Different But Just The Same

Welcome over to the new location. Thanks to google and blogger we were able to get all the information (posts and comments) from the old blog over to this one. Now all three of the sites we use in the business start with "peekfoto". That may reduce some of the confusion between the photo and foto on some of the locations. If you are wondering "peekphoto" is a photographic search site and was unavailable when I started peekfoto.com. 

I present a little Q&A Kelby style here that may answer some question.

Computer: So why do you have three different websites?

Doug: Primarily it is a cost savings measure is starting up the photo business.

Computer: As a photographer don't you have to have a flashy (pardon the pun) site in order to impress prospective clients .

Doug: High end websites look nice and all, but isn't it really about conveying information and answering questions.

Computer: Can you expand on that last answer... What about photo galleries?

Doug: The first part of that is simple. When you do research on a purchase you are looking to make you have some very finite criteria you are looking for. You may not know the extent of that criteria, but you generally want these two basic questions answered. What is it that you can provide me and how much is it going to cost. As far as the second part of that question, galleries are very important to prospective clients. They need to have an example of the work that they can expect. We just don't feel it is as important to have the gallery housed on the same site as it is accessible form one place to the other.

Computer: When you say criteria, other than product and pricing, what do you actually mean.

Doug: Gee... You're not going two get off this are you? Anything that a person accesses on the web, e-mail, phone, or in person the provide them a comfort level to make a decision to employ our photographic services falls in the category of criteria.

Computer: In the previous answer you talk about accessibility from one place to another. How so?

Doug: I am talking about hyper-links to other locations on the web. By using a number of different sites we can leverage the power and functionality of these sites so as to make our front end more specific and keep our costs down.

Computer: How does using more web services get you more cost effective.

Doug: Simple. Here are is our three pronged approach to our web presence:

• The service "Blogger" that we are on right now is run by Google and provides a free blog service to every gmail owner. 
• Our peekfoto.com site is actually a redirect to a MobileMe account we have established with Apple. That account keeps all of our computers synced as well as the iPhone of iPod Touch. As far as the website development, Apples iWeb could not be easier for simple web development. No coding, just drag drop, type and publish! 
• When it comes to photo viewing, we use SmugMug that allows clients to not only view, but purchase individuals prints through the SmugMug front end. This is a feature we do no not always enable as we still like to use a lab that provides us with better quality control over our end products.
  

Computer: Is there anything else you use the peekfoto.com for?

Doug: Sure. There is a hose of information on the site. I should really say is or will be as we continue to populate its pages with information. Clients can research the site for answers to photo questions, clothing, make-up, what to expect at a photo session. There is an area that addresses our policies as a company. We basically want a client to know as much about us before they make that final decision. The more informative we can be with a prospect, we feel they will be more comfortable coming to a decision.

Computer: I would like to thank you for you time in answering these questions.

Doug: No problem.

If you are still with me here, congratulations. You are either a die-hard blog reader or a glutton for punishment. One more possibility, you are a prospective client in search of more answers. If so please give us a call.

Thanks all... Doug