A year ago I nervously started writing this column with the focus on the starting of the photography business and getting the photography website up and running. Yet in the background, out of sight the idea for Healing with Photography had already happened. So it feels kind of fitting that on the birthday celebration of this column, with a little cake thrown in for good measure that a new business starts to take shape in the form of a website.
Essential Props
The website design for Healing with Photography has started in earnest now, I am using the same web development company as I used for my photography website; SmartDeCat have over last few months been working hard to bring new software to the market that makes the whole process so much easier. Seriously, I cannot believe how easy it now is to create my website. Menus have been made slicker and more compact, and everything is easy to find.
Plus of course, it’s a whole lot quicker putting this website together rather than the photography website, as it doesn’t involve me adding lots of photos. Though previous experience didn’t prevent me from making a basic error and printing my companies email address on the about page. Thankfully my web designer pointed it out to me and reminded that the reason you never do this is because spam robots go around collecting this data to later spam your email address.
Healing with Photography is a whole new ball game for me in terms of design, and it’s trickier in a way. I have been so close to this project, writing the courses to help people through depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, not to mention writing sponsorship proposals and course proposals to organisations like MIND, the mental health charity that I know it backwards. Yet writing it in plain simple English for the website, in a way that appeals to people, packs a punch in terms of what it can do and how it can help, and of course done in a way to keep the search engines happy is proving to be a bit of a challenge.
Whereas with the photography website I didn’t let anyone have a look around it until it was all complete and ready to go live, I’ve already called in support. Tonight I’m letting a friend have a look over it to see how it speaks to him. He knows a little about Healing with Photography, though not enough to have a good understanding of it and this is what I need. I need an unbiased reaction to see if the homepage and about page explain clearly enough what the business is all about.
I’m keen to know what type of questions he’s going to ask after reading it, what haven’t I explained enough? Which of my wording is too ambiguous or worse still pushes the wrong buttons? I will report back with my findings.
For the last few weeks I’ve hit a wall with the write up of the homepage, I don’t know if it’s because it’s so important to me or because I felt mentally divided between the photography tours and HWP. A little bit of sun last week, along with time in the garden, melted the wall and thankfully the words began to flow and the website is shaping up nicely.
On a personal note, I would like to thank you very much for all your support over this last year. There have been weeks when the articles have been very personal, almost like diary entries and I have really appreciated the comments that you have left under the articles or on my Facebook page. It’s been touching to know that we have all experienced similar emotions on our different journeys. I’ve made many friends though my articles and I hope that over the coming weeks we continue to share and support each other.
*The Current Photographer website contains links to our affiliate partners. Purchasing products and services through these links helps support our efforts to bring you the quality information you love and there’s no additional cost to you.
Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.