Get the Job Done: New layouts for business website and blog

If you've taken the time to visit either my blog or my business website today, you will notice some drastic changes that have been made to accommodate my new logo designed by photographer and graphic artist Paul Martin. As a side note, if you need a business logo, I would highly recommend contacting Paul to purchase one of his custom designs. He had that logo ready for me in just a few hours!



I think the new look is clean, streamlined and modern. I can't tell you how hard it is for me to have a white background instead of a black one. I'm the kind of person who has seven pairs of black paints and 5 black shirts...even if other colors were available for me to choose from. But Paul's design as well as fellow photographer Jason Peckovitch's new layout inspired me to try something different. As tough as times are right now, I believe in the power of colors to affect our moods....ie, brighter colors can bring about happier emotions. I think the white offers a sense of something new, a blank slate to recreate the life (or business) that you want. I am still tweaking the page to look similar to my website by using the same color, fonts and coding. Look for more changes to come as I learn how to the CSS coding for them! If you are a Smug Mug member, look over this great thread to get tips on how to streamline the look of your blog and business site.

Long story short, after some long reasoning and most likely overthinking the issue as I'm prone to do, I finally decided to go wit the "no skin" logo version for all the reasons my most trusted allies explained. I think it's more prudent business decision for me right now to have the boudoir photography just be a service among others that I offer without bumping it up in prominence just yet. So far, I've only had four clients who have wanted those services, which is a good start, but definitely not enough interest for me to promote it yet over my general potraiture and weddings (which is the bulk of my paid sessions).




I also decided to move the boudoir gallery away from the family portraiture, as was suggested by photographer Mark Hayes. I think it fits there better because those galleries are all about the sexy and glamourous nature inherent in fashion and modeling. Plus, in order to beef up my boudoir gallery, several Model Mayhem members have contacted me asking for a chance to TFCD to improve their portfolios. If I can generate more interest in this type of photography, I will consider Mark's idea of creating a separate business simply for my boudoir and artistic nudes! Thanks for the suggestions Mark, as well as that cool idea for a new domain name for the boudoir site.

Have some suggestions for bettering the layout of the blog or my website? Please share and I welcome critiques!