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Website Critiques

Lesson 45 from: The Boudoir Workshop

Christa Meola

Website Critiques

Lesson 45 from: The Boudoir Workshop

Christa Meola

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Lesson Info

45. Website Critiques

Next Lesson: Shoot: Sister Kate

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

Introduction

07:36
2

Let’s Get this Party Started Right!

20:35
3

Redefining Boudoir: YOUR Brand & Style

29:59
4

Working with Women

20:01
5

Creating Relaxed Clients

17:49
6

Posing and Anti-Posing

12:05
7

Flattering All Body Types

21:13

Lesson Info

Website Critiques

Our studio audience is just so often not only did they send in videos on put themselves out there, they're allowing us to take a peek at their websites because I think it's so important I feel like I don't know my podium here fill formal and legal. Okay, so brandi, this is your website and taking a picture I know I've seen it before, but I just wanna familiarize myself again. Um website and blob first of all, images really strong. I love black white it's simple. I adjusted for you for this and just put all of the images that need may one of you in the beaming boudoir section that's what I was okay awesome. First of all, your work is stunning and beautiful, your websites classic and clean, so I'm a huge fan of laughter exactly right up front, great job um just going to go through so I really like it. I'm just curious why you're loading it piece by piece by piece it's kind of interesting and it doesn't necessarily bother me. It might go a little faster if you didn't do that, which is I l...

ike to make things a little quicker excuse me um one thing I hated about your side when I went on here tio select my people and I chose you anyway, your name isn't on here yeah, I don't know how to spell your name right andy? I don't even know you know like where is her name it's nowhere so I wouldn't say you know be me is okay um photography you know you're really passionate about it so I'm going to say stick with it but I want to see by brandy we don't need to say your last name um um information care of last week portrait adults could seniors weddings I do like that you have it all in one huge fan of that okay workshop sassy wretch oh, bridal maternity workshop is for us I just did that for us I mean usually you can call it why are you calling it work? No, no no that was just told to make a slide show for I'm viewing purpose. Okay that's all right so that's normally not on no alright we'll skip it then let me go up to this portfolio gorgeous work brandy thank you that's art right there girlfriend it can I just flipping through faster like this beautiful woops really nice where's the arrow okay, so I'm thinking you really love left and white it's part of who you are okay, so can I could go into your about us page about brandy which should be on here yes it's in the information section our philosophy yes okay, there it is there it is well I guess I wasn't scrolling far enough I don't love this uh scroll bar but I guess if this is a standard yeah, it was clean you have to work around it it's the only thing that that would bug me I love that you're on here. Owner lead photographer that's awesome your philosophy sounds great. Um our philosophy I would like to say like about brandy instead of information you know and our philosophy sounds a little bit like how about like I don't know I just like about brandy um I also have to say about this I would like your phone number right on here so after like about me is always like a huge he visited page and so you want people to buy into it right after that like the way you talked about telling a story etcetera you got all emotional and be like and I would love to do this for you so I put a call to action like I would love to do this for you here's my number let's do it right under your name so that would be great. Um otherwise I have to say this is one of the really nice websites I've seen uh you're doing everything that I would suggest um except for I think it's under b me photography's you should put but by brandi medina okay I really like that that's because that's being made people think obi me is not that cute cb yourself is brandy elaine medina be me so that's kind of like a playoff my initials I didn't put my name in it but um that you're thinking still maybe have your name full name yeah okay okay any comments or questions about this? Yeah music I hate it um anyway it's just my personal opinion like I immediately go close close you know if you're work isn't strong enough to like stand on its own a website I don't know if you want it people are doing looking at this stuff like at work sometimes are you know it's just a distraction really and it's uh go ahead oh, question was just d from spunky two thousand for should we have a personal phone number as well as a business number for just won that's a great question I prefer just business number but I have to say that since I moved him a little I've got my personal number on there right now I think I have a google voice number on there now you got that forwards to my personal okay, so um this is great I want to move on to someone else um let's go to nicole renee okay, so you have a splash it page to, um awesome all those different websites for your different things it's the same thats the same interface it's just uh I wanted to try to keep it separate gotcha but it's branded entirely the same it's the same interview a little bit different colors yeah, I'm like I'm liking that I did that this they're gorgeous look you've got the peep show to uh I thought that was funny. Um gorgeous investment could tour clients connect journal nicole love that you have it right here let's see it says me you've got your husband on their kids on there it's cute it's a lot to take in I think this is a little too much so it kind of is like an editing like the awesome stuff is getting lost in the sea of plenty um I think you could you would do yourself a services maybe you just have one picture of you and your husband and one picture of your kids and you talk a little bit like I'm a mom and a mother I mean, I'm a mother and a wife and I you know, whatever but can you streamline this a little bit? Okay, I think that would be helpful and talk about what's meaningful to you and why you do what you do right up front um prior to my personal life yeah, I would say so so that was a question from shutter sky what things do you suggest that we have in the about me section okay, why what I talked about on day one why you do what you d'oh not just how or what why you're passionate about it, why you're compelled to do this um and then you know, I love I know that people like to put quirky details and stuff in that that humanizes you and that's always fun but just like keep it to a minimum and, uh you know, keep it relevant um did okay, so we've got your pricing on here, okay? Caller email to steal for more details now why isn't the phone number down right there but the contract always when investment or contact or anywhere just constantly have your phone number they're on to say it would love to chat with you about the details okay call me um session starting at three fifty I'm okay with that it's really vague, so I'm good with that if you want to have it on there again, I feel like it's not necessary and with me I'd like to I'd like my people to go to the pages, I want them tio so investment I won't have it on there not because I really don't even believe in it because this is vague enough but like remove its stuff we don't need I want to streamline and so that they take the path I want them to and they're focusing on the images and why I'm passionate about it and how a session goes down and how much fun it is okay ok so one more um nico can you close this window for me thanks he's seamless jen mccann so jen is your want it's just one blog's site right like mine awesome love it I like the singularity like the simplicity and let's talk about this because it's a huge question I know everyone wants to know do I separate them do I have just one we have a variety in here what works for someone might not work for someone else my priority is always simplification and making my life easier and also you know my ideal client is very forward thinking I work in metropolitan areas are lovers so they have no problem with nudity and being showcased with my travel work or my family portraiture my lifestyle stuff so I keep it all in one I also like to do that because I have a lot of client crossover so I've got my mom's um you know who hired me for family way back in the day who became my boudoir clients they also bought my fine art for their walls or commission meat for a special portrait or they saw that I was doing editorial work so that their husband when he needed um when authored a book he needed a book jacket cover picture so it's like it's all so I like showing that I am passionate in different areas, having said that, I'm not schizophrenic, I'm not saying I'm doing pets and landscapes and all kinds of other stuff. Um, I am targeting boudoir in a fine art with a fine art, uh, aesthetic, but I do love that I think my brand is pretty consistent across all of those, and I try and do boudoir and travel locations, and then I do a little bit of travel photography. I don't know if you've been following, but you see that I showcase paris in italy and all that stuff, and I think I my mentor marie, for leo she's like, yeah, crystal, what the through line is it's all shot, so essentially so I was like, okay, that makes sense because it first I was like, what is my bog about? And I really got to know it's about me and what I do and my style, it's, not necessarily for my client, I don't really have a lot of clients on there. Do you have a website as well? Was the book I don't work for you now, if you another thing I got to do, but it would be good thing to have, like, a stock for me because I'm moving in another direction, soon's so yeah, I kind of have tio my block is you only see the most recent stuff you have to kind of sort through you're not seeing like the high rights right away, which is awesome because people spend hours on a hug but you know, if I'm you know meeting with a different target client in the different industry I can't do my blogged okay um so jen tell me about this what you want now is it working for you? Are you yeah, you love it too client say I went on your site and I do when you were talking earlier about how people feel like they kind of know you before they make the phone call, I get that a lot um I do and I've been told on both ends of the spectrum that I belong to much I should blood less or I need to block more, so I'm just kind of trying to find a happy medium I'm very social, so this is like my outlet and, uh, okay, so don't listen to should and shouldn't I'm going to be totally open with you and say if you feel like this is so comfortable for you and it's working and it's booking clients and you enjoy it than what more do you need? If you enjoy in your booking, then I'm happy um I love that you have your name here I love that it's clean and we see you right up front and you say hey you actually incite action lets be friends I love it um uh info and price about um about me about you what's the info has that different oh covers covers ham and cheese station yeah that's for weddings okay, so it's I think I talked briefly yesterday evening about you know I'm just I'm from a small town and so I have a difficult time finding women because I haven't hired models to let me showcase their images on my site and so my sight even though I do do boudoir is mostly weddings, engagements and that sort of thing so right uh huh okay, because I just want to see your portfolio it's actually called categories so I would love if I would I really love you too slim this up. Okay, um and just have galleries and then wedding boudoir and, um your other galleries that are actually portfolios and then your categories khun b your other silliness going I'm saying so just want to see report you write me that um and then I'm just about can be that list of info on price do you know I mean just can you combine it to slim it up? Sure just can you put about jen and then or in the info about your session or about your session to distinguish those two things you don't know about me you want to know about what's gonna go down because you know about info price just a little generic any questions we have I'm going to ask you one quick question before we go to break okay one quick question before break and that is um what do you think of websites like smugmug that allow purchasing prints and digital files directly from this site? So in this market I'm thinking about that well in those types of sites where you can order yeah as long as it's you know, client access only like with a password protected thing um I'm okay with it but I don't think you're going to get great cells like with that um format I really believe in the in person self and um having just like proof images up on a website I just don't think it's gonna be really powerful for sales at all great well, thank you the internet was really really fabulously interested in that whole you know, I wish for you saving marketing actually like brandy you had a great website so I wasn't able to say what but you were including the money shots and jen we didn't get to see much of hopefully because you don't really have one yet so you should blawg even like to set up some models that's it get back, right. So just to wrap up the website things super quick, you gotta have your name on there. You have to make sure you include the why of what you're doing and communicate that using the language we talked about that's your client's words and make it a simple in streamlined as possible, like jen's, is a little overwhelming, and I understand that she's doing a lot with it and she's super social. But the more you khun, streamline it, same thing for you, nickel. Better. You want your website to be like a juicy trail, leading your client to where you want them to go, and always put your phone number and email with a go ahead. I'd love to talk to you about your sessions, so contact me at the end of like you're about paige contact page and about the session.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Christa Meola Day 1.pdf
Christa Meola Day 2.pdf
Christa Meola Day 3.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

This is meant to be a HELPFUL review for those that are wondering if they should purchase this workshop. About 75% of what I took away from this workshop was posing, composition for boudoir and the importance of eye lines and capturing movement. I had two boudoir sessions a week after this workshop and my images significantly improved. I was able to coach my clients through poses better, direct them on where to look for better eye lines, I was more aware of their posture and how to fix it, I think I sounded more professional and felt more confidant with getting awesome poses, stand out expressions and adding movement to my images. I put a fan on my client the way Christa does.. and she is right! The instant I put the fan on my client, her expression changed and you could tell she was really "feeling it". She told me she felt like a real supermodel right after I turned on the fan. If you are looking for inspiration on how to coach women and pose for boudoir then Christa is the girl for you. I think the most worthwhile thing I learned watching this is something that will help me in the years to come... with my brand, my website, my workflow and my business goals. I learned how to "keep it simple" which is Christa's tag line. For example Christa brings a roll of gray background paper and uses gaffer tape to hang it from the wall of the hotel (instead of bringing a 12ft background stand). I know this seems simple but this will change my life! I hate dragging equipment back and forth. There are some negative reviews on here about Christa's technical skills, but I think these people may have missed the whole point. If you provide an awesome product and an awesome experience for your client, they will buy it. And guess what.. your client will never know if you used your camera in auto or manual and they won't care if you used one light instead of two. As someone who has been in business for 3 years doing boudoir exclusively I learned a lot. I see a lot of value in learning from someone who doesn't spend a lot of money on fancy equipment, yet charges her clients over $3,000 for sessions. I'm a huge fan of her keep it simple philosophy and I'm glad Christa is willing to be honest about her workflow and how she best utilizes her time. Your not going to agree with or use everything Christa talks about, you take the parts that you like and are most helpful to you and work them into building a stronger business.

a Creativelive Student
 

AWESOME DEAL on Christa's course. I just sent an email to my husband to tell him thanks for "gifting" me this course. I told him just the ONE CLASS about pricing was worth the full $129 price of the course. And there are over 50 classes?! That is a crazy stupid good deal. You can learn something good from every class you take, every book you read, and just apply the stuff that works for you. There are a lot of people out there who seem to just enjoy giving crappy reviews, and to me it's almost like bullying. How someone could not find $129 worth of value in this course is beyond me. In my opinion this course is worth over a thousand bucks, because it can help you make SO much more money. I hate when I see people whining about things that are not 100 percent perfect, and they get annoyed if the person isn't catering to their exact needs. It's like the Yelper generation, with a disturbing sense of entitlement. I would love to see those people try teaching a class about boudoir and see if they could do any better. It also seems like, the more popular a person gets, the more other people feel the need to tear them down. I'm grateful that Christa even offered this course at ALL. Thanks Christa for all you do to help those of us who really need to know this stuff. You rock.

a Creativelive Student
 

I never thought I would shoot boudoir. I am a shy and private person. I started entertaining the idea when I first saw Christa's work and saw how beautiful and tasteful it can be. I love her lighting and all that she uses from historic painters and sculptors. I watched all three days live and learned a ton. I have a lot of lighting education, but it was nice to freshen up my skills. I loved the posing tips and the three typical situations she uses for one shoot. I loved learning about how she shoots in hotels and also using things like an outdoor situation. I have now shot my first boudoir session and it was a total hit. I am thrilled to show my client her images. This was fantastic! Thank you, Christa!

Student Work

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