are my pictures that bad !

Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
sammyboy
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are my pictures that bad !

Post by sammyboy »

we have had a good first season so far , but ALL of our guests say that the pictures don't do it justice, so please have a look and tell me if they are that bad !!

thanks
gite-poitou-charentes.co.uk
sammyboy
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Post by sammyboy »

this might help !!!

http://gitechataigne.webs.com
gite-poitou-charentes.co.uk
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Vera
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Post by Vera »

They all look a bit too light and some blue sky would help.

If they all booked with the pictures like this just think what the future will bring! Looks like a lovely place you have.

Over to Jimbo.
lorca
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Post by lorca »

Sammy - do they tell you why they don´t do it justice? eg is it bigger, homlier, brighter....etc than it looks in the photos?

For example, our guests have sometimes said our cottages are bigger than they look on our website and I know we´re going to have to get some wide angle pics done.

So, if they´ve given you a clue, it might help you decide what needs to be done.

Does look like a lovely place though!
victoriac
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Post by victoriac »

We get this all the time for my parents villa in Spain
http://www.pisteandpeaks.com/SpanishVillaHolidays.html (this is our new site which is a work in progress so it's not a good example as the photos are a bit small at the mo - sorry!).
Your place looks really lovely but it might be that your photo's don't covey the natural light or space or just the luxurious feel of your property.

This is our problem - the photos we take are just not quite as good as the place looks when you step inside.

We've decided to bite the bullet and get some professional photos done as the photographers will take some fancier shots to try to get across the feeling of luxury with a few extra props...
I'm just trying to find a good photographer now - :shock: !
Will let you know how it goes...
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

... but ALL of our guests say that the pictures don't do it justice, so please have a look and tell me if they are that bad !!

When you put your site up for review three months ago, fellow members told you that your pictures were poor. Now all your guests have told you the same thing. You obviously don't agree. What more is there to say.

Jim
sammyboy
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Post by sammyboy »

JIMBO
first of all my guests have never said my pictures are poor , nor do I remember fellow gite owners saying they are poor, The photo's were improved upon a while ago since the reveiw. there is a difference between improving and poor so I suggest you wake up first in the morning before posting a comment as I find your comment extremly rude !!
gite-poitou-charentes.co.uk
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

... I suggest you wake up first in the morning before posting a comment as I find your comment extremly rude !!
sammyboy, I apologise if you found my remarks offensive; that wasn't my intention. I've been a professional photographer for 35 years. If a blunt client said that my pictures from a shoot were 'poor' and a politer one said that 'they didn't do justice to the subject matter', I would conclude the same thing - they urgently needed to be better. And I wouldn't allow myself to be offended because the best advice is often delivered in a mailed fist. If you're willing to listen.

Just a small example from your site. How difficult (took me two minutes) would it be to improve your existing photographs.


Image Image

Jim
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Cool, Jimbo. Takes minutes in the right hands and definitely worth some practice and experimenting with further Sammyboy.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
sammyboy
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Post by sammyboy »

apology accepted and point definately taken Jimbo, now I can see the difference I will try to improve my pictures;

thanks Jimbo
gite-poitou-charentes.co.uk
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wallypott
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In defence of Jimbo

Post by wallypott »

I also find Jimbo a bit forthright, but he is on the mark. I tried really, really hard last time, and felt I couldn't do any better, but Jimbo assures me that I can and should. I know the criticism can be hard to take, especially if you think you did the best you could, but not much point asking for advice and then being offended when given it. In all honesty I don't think Jimbo's remark was the one that got to me the most anyway. I think we are really lucky to have Jimbo prepared to help us photo dunces. God I sound like a real suck-up, but just showing my gratitude.

For the moment I have managed to break my new camera (didnt like being between rocks and my behind) so all improvements are waiting. My advice (actually this was Jimbo's advice to me) is to do it when you have time - use a tripod or something that doesn't move, take quite a few pics, preferably at different times of the day, because the light never works out as you expect.

Stick with it but do change them.

Wally
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

ooh goody - can we start the debate about the legitimacy of photoshopping out tree stumps and concrete now Jimbo? :-) :-) :-)

Actually it's amazing how many of my competitors have photos that really don't do their places justice - be that because they are badly exposed or just that they were taken in January when it was raining.

You don't have to be Jimbo to touch up a photo (although it probably helps a lot). You can make some huge improvements by simply using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.
jayval
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Post by jayval »

contrast is too bright...I think your place is more colorful than shown in the pictures...
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

Its probably just me, but I have a thing about tidy grass. I'd advise someone never to take a website photo of the garden unless lawn has been cut recently. It just looks scruffy to me.
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

Its probably just me, but I have a thing about tidy grass.
Digital capture and editing software have encouraged sloppiness amongst photographers, many of whom take little care shooting their images because they believe that everything can be 'fixed' later in photoshop or other programmes. In the days of film, photographers were compelled to pay more attention at the taking stage because improvements like air-brushing and retouching were the exclusive territory of highly skilled - and highly paid - professionals.

It's commercial sense - and common sense - to make sure that everything is as good as it can be before you press the shutter. Good viewpoint, level horizon, blue sky, well-lit, clean and tidy - chant this mantra constantly as you work through your shooting list. Photography is a truthful medium. If you're sloppy and uncaring, the world will be your witness.
... can we start the debate about the legitimacy of photoshopping out tree stumps and concrete now Jimbo?
If you move your feet to exclude the concrete and remove the tree-stump before you press the shutter (rather than doing the same with photoshop), does that 'legitimise' the picture. Hey you! Boy at the back, stop smirking! Five page essay on this subject by 4pm!

Jim
Last edited by Jimbo on Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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