livebooks blog

Michael Kirchoff grew up with a deep love of photography since he was a child. During a high school photography class he decided to make it the focus of his life, though he really didn’t know it was something that he could actually make a living doing. He began working at various jobs in the industry, from rental houses, to assisting, to production, because it’s what he loved (and had bills to pay!).

After several years Kirchoff started shooting product and still life work because he was simply patient with what that entails, and was fascinated with lighting and the challenges that that presented.

About ten years ago, however, he had lost a few of my big clients during a downturn in the economy, and took it as a sign to start making photographs that “quite frankly, came from the heart and passion that had started me down the road to photography as a career. I’d always made images for myself throughout my life, but this time I made fine art photography the direction I wanted to go.”

He also figured it would give him an opportunity to continue doing commercial work while showing potential clients that I could put more art into the images that I made for them. At the moment, fine art photography is where he is, and commercial work comes in only occasionally. He likes the mix and strives to get to a place where the work is split 50/50.

Q&A with Michael Kirchoff

Q1: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MK: Clean, simple, easy to navigate, where the images come first.

Q2: How often do you typically update your website?

MK: I do tweaks to the site a couple times a month normally. A few times a year there is a major change or overhaul made, depending on the amount of new work I’m looking to show. There are many artist statements on the site and I find myself writing and improving those quite frequently. liveBooks makes that super simple to do.

Q3: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

MK: Images on the homepage are usually signature photographs from the different bodies of work in the portfolio section. Also, a few that have sold well as a prints over the years. The slideshow feature for the homepage works well for this and is simple to sequence.

Q4: What is your favorite feature of liveBooks?

MK: Navigation tools that make sense. Larger images that jump off the page while still loading quickly. The ability to mix text with images. These are all very important to me.

Q5: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

MK: Have patience. When I started I became frustrated quickly because I wasn’t sure which tools were going to apply to what I was trying to do. liveBooks has many options, so take your time and try them out before making any final decisions. You can put a site together rather quickly, but one that you will be happy with has to be thought through. Thankfully, the people at tech support were able to answer the loads of questions I had.

liveBooks actually has more to their sites than I need at the moment. Though, as I branch out into new forms of expression, I know that they are already there to support and showcase what I want to do as a photographic artist. I have plans to put some of them to use soon, and I know they will be there to help.

See more of Micheal Kirchoff’s work here: www.michaelkirchoff.com

Babs Armour’s entry into photography took place mid-career when she decided to leave her work as a teacher and return to the world of art, which had been a major focus when she was young. Babs was fortunate enough to study with a number of outstanding photographers and, in a short time, she was featured in shows and was winning awards. Today, her images are in corporate as well as private collections, and her work continues to grow and evolve!

Her signature “Store Windows”, her portfolio – which reflects the influence of her early years spent painting in New England towns and seaports – includes a series depicting Oyster farmers in Wellfleet, MA and images from New England to Paris.

Q&A with Babs Armour Photography

Q1: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

BA: Clean, elegant, inviting.

Q2. How often do you typically update your website?

BA: Now that I have liveBooks, I find myself updating whenever I have new images, want to update a portfolio or decide to make a small change in the design of a page or the site. That’s what’s so great about the new format.

Q3. How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

BA: I choose an image that is truly representative of my work and change it on a regular basis.

Q4. What is your favorite feature of liveBooks?

BA: The ease in uploading photos, creating galleries, and editing and tweaking design elements. It’s all just so user friendly!

Q5. What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

BA: Be clear about your priorities and choose images carefully keeping in mind the viewers you want to attract.

I’m really thrilled with liveBooks and feel that the ease of using it will mean that my site is not static, but will be constantly evolving as my work grows and evolves! See more of Babs Armour’s work here: www.babsarmour.com

Craig van der Lende has been a photographer since the early 70’s. He graduated with a business degree and got a camera from his parents for graduation. It took a year for him to realize he wouldn’t be happy working for someone else. In that year, he got valuable training in the computer industry and that started a life long interest in computers and tech.

His first photographic work was in journalism followed by studio product and people, followed by large format large set studio contract furniture followed by table top and food for national ads. The national ad work slowed down at the same time 9-11 happened and, for a time, Craig considered living off my investments.

That changed after he spent a couple weeks in Africa for an NGO documenting clean water projects and micro finance recipients. That trip made him realized that’s what made him the happiest – being a photographer. Craig decided to rebuild and rethink his career. Craig got back to his journalism days, added video and began choosing projects and clients based on the experience he would have and where the final project would take me next.

Today, he shoots a bit of everything – stills and video location and studio.

Q1: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

A1: Clean, functional and diverse.

Q2: How often do you typically update your website?

A2: I try to update at least once a month, sooner if I have a project I am excited to show.

Q3: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

A3: I show what I am most interested in shooting at the time. I have been showing a video on my home page that shows high tech manufacturing.

Q4: What is your favorite feature of liveBooks8?

A4: Video integration.

Q5: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

A5: Show what you want to shoot and what sets you apart from everyone else.

I appreciate the liveBooks SEO. I get most of my clients from web search and don’t reach out to people for new work often. My liveBooks site has brought in most of my new clients.

See more of Craig van der Lende’s work here: http://vanderlende.com