This is what $3,000 buys...

[briarrosebb]

... in inn/room photography.
Our new website is in testing now here: http://www.BriarRoseBB.com/rose/
We've drawn on stock photography from bigstockphoto.com and istockphoto.com at $2 to $3 an image. But most importantly we hired a professional photographer for pictures of the inn.
Our current website is http:/www.BriarRoseBB.com.
Any comments are sincerely appreciated (errors, critiques, what's good/bad).
This week we will work on the SEO and then we will release.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

$3K for the pics alone or the website and pics?
Question: Tea page. Is this a guest area? I see the assortment and then I see quiote a chatoic busy work area below them. The rest of the website portrays calmness, order. This seems in disarray. The pics on this page are calm, but the actual tea station seems chaotic and even messy. (Just me 2 cents).
Everything else looks lovely!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

One last comment, the header text is splotchy on my monitor and hard to read. Beautiful header, it is the text needs some clarification The B&B portion. I think it is to be artistic, but hard to read on my end.

 

[Morticia]

I love the colors of your house! How does purchasing the stock photography work?
The pages loaded slowly for me. It was the header pic that was slow, the others were fine. In the pix, some of the bedding looks too small for the bed, ie- I can see the boxspring & mattress. If you can get retakes, adjust the bedding so it covers the mattress & boxspring. Even if that is the 'look' you are portraying, it doesn't read well in the pix.
I agree with JBJ that the tea area looks confusing. Clear off most of the table and just have ONE cup of tea or two sitting there, not all the 'equipment'.

 

[EmptyNest]

I haven't had time to really look at it...but first impression was just ok. Are you a B & B or a hotel??? This is confusing.

 

[egoodell]

The only thing that I don't like is that it appears to go to the other pages from your home page, the viewer must scroll down to the bottom to see the selections. I don't think that is good. I think it should be on the top. The viewer must not have to look for the menu at the bottom.
RIki

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Google ads are on the left offering stock photos! Ha ha
You can also sell photos on here as well, fyi anyone interested.

 

[GeorgiaGirl]

I didn't have a problem at all with the pages loading and all the wording was clear on my computer, although I do have a large screen and fairly new laptop.
When I looked at your website last night the first thing that popped into my head was also the bedding. It just doesn't look right. The bedding looks a little crooked and too little for the beds. I think that the beds without a footboard should have a bedskirt of some sort to hid the boxspring and frame. I LOVE the tea area! I do agree that it looks a little messy and actually looks like someone has been in there making tea, I would think if you took away all the glasses, cups and towel that it would show 100% better. I also loved all the pictures of the snowy mountains, they made me want to be there!

 

[muirford]

Check the spelling on your pages - I noticed 'equisitly' and 'entre' on your amenities page. There are probably others. I know I am more than a little anal about spelling but it makes it feel unprofessional. I agree about the tea photo - the bottom portion should be cropped out or the scene re-shot without the clutter.
The photo quality seems to be pretty good; a good Photoshopper could eliminate some of the shadows and light pools that are a little distracting on the interior shots. The exterior photos are very nice and the interior shots of the common areas work well, also. The beds in the bedroom shots do look messy and unfinished (to me, at least - sorry! to be harsh) and I think they would benefit from better dressing with linens before a re-shoot. Bed skirts, at least, and comforters that conform to the bed more closely.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I didn't have a problem at all with the pages loading and all the wording was clear on my computer, although I do have a large screen and fairly new laptop.
When I looked at your website last night the first thing that popped into my head was also the bedding. It just doesn't look right. The bedding looks a little crooked and too little for the beds. I think that the beds without a footboard should have a bedskirt of some sort to hid the boxspring and frame. I LOVE the tea area! I do agree that it looks a little messy and actually looks like someone has been in there making tea, I would think if you took away all the glasses, cups and towel that it would show 100% better. I also loved all the pictures of the snowy mountains, they made me want to be there!.

I didn't have a problem at all with the pages loading and all the wording was clear on my computer, although I do have a large screen and fairly new laptop.
When I looked at your website last night the first thing that popped into my head was also the bedding. It just doesn't look right. The bedding looks a little crooked and too little for the beds. I think that the beds without a footboard should have a bedskirt of some sort to hid the boxspring and frame. I LOVE the tea area! I do agree that it looks a little messy and actually looks like someone has been in there making tea, I would think if you took away all the glasses, cups and towel that it would show 100% better. I also loved all the pictures of the snowy mountains, they made me want to be there!

Clarification, not the first or home page header but the other on the ABOUT page.

 

[stephanie]

I agree with the other posters, but I know professional photography is SUPER expensive, so I wouldn't give up the beautiful photos that you have for amateur ones that won't match the lighting and photo quality if you can't afford to have them redone.
As Muirford said, Photoshop can right a lot of wrongs. A very good Photoshopper may be able to extend the comforter and reduce the contrast of the boxspring so it doesn't stand out. Or even add a bedskirt. The only one that really stands out to me is the Huron Room because the bed is facing you just so. Did your photographer another photo from a different angle?
As for the tea, the easiest fix would be to crop out the counter, and just show the contents of those shelves. All those beautiful rows of tea containers and pots are great, it's just the equipment on the counter and the cleaning supplies on the window that I find distracting.
I do think you found a very talented photographer. I love the homepage photo! Very serene.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I agree with the other posters, but I know professional photography is SUPER expensive, so I wouldn't give up the beautiful photos that you have for amateur ones that won't match the lighting and photo quality if you can't afford to have them redone.
As Muirford said, Photoshop can right a lot of wrongs. A very good Photoshopper may be able to extend the comforter and reduce the contrast of the boxspring so it doesn't stand out. Or even add a bedskirt. The only one that really stands out to me is the Huron Room because the bed is facing you just so. Did your photographer another photo from a different angle?
As for the tea, the easiest fix would be to crop out the counter, and just show the contents of those shelves. All those beautiful rows of tea containers and pots are great, it's just the equipment on the counter and the cleaning supplies on the window that I find distracting.
I do think you found a very talented photographer. I love the homepage photo! Very serene..

I agree with the other posters, but I know professional photography is SUPER expensive, so I wouldn't give up the beautiful photos that you have for amateur ones that won't match the lighting and photo quality if you can't afford to have them redone.
As Muirford said, Photoshop can right a lot of wrongs. A very good Photoshopper may be able to extend the comforter and reduce the contrast of the boxspring so it doesn't stand out. Or even add a bedskirt. The only one that really stands out to me is the Huron Room because the bed is facing you just so. Did your photographer another photo from a different angle?
As for the tea, the easiest fix would be to crop out the counter, and just show the contents of those shelves. All those beautiful rows of tea containers and pots are great, it's just the equipment on the counter and the cleaning supplies on the window that I find distracting.
I do think you found a very talented photographer. I love the homepage photo! Very serene.

If a prof photog took them then there should be an assortment of pics to choose from, perhaps a closer up shot of the row of teas versus the counter area. ?

 

[MissInnkeeping]

While the site is simple and eye pleasing, I agree with another poster about your bedding. Not the bedding itself, but the lack of bedskirts. I immediately noticed that in every room shot except for the one where there is a wooden runner that covers the box spring. Bedskirts will immediately add that beautiful finishing touch!
It looks great otherwise, you have a beautiful inn!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Here is my last comment - when I go to the rooms page and click on MORE PHOTOS then I have to mess around to get back to the next room to view. As the photos are VERY LARGE on these indiv room pages.
As a guest viewing all the rooms before picking one, I would like a VIEW NEXT ROOM button on each current page so I can just click on forward to the next room.

 

[stephanie]

Oh, forgot to mention that the photos are quite large. Having a large one is great if folks want to zoom in, but could you go smaller on the pages with lots of photos so we don't have to scroll as much? They're also taking up to a minute to load on my computer (esp the rooms page), though this internet connection is often pretty horrible. Try saving them as optimized for the web.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Oh, forgot to mention that the photos are quite large. Having a large one is great if folks want to zoom in, but could you go smaller on the pages with lots of photos so we don't have to scroll as much? They're also taking up to a minute to load on my computer (esp the rooms page), though this internet connection is often pretty horrible. Try saving them as optimized for the web..

Oh, forgot to mention that the photos are quite large. Having a large one is great if folks want to zoom in, but could you go smaller on the pages with lots of photos so we don't have to scroll as much? They're also taking up to a minute to load on my computer (esp the rooms page), though this internet connection is often pretty horrible. Try saving them as optimized for the web.

I am sure they are optimized, as they are VERY LARGE. But I agree making them small and CLICKABLE if someone prefers to see all the details. I have a big monitor and they are giant on mine.

 

[Copperhead]

A nice relaxing to the eye website. And I too, love the rich colors you have chosen in your rooms. The Pic of the front is lovely!
As others have stated, the 1st thing that I saw when looking at the room pictures were the beds. Bed skirts would do the trick on most. We are not trying to be harsh, it is the simple fact that room pictures are THE first selling point to your B&B.
Some of the stock pics look grainy in comparison to your professional shots. If it were my site, I would focus on MY place and maybe views (if there are any) from MY place. IMMHO people can go to a lot of sites to see pics of Boulder, but at least make sure the tags have your B&B name and other keywords. (did not check this, was just a thought)
The Tea page pic (at bottom) is too busy compared to the others. I agree with the post that suggested cropping the pic to just show the shelves full of tea.
I mostly was reviewing the site for the pictures but I noticed as I skimmed the wording, that you sometimes refer to your B&B as The Rose intead of using its full name. This is confusing and is not good SEO.
At least one other poster stated that some pictures were slow to come up and that a header was not clear. Others such as myself had no problems BUT, you do not want any viewers to have a less than perfect visit to your site so I would suggest asking for more clarification from these posters and addressing those matters. If they had a problem you can bet that there are thousands of others that would as well.

 

[muirford]

On the topic of bedskirts, if you don't want to invest in bedskirts - especially for the beds with wooden side rails which look fine exposed - a coordinating fitted sheet just to cover the boxspring is a good solution. Not as expensive as a bedskirt but the bed still looks 'put together'.
In the Huron room, though - I think a bedskirt is the only real solution. No good bedframe to show off.

 

[swirt]

Most of the photos seem to be tipping the scale at around 220K which is pretty large, especially if you are throwing several of them on the page. Keeping their dimensions the same they could be compressed a bit more with no noticeable loss of quality. Doing a jpg quality level of 75% will help a lot. Example: I took the first photo on the Blanca room page. It is currently 263K compressing it to 75% quality makes it appear almost the same but got it down to 57K. Comparing the original and compressed side-by-side it is a task to be able to tell the difference.
Regarding the dimensions. The room pics are all sized to 800px wide. Photo size is a real sticky spot right now as there is now the greatest difference in screen size that there has ever been. Compare a budget laptop from only a few years ago (800x600) to a new superwide laptop and the screens are nearly 3x as wide. So putting an 800pix wide image on the smaller screen more than fills it while putting it on the larger screen makes it look nearly empty. However, right now more than half of the web visitors in our niche fall into the screen size less than 1200px wide category. By the time you take away the width of the browser chrome, padding on your website and the fact that most people browse in a window rather than full screen and you end up with a usueable area that is just under 800px wide. So it is probably better to shoot for dimensions less than 800 (I'm fond of 750)

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Most of the photos seem to be tipping the scale at around 220K which is pretty large, especially if you are throwing several of them on the page. Keeping their dimensions the same they could be compressed a bit more with no noticeable loss of quality. Doing a jpg quality level of 75% will help a lot. Example: I took the first photo on the Blanca room page. It is currently 263K compressing it to 75% quality makes it appear almost the same but got it down to 57K. Comparing the original and compressed side-by-side it is a task to be able to tell the difference.
Regarding the dimensions. The room pics are all sized to 800px wide. Photo size is a real sticky spot right now as there is now the greatest difference in screen size that there has ever been. Compare a budget laptop from only a few years ago (800x600) to a new superwide laptop and the screens are nearly 3x as wide. So putting an 800pix wide image on the smaller screen more than fills it while putting it on the larger screen makes it look nearly empty. However, right now more than half of the web visitors in our niche fall into the screen size less than 1200px wide category. By the time you take away the width of the browser chrome, padding on your website and the fact that most people browse in a window rather than full screen and you end up with a usueable area that is just under 800px wide. So it is probably better to shoot for dimensions less than 800 (I'm fond of 750).

Most of the photos seem to be tipping the scale at around 220K which is pretty large, especially if you are throwing several of them on the page. Keeping their dimensions the same they could be compressed a bit more with no noticeable loss of quality. Doing a jpg quality level of 75% will help a lot. Example: I took the first photo on the Blanca room page. It is currently 263K compressing it to 75% quality makes it appear almost the same but got it down to 57K. Comparing the original and compressed side-by-side it is a task to be able to tell the difference.
Regarding the dimensions. The room pics are all sized to 800px wide. Photo size is a real sticky spot right now as there is now the greatest difference in screen size that there has ever been. Compare a budget laptop from only a few years ago (800x600) to a new superwide laptop and the screens are nearly 3x as wide. So putting an 800pix wide image on the smaller screen more than fills it while putting it on the larger screen makes it look nearly empty. However, right now more than half of the web visitors in our niche fall into the screen size less than 1200px wide category. By the time you take away the width of the browser chrome, padding on your website and the fact that most people browse in a window rather than full screen and you end up with a usueable area that is just under 800px wide. So it is probably better to shoot for dimensions less than 800 (I'm fond of 750)

Good point, we do browse in a window versus full screen, i never use full screen for anything other than my wallpaper.