My Artwork Website

[ReyMandez]

I just recently started a website to sell and display my photographs. Mostly I take pictures of nature and I've been told I'm very good at it. So if you would please check out my website, just to give me some pointers on how to make it better. It'd be much appreciated

http://inzana.weebly.com/

[Jabberwock]

What kind of camera do you use and what lenses?

Interesting photos. Have you considered selling them through a stock photography site? From the three I saw, they would fit very well.

This would be very good for your photography if you want to make money from it: http://www.istockphoto.com/sell-stock-photos.php

I'm a photographer myself

[So Much Fire]

Photos 001 and 003 are good, 003 is very well composed and good use of shallow DOF. The others look slightly overexposed (no blown highlights or PF though so that's well controlled), try using the manual exposure comp or use a different metering mode in brighter conditions. The photo with the mouse is quite good except good benefit from a little recomposing or using the macro mode. Otherwise you have an eye for composition and keep at it (advice given with sensor size taken into consideration)

@ Jabberwock - selling photos to a stock agency will only earn mere cents, artist profit on photos unless they're working commercially or shooting weddings, parties, school portraits or the like is minimal.

[Old_Scratch]

I agree that they would probably work best sold as stock photos. Selling artistically composed photo's is tricky though. If you get your name out there and you become well known, then you can sell anything for any amount of money and people will buy it. If you aren't well known then photograph scenes that would work well in poster prints to sell cheaply on a large scale, but even that is difficult.

Here's a webpage with a lot of good info on selling your photography.
http://www.danheller.com/biz-prints.html

As for your photos, remember the center of the scene isn't the best place for the subject of the photo. Sometimes it can be depending on what else you wish to include in the scene, but normally you'll want to photograph your subject using the rule of thirds. Divide the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically, and try to have important objects, particularly the center of interest, at one of the four points where they intersect. So the point of interest isn't at the edge of the scene, but it's not at the center.

For flower shots, unless you're doing a macro picture, it's usually better to shoot from the side and not from the top down. Shooting from the side looks better and allows you to better compose the image, use creative blurring, or include a background if compliments the scene. Also, I'll usually carry around a black and a white piece of thick colored paper when I'm going to take pictures of flowers. Sometimes it looks really good if you hold the colored paper behind the flower when you take the shot. A single white flower with a black background will add contrast and give it an a interesting look.

Also, lighting is very important. You could have the best composed scene, but the lighting could ruin it. Try to photograph soon after sunrise or not long before sunset. You want soft diffuse light and shooting in the middle of the day that can be difficult to find.

Here's a picture I took the other day that illustrates what I just wrote. The point of interest roughly follows the rule of thirds, the lighting and time of day is good, and I took it from the side while blurring out the rest of the flowers in the background in order to bring more attention to my intended subject. It's not the best photo, but it sort of shows what I'm talking about.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Anyway, those are a few tips that helped me a lot. What kind of camera/lens do you use?

EDIT: I just realised that you were looking for tips on your website, not on photography, oops.

[Jabberwock]

@ Jabberwock - selling photos to a stock agency will only earn mere cents, artist profit on photos unless they're working commercially or shooting weddings, parties, school portraits or the like is minimal.

As I said: for his photography.

If all he is gonna do is take nature shots then you might as well make them stock. If he has a digital (which I'm sure it is) then it's practically no cost to him.

If he wants to do professional photography and do commercial work that would be a completely different matter.

[EireEmerald]

Is photography art?

[So Much Fire]

As I said: for his photography.

If all he is gonna do is take nature shots then you might as well make them stock. If he has a digital (which I'm sure it is) then it's practically no cost to him.

If he wants to do professional photography and do commercial work that would be a completely different matter.

Yes I know, I just posted that as additional info on photos to stock agency. It looks like he's interested in selling prints Deviant Art style (another option for him) and yes, he is using a digital camera. If he can dedicate the time to learning more about photography, he might be able to rise above the ranks of a stock photographer.

Is photography art?

Yes, it has been for the better part of the last century