Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: feldon on May 16, 2010, 09:37:01 am
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Hi I am going to design my own website as I have some experience of this in the past. However I am struggling to find photo's to up load. Not started trading yet so do not have any of my own portfolio to show. I have seen various threads suggesting free stock photo's that you can download, but as always when you try to find the thread again you never can. Can anyone suggest a site with free stock photo's showing various carpets etc to use on a website?
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I used istock.
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Thanks for the reply, I'll check them out.
Cheers
Richard :)
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Hi
Try
Will be charging £3.00 + Vat per Photo
Will Be organising another Profestional Shoot soon
For leather - Rug & Power Washing
Kind Regrds
Mark
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[
Isn't that Mr Halliday in the pics :D
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yes it is mike we have naked pictures of mike available on request
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Mark, sorry mate but you need to contact the administrator before using the the site for commercial sales.
so your link has to be deleted,
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no problem mike
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I found some pretty good stock photo's on istock thanks, worked out at about £1.50 per photo. ;D
Just read the above thread, didn't make make sense till I saw Mikes post ???
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Hi Mike, just read this topic and its left me a little bit confused ???
So its ok to just mention another company for their own commercial gain (as istock was) as long as a link to the beneficiary's website isnt posted?
So posting prices, names of companys, what they do etc, etc..... is ok?
Regards,
Paul
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Paul, you can mention Istock and post a link but Istock cannot come onto the site and sell their products.
companies cannot use the site to make money from its members without paying or at least asking permission.
Mark owns dp design..... for them to sell photos on a commercial basis need permission from the administrator.
mark is one of my best mates and I organised the photo shoot from which the photos came from, but its the rules.
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Sorry Mike I wasnt being hostile, I didnt realise this was the case and that you knew it was Marks company.
But how would you know a new member wasnt say the marketing manager for istock,, extreme I know because a company as big as this doesnt need to sell services on a cleaning forum, but you must see what I mean.
Regards,
Paul
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Mark, sorry mate but you need to contact the administrator before using the the site for commercial sales.
so your link has to be deleted,
Hi Mike I do not normally swear but I hate Moderators sometime, asI am looking for some photos
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Fair comment you are correct in what you say
only paid advertisers should mention there services on this board
on another point what if a supplier wants to provide an additional service to carpet cleaners
but wants to gage customer opinion to see if it worth investing in
Ie doing another photo shoot to extend the range of carpet cleaning pics
can you post then to see if cleaners would require this service.
may be the admin could charge a fee for making a post like this
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I've got a picture of some pink curtains, let me know if you want it. ;)
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Mark I can see anything wrong with you starting a post mentioning that you are doing a photo shoot and asking the members what photos they think are unavailable through Istock etc that they would like to use.
me personally I can never find commercial photos of office cleaning
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As the op, i do think this post has gone a little off track. I was genuinely looking for some advice on where to obtain some stock photo's and another member pointed me in the right direction. Maybe he could have sent me a pm rather than post the name of the company but I have seen plenty examples of other companies named in this way.
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Someone posted a link to a website selling carpet cleaning photos the other day, they look very professional and high quality in my opinion.
http://carpetcleaningwebsites.co.uk/Carpet-Cleaning-Photos/stock-photos.html
Who's nicked me hoses? ;)
(http://carpetcleaningwebsites.co.uk/images/stories/stockphotos/13.jpg)
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Very good pics, much better than istocks, doing a couple of new websites myself might purchase some soon.
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As the op, i do think this post has gone a little off track. I was genuinely looking for some advice on where to obtain some stock photo's and another member pointed me in the right direction. Maybe he could have sent me a pm rather than post the name of the company but I have seen plenty examples of other companies named in this way.
Feldon
There is nothing wrong in you recommending to me a company that gives good service.
If you were that company, then you are promoting self interest and thats where it is wrong. Rules of the forum.
A good example is John Kelly from Restormate. John contributes greatly to this forum, but does not promote the service he sells.
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Might want to put some branding on those pics as someone can easly nick them without paying like Dennis has shown... my 2 cents
tony
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Although I will use some , on the next shoot could you try for brighter images
Also need full room shoots
Lounge Bedroom typical customer family like that one you have on a sofa on your leaflets
Agree Offices
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Guy's,
I don't understand all this talk of 'stock pictures' for your websites.
Why not get a digital camera and take some pictures of your carpet cleaning company in action and have your website speak to your prospective customers about your company and what it can provide, instead of filling your website with meaningless images that mean nothing to either you or your customer. No disrespect intended to anyone using stock pictures - I just don't think it is the way to go.
Simon
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Totally agree with you Simon.
On one thread I read about guys bitching that their text has been used by someone else - yet on the other hand they are keen to use stock picture (which technically are some elses).
Surely - if you're running your own show - do you're own thing & have confidence in what you are doing. If you need to depend so heavily on others - then I guess it's best to be 'employed' by others
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i'm the one bitching about my wording and ive never paid for stock photos. guess you were refering to me,
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Frans,
I've seen so many websites that use stock pictures, images that say zero about the company, it's ethos, what it does, where it does it, or how it does it and is therefore inert from a marketing perspective and is a giant 'turn off' to the prospective buyer. If your going to invest in a website why not get one that makes you stand out from the crowd and not bury you in the crowd. Marketing is about being different - just because everyone else does things a certain way doesn't mean you have to - quite the opposite, in fact.
Simon
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Would I criticise you Derek! You appear to have more 'umph' than 99% on here in terms of 'go getting'. In fact I quite like you're posts :-* ;) ;)
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the reason people use stock photos is they are usually taken by a professional so are of a higher quality, to advice someone to just take their own photos is like us telling customers to hire rug doctor, a professional will always do a better job whether its photography or carpet cleaning. Crappy, amateurish photos or photos taken of suppliers websites (which are of a low resolution already) will make your website look cheap and home made
i think photos on website (or most marketing) are used incorrectly. a picture should reinforce the text on the webpage but often they are just there to fill up space or make the page look 'pretty'
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Simon what do these photos say about your company? they are as you put it [meaningless images that mean nothing to either you or your customer][/i]
perhaps you should take your own advice
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IMO to get the right message across you have to tell a little story and set a picture in someones head, so as Mike suggests you fit the carefully worded text to the correct picture a little like a comic book, you see the picture and read the captions BUT that's providing todays customers read that way I think there's so much to read on the web that customers sometimes want a telephone number.
Shaun
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This pic posted below and many other good quality photos are used by many successful carpet cleaning companys and franchises including Chem dry purchased from companys like istock, most are taken by professional photographers with cameras costing many thousands of £'s, simon, the pics on your very well presented website are ok for something like gallery pics, but as main pictures on a home page or a header, then imo no. Btw I have paid for full rights on this optimised pic
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;D
nice modification paul ;)
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;D
nice modification paul ;)
;D ;D didnt want any1 pinchin it mate, cost me 2 credits I think, lol
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Too late ;D
Shaun
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Too late ;D
Shaun
;D ;D
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Mike,
As usual we see things differently - nowt wrong with that though. ;D
Simon
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I usually forget to take my camera.
Pity I did two chocolate Box Homes last week.
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as with photos and most things we look at them with the knowledge of a carpet cleaner, we know exactly what the are meant to say. But a customer has no idea what relevance a particular photo has.
that's why all photos should have a title saying what the photo is and if you overlay the title onto the photo no one can then pinch it.
look at this picture, what does it say to a customer? not a lot but if you over lay this.....
'our stain-guard can protect against accidental spills, please ask for information'
then the photo serves a useful purpose
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I have plenty of my own photos but felt i couldnt get exactly what i wanted put together from what i have so plumped for stock pics, yes they cost me but resolution far better and exactly what i wanted for my van signage.
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Looks a good combination Geoff.
and I think Mike has highlighted very well the need for a description of photos.