to be on the both the navigation and each brides personal tastes. There is always room for improvement, and our website evolves on an ongoing basis. We have over 110 photographs online, and feel our portfolio is a good representation of style. However, we do have a VIP section for couples who take the time to inquire that showcases real weddings from front to back. Our thought is that less is more. Of course couples want to see more images, and we can only hope that it leaves enough to the imagination for couples to inquire further.

The great thing about photography is that there are lots of styles to choose from. At capture, our style is very uninterrupted. However, the stylization of the photographs tends to yield a formality to the moments. One thing we have learned is that you can't be all styles to all people. You have to choose your style and we feel the narrower the better. Couples that hire us are looking for photographs that are one of a kind and different from all of their friends rather than standard photojournalism. Most of our couples have a love of the arts, and tend to enjoy the lavish, velvety glamour that resonates in our imagery. Truth be told, not everyone can see themselves this way, and we realize our niche is very narrow and geared towards couples who can.

Stylization in Photoshop takes time, so our pricing is among the highest tier professionals. Since we photograph weddings all over the world of all shapes and sizes, and since each wedding is so individualized, every couple gets a custom quote based on their tastes, their needs, and the demands of the assignment.


Dana Rossini
www.drweddings.com

1) Immediate first impressions once you were in the home page?
Jendrek: Not all that interesting until you “enter” her site. The music could be toned down a little because some of it is pretty strong and distracting from the photos.
Saba: ACCK what’s up with music on wedding photographer sites?!
Erb: It has a romantic feel and I like the way the menu is laid out clearly in a list.

2) What are your thoughts on the quality of the photography and how it is being presented?
Jendrek: I really liked to photos, and some of that may be because some of the people in them were amazingly beautiful, but they all looked like a photo spread in Vogue or something. A little too perfect, yet not necessarily staged.
Saba: The quality appears to be really good and I liked that she showed specific weddings.
Erb: I like the quality and the easy to navigate presentation of the photos.

3) Did you want to see more or less photos?
Jendrek: I think I would have liked to see more photos.
Saba: I wanted to hear less music. (The amount of photos was fine).
Erb: More photos please.

4) Could you make an informed decision about the quality of the photography from what you saw from the site?
Jendrek: They are definitely beautiful photos, but also retouched. I feel that some just looked too perfect.
Saba: Yes, and it seems like Dana really touches up photos.
Erb: I think so; she seemed to be able to capture the emotion of the moment. In many of her photos, even though you can’t see the whole panoramic view, you know what is happening based on the expressions she captured.

5) If they have a blog, what did you think of it? Did it hold your attention?
Jendrek: I didn’t find a blog.
Saba: N/A
Erb: Did not see a blog

6) Does the personality of the wedding photographer emerge from the blog?
Jendrek: I didn’t find a blog, so I read the photographer’s bio and philosophy and felt I got a pretty good idea of her personality. I liked the angle that she used of being in love with her husband and having their wedding as a special memory that makes her excited to photograph and capture other people’s wedding.
Saba: N/A
Erb: N/A

7) Was it clear from the site about the kind of services that the wedding photographer is offering and what they are charging for these services?
Jendrek: Yes and she gives an idea of price range.
Saba: Yes, Dana goes into some detail, which is fantastic. Plus she explains her process and what you get but seems willing to work with people.
Erb: Yes, she gives a range of prices for her creative fee as well as listing exactly what that includes. She also list what additional charges might be incurred. The pricing link is easy to find in the menu.

8) Were there any extra features on the site that really appealed to you?
Like video etc?
Jendrek: I liked that she had the song that her husband used to propose to her, but it is a little jarring.
Saba: Yes, I liked the cropping feature. It just showed one more step in the process and how she works.
Erb: I liked the slide show feature, so I could lean back and just look at the photos with out all the clicking around. I also like the music feature as well as the fact that you could mute it.

9) Was this site easy to use and navigate?
Jendrek: There was a lot of clicking to get to anything. In the photo galleries you had to click on each tiny thumbnail picture to see it and I had trouble clicking on some and getting them to load. There was definitely some lag time.
Saba: It was one of the harder sites to get around. It took me a while to realize that I needed to roll over her initials in the top left hand corner to get an index. Plus the music hijacked the site.
Erb: Yes, very easy to use. The slide out menu freed up more space to view the actual photos while still being easily accessible.

10) What ways could this photographer improve their site?
Jendrek: I would put the portfolio work before the info because I want to see the work before I get into details.
Saba: Organize differently, make it more user-friendly. I thought the groupings and topics were helpful though.
Erb: Add more photos, and more personal information. It is best to find a photographer who has a similar personality to the bride and groom and I would like to see more of her personality on the website.

11) If money was no object would you hire this photographer based on what you have seen?
Jendrek: Only if I wanted my wedding album to look like a Ralph Lauren ad campaign.
Saba: No, probably not. The quality is good, but our styles seem different.
Erb: Yes.

12) Any other additional comments?
Jendrek: N/A
Saba: N/A
Erb: I would have loved to have some control over the speed of the slide shows.

Dana Rossini responds:

Thank you for your feedback Emily, Jennifer, and Melanie. It is a huge help to get feedback from people who are not personal acquaintances or art directors from whom I usually get my final advice. It helps to get straight feedback from the people who are out to actually find a wedding photographer.

I have since called my web designer to fix the scroll-down over the initials. Some see it right away; others say it's hard to find. I am also considering removing the opening page so as to launch directly into my slideshow. Seeing the images as you open the site is definitely more powerful. Additional photos have also now been added to the site.

As far as the music is concerned, I get mixed reactions to it but am certainly going to put more thought into it. I feel that music enhances the experience. I do have an on/off feature though, so one can make the choice themselves. It's the only thing with motion on the site so I think it's pretty easy to find.

I had to smile at the comments about my images looking like a Ralph Lauren campaign and a spread in Vogue. I actually take that as a compliment. I do see a wedding as a day where the bride deserves to look like she should be on the cover of a magazine. The day is surreal and magical and the photos should reflect that. I believe in bringing out the beauty, the romance, and the story of the day. I do, in fact, spend a great deal of time and effort doing post work. I understand that some brides request a more journalistic photographer.

Thank you also for noticing that I am showing specific weddings instead of the best photos from many weddings. I did that just for the reasons you liked. I think it shows that I am capable of capturing many great images and/or emotions. Thank you so much, ladies, for giving me some well-received insight.

Matt Mendelsohn
www.mattmendelsohn.com

1) Immediate first impressions once you were in the home page?
Jendrek: The actual home page was attractive and looked logically organized. While I liked the picture of the intensely smiling flower girl, I also thought it was a bit much.
Saba: Inviting, especially the picture he uses for the “weddings” section. I really like the shot of the girl with the goofy smile: it’s enduring, different and makes me want to check out more of his work. It’s not too serious like some other wedding pictures I have seen. Overall, the homepage is well organized.
Erb: Wow! She’s excited, that must have been a fun wedding.

2) What are your thoughts on the quality of the photography and how it is being presented?
Jendrek: The images were of great quality and most of them are the style and type I hope will appear in my own wedding album. The layout was very straightforward and attractive. I really liked his “in the moment” style. Even the posed photos didn’t feel rigidly structured. I also liked that there weren’t a ton of detail shots, which I dislike. When I think of what I want for my wedding photos, I want ones that are going to be meaningful to me and my family 30 or 50 years down the road, not of the seating cards or the bride’s shoes.
Saba: What I really like about his site is that he organizes the wedding photos by gallery giving you a variety of different weddings. It’s easy to navigate – the back button is very useful. More than that, presenting a “one wedding day” option that shows his work for one client is great and incredibly useful.
Erb: I love the unusual moments he captures leading up to the actual wedding, moments such as the bride on the phone in the doorway. I also like how many of the photos are cropped in tight to focus on expression and emotion.

3) Did you want to see more or less photos?
Jendrek: There were a lot of pictures to look through, but it felt like the right amount. As a bride selecting a photographer, I say the more pictures the better. I feel that the larger the sample size the better idea I have of the photographer’s style and types of compositions that they do for weddings. Also having a large number of pictures helps you get past the really petty things you think like, “wow that is a really religious wedding”, or “I hate the way that bride smiles.” Not to sound like bridezilla, but sometimes the individuals or they type of wedding get in the way of judging the photography.
Saba: N/A
Erb: The amount of photos seemed about right. If a site has too many photos, I feel like I need to see them all and I get overwhelmed by looking at a site for hours

4) Could you make an informed decision about the quality of the photography from what you saw from the site?
Jendrek: The two galleries of wedding photos and the “one day wedding” section really gave me a good feel for the quality of the photography and I defiantly liked what I saw.
Saba: Yes. His style seems pretty natural and yet not too candid. There are a few pictures of people too where people are “too posed” plus who cares about shoes and dresses and rings—but I gather that is the preference of the bride.
Erb: Yes.

5) If they have a blog, what did you think of it? Did it hold your attention?
Jendrek: I must preface this with the fact that I am not a blog person. I don’t have a blog, I don’t read blogs, and I think there is something narcissistic about blogs. That said, I did look at the photographer’s blog and found it superficially interesting. There were some very nice photos of his recent trip to Paris and a few of friends and one wedding, but I felt like there was a lot of name-dropping and self-promoting though connections. Maybe this is how blogs are, I wouldn’t really know. He also repeatedly referred to his struggle to balance his blog with weddings and history or life. This got a little repetitive.
Saba: The blog seemed more general in nature, so no it didn’t hold my attention at least where wedding photography is concerned.
Erb: Yes, I forgot that I was supposed to be answering questions, and I just kept reading. I particularly like the balance he maintained between wedding topics and other subjects.

6) Does the personality of the wedding photographer emerge from the blog?
Jendrek: This photographer definitely is cultured and well traveled. He knows a lot of folks in the literary world and celebrates their success. He seems fairly sophisticated but also laid back. I felt that I got more of his personality, especially regarding wedding photography from the FAQ section under weddings. He really described his documentary style and approach, which I liked. I would have liked him not to be quite so sarcastic about traditional wedding photography, not that I didn’t agree with him, but I felt it was too strong. I really liked reading about some of his favorite wedding moments that he witnessed. They were very sentimental and made me teary.
Saba: Yes.
Erb: I think it does, he talks about family and friends as well as telling us about his brides and grooms as if they are close friends. You get the feeling that he really gets to know his clients. I also liked his apparent aversion to the crated “candid” shot.

7) Was it clear from the site about the kind of services that the wedding photographer is offering and what they are charging for these services?
Jendrek: The starting base price was listed for his services, as were some of the additional options. He made it very clear that he works with the couple to tailor his work to their needs.
Saba: Yes, extremely clear and he’s very upfront about his style: doesn’t think much of Photoshop, thinks the groom dipping the bride picture is cheesy (me too), and it very good about explaining the timing of how it all goes down during the wedding. He covers all the bases and then some.
Erb: The starting price is in the FAQ’s and fairly easy to find along with the idea that he is flexible with his packages. I really like that the site, including the FAQs is clear to understand, yet written in a natural, conversational style. Not third person and sterile. It is clear to me that if you are serious about obtaining this level of talent for your wedding, that money is not the most important factor. It is not clear exactly what the starting price includes and what specific options he offers.

8) Were there any extra features on the site that really appealed to you?
Like video etc?
Jendrek: The other features to the website included his other types of work. I liked looking at the portraits of people with their pets with my own dog lying on my feet 
Saba: Not really—I’m pretty focused on just the wedding part though I could see how viewing his entire work could be helpful.
Erb: Not that I noticed.

9) Was this site easy to use and navigate?
Jendrek: Overall, the site was very easy to navigate and I liked the back button feature on each page. However, when looking at a specific collection of pictures, you have to click on the individual photo, and then click on a “close” button to close it, and then click on the next photo to view it. This got pretty old on my touch pad laptop. I would have liked a feature to scroll through all of the photos in a collection without the additional step of closing each one before clicking on the next.
Saba: Yes!
Erb: Relatively easy to navigate, but my computer screen is set to a really low resolution, so images are larger for my job, so I don’t think I could see the entire page at once and there was no way to scroll or maximize the page and I found that frustrating.

10) What ways could this photographer improve their site?
Jendrek: See the above comment. Otherwise I thought it was very nice.
Saba: None that I could think of.
Erb: Add a scroll bar maybe, this could have just been a problem with my particular monitor.

11) If money was no object would you hire this photographer based on what you have seen?
Jendrek: Based on what I saw, I would definitely consider it, but I feel that I’d really need to meet him in person to make sure that his personality isn’t to strong for me and that I would feel comfortable that he wouldn’t be in the fore ground of every moment as it happens, but rather artfully blended in.
Saba: Yes.
Erb: Definitely, I love what I have seen, and that fact that he is in DC is just an added plus as my wedding is in DC.

12) Any other additional comments?
Jendrek: N/A
Saba: I really like Matt’s style, sense of humor and the fact that he takes this seriously but not too seriously.
Erb: I like that he has included his family and his personality in the site. On a day as important and personal as your wedding, it is important to feel like you know the person who will be spending so much of the day or entire weekend with you and your loved ones.


Matt Mendelsohn responds:

I appreciate all the comments from Emily, Jennifer and Melanie. My site, including the blog, has one primary goal: to make potential clients aware that they are not getting "Insert Photographer Here." I think we succeed and the comments from the brides seem to reinforce that. They get a sense of who I am and what I do very quickly. And though Emily thought I might have been a bit sarcastic, I feel my site needs to be a close representation of my personality. (For the record, I'm not really that sarcastic but old school posey wedding photography puts me to sleep.) To be honest, we are weeding out as much as brides and grooms: people who don't get my humor and likes and dislikes probably wouldn't be good fits in the long run. They'd be better with someone else. And that's good for them and good for us.

(In fact, the website and blog are litmus tests, of sorts. That Emily didn't like the photo of the flower girl smiling, as well as the chattiness of the blog, would give me pause if she ever came to me for real. Not because she's not entitled to her opinion but because it potentially signals a bad fit.)

On the technical issues, we have a fix in the works for the navigation issues that were raised. Basically, at lower screen resolutions on certain PCs our navigation tools are being cut off. We're hoping to fix this shortly. Like a lot of photographers, we probably need to be reminded more often that clients don't all have 30" HD monitors like we do. :) We're also changing the galleries so that the minute one image is closed another one opens. This will eliminate the frustration that Emily spoke of. We also have changed blog hosting recently. Our new blog, hosted by Squarespace, allows for much larger images and much faster posting of quickie galleries. I think you'll see more and more photographers merging their blogs and websites into one unit.

Finally, on a humorous note, I have to laugh at Jennifer's comment about ridiculous photos of shoes and dresses. In 450-odd weddings in the last 10 years, I think I've shot a close-up of a pair of shoes once. And that photo happens to be in the "one wedding" gallery. (The bride wanted it.) So clearly it made me laugh because it's not very representative and I'm going to take it out ASAP! I can't think of anything more ridiculous than photographs of a bride's shoes. I mean, they're shoes for God's sakes. Never understood that. And the brides who book me feel the same way.



Frank DiMeo
www.frankdimeo.com

1) Immediate first impressions once you were in the home page?
Jendrek: Love it. It was just the right balance of photos and the music was nice and not distracting. It felt intimate and romantic.
Saba: Well, he’s all about weddings. Hate the music. I know you can turn it off, but his choice of Bruce Hornsby-esque music makes me think our styles are vastly different. Ditto for his choice of font.
Erb: I want photos like these! Really a great mix of fun and romantic.

2) What are your thoughts on the quality of the photography and how it is being presented?
Jendrek: I felt that this was a style I could see using. I liked that they didn’t look like they had tons of special effects and he seemed to let the subject be the center of attention and just captured the moment beautifully. I was a sucker for his “emotions” section and hope I have moments like that captured at my own wedding. As for the portraits, I liked about half and disliked about half. Again, I don’t like the ones that look like magazine ads or are just so bizarrely staged. If it doesn’t look like something you would do, why would you do it for your wedding? I liked the ones that looked more unplanned and natural.
Saba: I think Frank’s site is incredibly well organized and the way he groups photos -- by emotions, portraits, getting ready, etc. – is useful too. When I first launched the “emotions” section I was bracing myself for tons of weepy brides (see choice of music) but I was surprised by how much I liked the selection. I prefer his candid photos to the portraits.
Erb: I liked the mixed presentation of fun and romantic and the mix of B/W and color shots.

3) Did you want to see more or less photos?
Jendrek: It actually felt like the perfect number of photos. I also really liked how he had them grouped in logical and important aspects of the wedding day.
Saba: He shows the right amount.
Erb: Just the right amount.

4) Could you make an informed decision about the quality of the photography from what you saw from the site?
Jendrek: Yes, it was terrific and real. Not lots of special effects or Photoshop.
Saba: His style swings so it’s hard to say. The posed portraits are clichéd but the candid ones are really terrific. Overall the quality is very professional.
Erb: Not sure - The photos on the site were great, but many of the engagement photos posted in the blog looked too posed to me and a bit unnatural…

5) If they have a blog, what did you think of it? Did it hold your attention?
Jendrek: Again, I’m not really into blogs, but I liked that his was about his wedding photography work, that he didn’t repeated every photo I just saw on his website, and that he talked about some of the more unique aspects of working with each couple. I can’t say it was a thrilling page-turner either, however.
Saba: Franks gives a lot of useful information but it was hard to find. He put all the pictures first and I had to scroll down for his descriptions. At first, I thought it was just a photoblog.
Erb: At first I liked all the photos in the blog, but It took a minute to find the actual written part all the way at the bottom of each entry, then having to scroll all the way up to select the next entry. The recent entries were easy to get to, but I didn’t understand how to look at the older entries. As soon as I can’t get something to work, I lose interest.

6) Does the personality of the wedding photographer emerge from the blog?
Jendrek: Yes, he seems very friendly and that he enjoys his work and the people he meets. I think I got more from his bio & philosophy on his website than his blog.
Saba: Sort of… however, he explains in detail how the shoot went which is helpful.
Erb: A little, but it was difficult to open more than just a few entries.

7) Was it clear from the site about the kind of services that the wedding photographer is offering and what they are charging for these services?
Jendrek: He was clear that there are a range of options that you would discuss with him. No prices mentioned.
Saba: Not really. I’m looking for hard data, pricing etc. He mentioned that his retainer is low and he accepts credit cards, but I would prefer to get some sort of ballpark figure.
Erb: Not really clear what is offered or any hint of pricing. I guess you have to contact him directly. I really don’t like the idea of being in a situation where I have to ask someone about money in the first conversation.

8) Were there any extra features on the site that really appealed to you?
Like video etc?
Jendrek: No.
Saba: N/A
Erb: I liked the slideshow aspect of the homepage, so I got to see mare than just a few photos there.

9) Was this site easy to use and navigate?
Jendrek: Very. There was a slight lag in a few photos loading, but nothing long enough to put me off.
Saba: Yes, it was really well organized.
Erb: Yes, I particularly liked how the galleries were organized by topic

10) What ways could this photographer improve their site?
Jendrek: I really liked it the way it was. I also really liked that he had a candid photo of himself that wasn’t artistically abstracts, making you guess what the photographer really looks like.
Saba: He should consider adding full weddings to the groups of sample photos in order to allow the viewer to see how he shoots one client.
Erb: Make the Blog more user-friendly and provide more details on pricing – even just some sort of range would be awesome.

11) If money was no object would you hire this photographer based on what you have seen?
Jendrek: Yes, definitely! His is exactly the kid of photographer I’m looking for. My favorite so far!
Saba: Not sure, undecided.
Erb: Not sure. I like what I see on the site, but many of the photos in the blog look too unnatural.

12) Any other additional comments?
(None from any of the brides)

Frank DiMeo responds:

Many thanks to Emily, Jennifer, and Melanie for taking the time to review our sites and providing the wonderful feedback. Thank you to PDN also for another great wedding issue full of outstanding articles and images. I did learn a lot from this unexpected review and plan to implement some changes as a direct result. My blog was being redesigned at the time of these evaluations, and unfortunately the new version was not reviewed. I guess the best way for me to respond would be to take the comments in order and work through them.

Emily Jendrek:

“As for the portraits, I liked about half and disliked about half. Again, I don’t like the ones that look like magazine adds or are just so bizarrely staged. If it doesn’t look like something you would do, why would you do it for your wedding?”

This comment has stuck with me, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. The others seem to agree with you Emily so obviously there is some validity to it. I really like to create these images though, and most of my couples tend to work in the art world and appreciate them too. I was kind of bummed out that there wasn’t a future bride or reviewer to represent the couples out there that do work in the arts.


“Not lots of special effects or Photoshop.” I thought this was interesting too because all of my images are worked quite extensively. I try to make them look like they aren’t though so I guess this is a good thing.

“I think I got more from his bio & philosophy on his website than his blog.“
This is kind of disappointing because I try to make the blog as informative as possible. A lot of my couples don’t live close by so I want them to be able to learn about me from the blog.

“No prices mentioned.” This is on purpose and with a lot of thought, but I think I may reconsider.

11) If money was no object would you hire this photographer based on what you have seen? “Yes, definitely! This is exactly the kind of photographer I’m looking for. My favorite so far!”

Thanks Emily! Wish I could do it for you!


Jennifer Saba:

“Bruce Hornsby-esque music”. I like Bruce, Jennifer, but the music on my site is nothing like him. I don’t really get this reference.

“I prefer his candid photos to the portraits.” Interesting observation shared by all. I really have to look into this and give it some thought and consideration.

“Franks gives a lot of useful information but it was hard to find.” This isn’t good. I plan to categorize, but this is very important to me so I will have to make it easier, thanks Jennifer.

“I’m looking for hard data, pricing etc.” O.K. you are all talking me into it.

“He should consider adding full weddings to the groups of sample photos in order to allow the viewer to see how he shoots one client.” There are tons of these on my blog, but I guess they need to be on my main site too because people don’t always see them. They are there because I really want people to see how I handle a whole wedding. It is definitely not good though if people don’t know about them or can’t find them easily. I think I will add a section to the main site and the blog that is exclusively slide shows.

Melanie Erb:

“Engagement photos posted in the blog looked too posed to me and a bit unnatural…” Again, interesting observation. A lot of people hire me because of these images.

“but I didn’t understand how to look at the older entries. As soon as I can’t get something to work, I lose interest.” Don’t want this to happen! The archive list is right there on the left, but a lot of people do seem to miss it.

“I really don’t like the idea of being in a situation where I have to ask someone about money in the first conversation.” I am hearing all three of you loud and clear. Usually the second conversation doesn’t even happen because the price is not in their budget. So I guess this would save all of us a lot of time.

“Many of the photos in the blog look too unnatural.” I’m not sure this is a bad thing, some people really like that about them.

I feel it is worth repeating that unfortunately there wasn’t a future bride or reviewer to represent the couples out there that do work in the art field. Another thing worth mentioning is I noticed that with the exception of Melanie, no one has a photographer booked yet. My clients usually book me a year or more in advance. Photography is important to them and they take care of it early so they will be able to get the photographer they want. I’m sorry Jennifer and certainly don’t mean to upset you, but you are getting married in less than a month and don’t have a photographer? It is obvious that photography is not extremely important to you. Emily’s wedding is also less than two months away. Both of these are very last minute, and not the type of couples I usually shoot for. That is fine if that is where you are at with your own choices of photography. I respect that and don’t mean to insult you or PDN. I do feel it is something that should be taken into account. Thank you again for your time and involvement.

Ben Chrisman
www.benchrisman.com

1) Immediate first impressions once you were in the home page?
Jendrek: Very simple and elegant. However, I am getting tired of the click to enter type home pages. Load time for some of the pictures was kind of slow too.
Saba: I liked the fact that Ben set up a separate wedding site from his other work. I like a lot of the pictures in the opening slides though again, some seem too staged for my taste. Not a fan of the music.
Erb: This guy isn’t afraid to play with different lighting.

2) What are your thoughts on the quality of the photography and how it is being presented?
Jendrek: The photos are very good, however, not what I would want in my wedding album. Lost of silhouettes and camera angles. Lots of staged photos as well, some fairly cliché. There are some really intimate photos that I felt were borderline crude and I felt embarrassed viewing (that’s the mid-west girl in me I guess). Also there was unrealistic staging or settings in lots of the portraits that wouldn’t be how I’d want to remember my wedding.
Saba: Overall, the pictures are good. I prefer the more candid looking shots.
Erb: I like the artsy feel and the way he works with low light situations. I also like how many shots are displayed in a slideshow on the home page so you don’t have to even look for them.

3) Did you want to see more or less photos?
Jendrek: I’d like to see fewer photos showing more aspects of the wedding day. There are a lot of photos of the bride getting ready and portraits of the bride and groom. I would rather the photographer pick their best photos display and limit it to about 100. There were way too many: first you go through “A defining moment”- which I’m not sure what that means, then you go through all of these individual weddings and I didn’t feel it added anything. There was also repetition of photos between groupings.
Saba: Ben shows a pretty good variety: getting ready, ceremony, reception.
Erb: Good amount of photos.

4) Could you make an informed decision about the quality of the photography from what you saw from the site?
Jendrek: Somewhat. Like I said, there were a lot of preparation pictures and portraits of the couple, but I felt like it was lacking in ceremony photos and all of the other little interactions that occur through out the day.
Saba: Yes and I like the fact he showed a few wedding albums that he put together—they were really good, thorough examples.
Erb: Yes, I like the quality and the urban feel to the photography.

5) If they have a blog, what did you think of it? Did it hold your attention?
Jendrek: I liked that his blog actually related unapologetically to his wedding photography, however, when he talked about a wedding it was like reading a who’s who column where the writer loves everyone and everything. Also he puts all of the photos from his website of the wedding in the blog… a little repetitive.
Saba: Ben has a great blog, one of the more useful ones. It communicates a lot of good information and insight into his style and how he captured moments. It held my attention. Plus, I like how he takes the reader through some pictures.
Erb: I liked the way the entries followed one after another on the page, which made it easier to read than some other blogs. I liked that he included lots of photos, but I would have liked to see more written entries to accompany the photos.

6) Does the personality of the wedding photographer emerge from the blog?
Jendrek: I thought his little bio “about Ben” was funny because it’s in 3rd person and read somewhat like a personal ad. Reading his blog I got the sense that he’s a pretty laid back and chill guy. His energy seemed like it would be what I’d want in a photographer: to blend in and enjoy while capturing special moments.
Saba: Yes. Ben seems open, easy-going and yet professional. Plus he comes across game to ideas.
Erb: The photos in the blog portray his personality, but there is not much writing to glean insight from.

7) Was it clear from the site about the kind of services that the wedding photographer is offering and what they are charging for these services?
Jendrek: You needed to contact Ben for any specifics and pricing but the website did say that he would be there from when you begin getting ready to the end of the night. So full day coverage, digital negatives, and web access to photos and the option of designing an album.
Saba: I wish there was more information in regards to pricing. It seems like he is willing to travel but it’s not stated on the site.
Erb: It seems as though he offers photography for engagements, local and destinations weddings as well as being able to bring a videographer, but no price range is provided. You must contact him directly for more info.

8) Were there any extra features on the site that really appealed to you?
Like video etc?
Jendrek: Not especially.
Saba: He had all sort of stuff on the site, slide shows, videos, etc. It was well organized though not in your face. If I wanted to dive in for more about his style, I felt like I could get more in-depth about his work.
Erb: I like how he kept the videos to just the blog. It was nice to see them, but not have them detracting from the home page.

9) Was this site easy to use and navigate?
Jendrek: Load time for the photos was an issue because it was annoyingly slow. I got tired of looking through some groupings because it was just taking so long. I also thought that some of his titles for different areas of the website were a little vague.
Saba: Yes. I didn’t mind the pop up windows and I appreciated that he made a separate wedding site.
Erb: Yes, very easy to navigate and get back to the homepage.

10) What ways could this photographer improve their site?
Jendrek: Work on the load time.
Saba: I mainly go for research purposes, so the more information about pricing and travel etc. the better. It would help me save time to see if he’s in my budget or not.
Erb: Include more details on what they offer and maybe a starting price or range.

11) If money was no object would you hire this photographer based on what you have seen?
Jendrek: Probably not. I didn’t see a lot of pictures that made me think, yes I want that or could even that I could imagine showing to my kids in 30 years.
Saba: Yes. He’s seems gung-ho and engaging and most important, I get a sense that he is willing to work with your style.
Erb: Definitely

12) Any other additional comments?
(None from any of the brides)

(Ben Chrisman declined the opportunity to submit a response to the brides’ comments)