Kerry-Lyn approached Xplore Studio to help her with a very basic, but still professional looking website for her photography business. We've added in a little flair with the damask background, but kept the focus on the photographs which displays in a faded effect on the page. The logo is set in an elegant font which can be used as a watermark on her photos, as well as on her business cards.

Kerry-Lyn is based in Durbanville and focuses on photos of sport, wildlife, flora, landscapes, travel, macro, décor and family.
Please visit her website at www.kerrylynphotography.co.za

Wow, it's been a while since our last post!  Xplore Studio have really been busy the last month...

Gwendoline, a gospel singer in Durbanville approached Xplore Studio to help her with a refresher on her website, which Xplore Studio have designed and developed two years ago.

Keeping in mind that Gwendoline had just brought out a new cd and dvd called "Gwendoline en die Bet-El-kids", we have managed to keep the website still on a professional level, but bringing in some more colour and playfulness that blends in with the kids theme. Apart from working in Gwendoline's favourite colours, whe have managed to add that personal touch and warmth that reflects her beauty and personality. Have a look at the new site, www.gwendoline.co.za.

Your website is your most important piece of online marketing material, and it needs to be at its best. If you have been going on with your website for more than three years, consider to re-design by Xplore Studio.

Marlene

Xplore Studio designed a logo, business card and website for a photographer friend, Marlize Faller based in Pretoria.

Marlize wanted a fresh, simple, elegant but professional look that catches the eye but sets the focus on the photographs. Marlize specialize in baby portraits as well as children, maternity and family portraits.

She is a great photographer with a true passion for what she does. I am privileged to have her as a friend and I hope that she inspires you in the same way she does me. If you are based in the Pretoria, be sure to give her a call to setup a date for a shoot.

You can visit her website at www.marlizefallerphotography.co.za.

Marlene

Xplore Studio have been approached by the HDK Group to help with the branding of a new division called HDK Project Management. We had to incorporate unique colours that is professional but stands out from the rest.

Xplore Studio designed business cards, complimentary cards, letterheads, folders and more stationary for the HDK Project Management team.

We have also designed and are almost ready to launch the new website for HDK Project Management.
Jan Rabie, from HDK Project Management has really outdone the rest with working on unique projects from the Bella Rosa Village in Tyger Valley to La Clemence Retirement Village in Stellenbosh. For more information on all his projects, please view their website, www.hdkpm.co.za which is soon to be launched and great to look at!

Marlene

Facebook and Twitter are not just for teenagers any more. Nowadays, more and more businesses are using these to build an interested online community. Consider starting a blog where you post relevant articles about your industry, your products, new developments, and upcoming events. Providing a forum where your customers can interact with you and other customers and share knowledge helps to build your company’s brand and positioning.

You can post press releases on your website and/or blog by simply writing an article, then link to them on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Xplore Studio will be able to include “share” buttons so that visitors can easily share your content.

Setting up social media channels for marketing purposes is a great way to improve the company’s image that is it’s trustworthiness in the eyes of it’s customers. Contact Xplore Studio to help you to design a website that is attactive, informative and setup on a high standard.

Marlene

Everyone in Durbanville knows the famous restaurant Pistachio’s!

Xplore Studio has designed and developed a website for Pistachio that fits into the beautiful European ambience of the restaurant. Wilma Basson, the owner and her team was an absolute pleasure to work with.

You can now follow Pistachio on facebook to see what they’re up to. They also have a new virtual tour link on their website, where you can have a 360 degree view of their beautifully French style décor touch. This tour offers you the opportunity to view the restaurant from inside, the bar lounge area and the restaurant from outside.

If you ever feel like treating your loved one to an exquisite meal surrounded by elegance and charm, book now for an unforgettable experience and for starters... have a look at their beautiful website! :)

Marlene 

A warm welcome to Gerda van Zyl, our new graphic designer at Xplore Studio!!!

Gerda joined us about a month ago in assisting with graphic design, corporate id's, logo's, web design, print ready artwork and branding & advertising for our clients. Gerda not only has years of experience in this field of work, but she did some amazing designs for clients such as Sarie, Old Mutual, Ken Forrester Wines, Linton Park Wines, Scramble Productions, Leisure Travel International, and the list goes on...

So, be sure to contact us if you need any of the above services done for your business, a refresher on your website, or even if you just want to meet Gerda.

Marlene 

Here's a website to motivate you guys to shape-up before summer!

Glynn Moolman is a registered biokineticist and personal trainer at a Durbanville healthclub. He asked Xplore Studio to help him with a new business logo and website.

Wanting a logo and website that are both professional and timeless, Xplore Studio ended up designing and developing it all in a jiffy. Glynn needed a website where he can list all his services, and boy there's a lot... Personal Training, Diets, Massages, any biokinetic services, suppliments to name a few.

Make an effort and visit his website at www.biofitbody.co.za to get motivated!

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Alitha van Niekerk of Lensflair Photography these last couple of weeks. Not only have I learned alot about photography, but her passion for her work is contagious.

Alitha had a wordpress website for a few years now, and thought it was time for a re-design on her website.

We've given her a fresh dynamic look on the website that compliments her avid phtographic ability.

Alitha is the obvious choice for family photographs!

View her website at www.lensflairphotography.co.za

Marlene

We at Xplore Studio just love designing and developing photographers' websites. With photography you have the advantage to play around with so many different styles and techniques - plus you have the added bonus of working with beautiful, great quality images that brightens up the website.

If you are a photographer and would like your own unique and cost effective website designed, do not hesitate to give us a call - we will create an online portfolio within your budget.

Here are a few pointers.....

As a photographer, your most important marketing tool is your online photography portfolio. On your website or your blog, this is what’s going to showcase your work, and get you hired. Yet I see mistakes all the time. And I have a ton of questions like, “Why isn’t my site getting any traffic?” and “Why aren’t people contacting me online?” Here are 10 mistakes we see frequently – do you see yourself here?

1. Enter Page

Do you really need to divide up your site, and dedicate one whole page to making your visitors choose? If they type in your URL, they want to see your site. They want to start learning about you immediately, not have to decide if they want to visit your Flash site, Mobile site, Fast site, Slow site, Blog, Flickr portfolio, etc. Yes, you can weave things into your site, and have things on the side of your content that allows them to navigate elsewhere. But don’t make your first impression just a choice.

2. Photo Size

Have you ever gone to a photographer’s site, only to wait 30 seconds for it to load a huge file thousands of pixels in size? Boring. This is the web. You don’t need large files – the smaller the better for loading, and to protect you from clients downloading them to manipulate them. Stick to an image that is between 500-1000 pixels on the long edge, depending on how you are grouping them together.

3. Music

Um, no. Just don’t do it. There is no such thing as setting the mood or creating ambiance. If a visitor heads into your site at work on their lunch hour, you better believe they will back out quickly when the music starts. The web is visual, unless you find a video you choose to watch.

4. Photo Quantity

A portfolio is what you make of it. You can have a flash gallery that creates a slide presentation. Or you can choose to sort by category, client or niche, and showcase a great deal of your imagery. This isn’t a place to put every image from the shoot – showcase what made the shoot special. For a portrait setting, we may have put up 10 to 20 images. For a wedding, around 200 (we shot 2000-3000 images at every event PJ style). There is no such thing as too many photographs, IF you tell a story with what you have.

5. Fill It Up

Every photographer has to start somewhere. If you really want to get into weddings and you’ve only done one, by all means put it up. But don’t forget to quickly put up every other wedding you do as well. A potential client really wonders when they visit your wedding gallery, and only finds one bride.

6. Pay, Don’t Go Free

With all the options you have available to you today, there really is no reason to not have a classy, custom made web presence. Don’t opt for a Facebook or Flickr presence only. You have to control your portfolio, and give it your unique style.

7. Make It Easy

Create navigation that’s easy to follow. Don’t load it up with 30 choices; make it easy for me to decide where to go to next. Don’t label things with “cute” wordings. Go for the normal, and follow what the big stores do. People are used to commonality here, so don’t confuse them by trying to be different. Be different in your photography style, or the way you offer customer service. Don’t go for the cute on things you can’t control – like the way they move around your site.

8. Flash

If you’ve been on this site before, you know my feeling towards Flash sites. Don’t do it. It makes things difficult to control, difficult to navigate, and difficult for the search engines to find. I don’t mind the occasional Flash splashes to show off some of your work. But don’t put your entire portfolio into a Flash presentation. They will always have to start at the beginning, and can’t be specific about images they like. “I like the image at this URL, clicking the 3 category, the 15th image in” makes it a little hard to communicate.

9. Think Sales

I’ve been on photography sites where there is no contact information. Period. The idea of having a site is to make connections, and let anyone and everyone connect with you. Have a contact us form. Put your email on every page. Put your phone number right near your header. Put your address and a map to your studio. Put your Facebook, Twitter and Flickr connections on every page. Tell them how to connect with you.

10. Be Original

Don’t look through photographers sites to find one to mimic. Go to a different industry. Check out architecture, authors or sculptures. Look through Amazon, Oprah and Martha Stewart. Find things you like, and pull from a variety of sources. You don’t want a potential client to show up and say, “this site was just like X’s site”. You want them to say, “WOW”.

We give credit to Virtual Photography Studio. 

Andrea