Stallions, Pictures and Websites...?

[Faiths CremelloWB]

Okay so how many pictures do you as stallion owners put on your site?

Mare owners how many pictures do you want/need to see?

I have been one who loves very nice pictures and have spent A LOT of $$$ getting professional photos done and actually buying them. Most recently Barbara Livingston came and took photos of several of our horses. So this brings me to my question... can there be too many pictures on a stallions page? Would you make a page just for pictures? or include them at the bottom of his page? There are SOOOO many nice ones that I would hate to take some off that are up already; or pick and choose which new ones too add to the site.

I do see LOTS of stallions pages where there are only a very few pictures. So if there is one really nice head shot should a stallion owner not bother to put another nice one? If there is a great canter shot again, should the stallion owner not add another one? What about an artsy shot; should those be avoided?

Would love some insight to what mare and stallion owners think...

[cheekyhorse]

I've always been under the understanding that all you need are one good confo shot, one good head shot, one good loose action type shot and maybe a shot or two of riding pictures (trot and canter) That should be sufficient. If people want to see more, they can always ask. I find most people are happy with around 5 shots on the website, and a video.

[TropicalStorm]

Don't put so many photos on the site that it slows loading time.
I would think 5-6 pictures of the stallion is plenty...especially if you are including some pictures of offspring too.

[Oakstable]

I always want to see a head shot clearly showing the eye.

If I want to see more photos than appear on a web site, I always ask.

OP, if you paid good money for Barbara Livingstone photos, can you make a slide show of them? You could post a link to the show on your web site for those who want to see more.

[fish]

I like to see conformation shots from the side, front and rear, and a couple photos showing style over fences and u/s. How many would depend on what I'm looking for from the stallion: e.g., if I want an event horse, it would be nice to see photos from all three phases; if I want a dressage specialist, I probably won't miss an o/f photo if it's not there.

I think the slide show is a great idea, but believe what I see in a video is likely to have much more influence on my choice.

[Faiths CremelloWB]

wow 4-5 picts is really not many. If I had to cut back to that; it would be a tough chore. Guess I should go over and do some editing... hummm

Oakstable, great idea of a slide show. I could pick out a couple nice shots and do a slide show of all the other good ones. Now to figure out how to do one. :cool: I have done a film strip before maybe that would work too.

I use to put the foals/offspring at the bottom of the page but now with so many photos of the kids I am switching the stallions pages to have a link to a new page with all the offspring.

There are quite a few stallions sites that have had the same photos for a long time. I get new/recent ones done quite often but my original boys are finally mature now so I guess they are not going to change much now. How often would you guys like to see new photos taken of a stallion? Is the same Pict's for 5+ years okay?

[Overo]

Lots of pics are great but put them on a separate page so people aren't waiting for them to load unless they really want to see them.

When I'm stallion shopping, it's very frustrating when there isn't a single decent shot on a stallion's website. I want at least one very good, well lit conformation shot and a few others that highlight the stallion's strengths. I really couldn't care less about the bucking, rearing or otherwise playing shots that so many like to populate their sites with.

Add a video to the site and I'm a happy camper. :)

[Tasker]

4-5 photos? Yikes, I have some serious editing to do!!!

(really??? 4-5????) Wow. I didn't realize what a burden the website was...

[Daydream Believer]

I have lots of pics on mine but they are small and you can click and open one larger. You can also view them all as a slideshow. I've had a number of complements on that but not sure what anyone here would think of that.

[rideagoldenpony]

Post too many pictures? I'm not afraid. I have and I do!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :D

Pretty much from any and every angle. If you look at all his pages, you'll see pretty much every single last part of him!

I figure that it gives mare owners the chance to see "the whole picture".

I like LOTS of pictures when I go to web sites, personally!!! The more ways a stallion can be shown off, the better!

[horsetales]

I like to see at least one decent in focus conformation shot. I want to see all the way down to the feet, so don't hide them in grass or crop the picture, makes me wonder if it was done on purpose. I also lie seeing a head shot. Movement pics are a nice bonus.

[ThrghbrdJmpr]

I say the more the better, coming from a mare owners perspective. If you post them on your page as thumbnails that can be clicked on for larger photos you don't get that terrible load time.

i've seen so many stallion sites.. I have a few suggestions. Please always post a conformation shot of your boy! I'm amazed how many don't. Also I love beautiful 'at liberty' pictures as much as the next person, but a page full of them doesn't help me with stallion selection. Offspring pics are great too, but it was be nice to know what breed the dam is to see what foals relating closest to my breedings plans look like. Just some thoughts ;-)

[SpruceLane]

For those of you who like to see a close up head shot. What is it you are looking at / for?

I do have one on our site, but it is more of an artistic photo as opposed to really giving you a better view of his head conformation.

Just curious. Thanks.

[amdfarm]

Hmmm... my stallion doesn't just have pics, he's got PAGES!! I think he has 5 now w/ various pics on each page. I raised him from a baby so it all starts there and then has shown how he's grown, what he's learned and does and his offspring. I also have to admit that my site is fairly outdated except for the homepage and bits and pieces here and there, but no real new pics for a couple years. I've had other things going on in my life so I haven't really taken many new ones of him, now that he's almost mature, and I haven't been doing much w/ the horses other than care for them. Maybe that's something I can do if spring and summer ever get here!!

[okggo]

I personally am a picture nut. I love them. I know when I was looking at O'Leary's Irish Diamond at the time all he had was jumping photos. I wanted to see conformation, trot, canter, walk, at liberty, tooling around, etc. etc. Something that showed personality.

Esp if you are looking at boys from a far. But as I said, I am a very visual person, I like pictures, and say the more the merrier. Granted, I'm talking GOOD pictures...and there lies the difference. If you have B.L. photos I'd be plastering those everywhere :)

[erinwillow]

I know that what I like to see are photos that really capture a stallion. . looking stallion-ish. And, as someone has already mentioned, for me, "stallion-ish" isn't running and bucking but embodying that mystique that calm, cool, collectedness that only a stallion can have--that's what I want to see ;) I also want to see a good shot of the eye. I believe that you can totally "read" a horse/pony through their eyes. . so I wanna see a kind and gentle yet poised look in a decent head shot. Confo shots are tricky because I've seen "natural" ones, where the stallion appears to be standing "without assistance" and then I've seen pretty contrived ones. . .I prefer the natural. Also, for jump shots, I want to see how the horse/pony is interacting with the jump, his concentration--again, the expression on his face will tell me alot about whether or not he really "likes" being an athelete :winkgrin:

[Dance_To_Oblivion]

I think 4-5 is probably a bit low, especially if you will not have a chance to view the stallion in person before choosing him. I would prefer to see a diverse collection of pictures but each picture should be excellent. I've seen more then one stallion website with pictures that are barely medicore along side the stunning pictures and it would have been much more effective to edit those out!

[SilverBalls]

For me.... "you never get a second chance to make a first impression"! I think a "look twice" photo... not a whole lot of rhetoric...and clear, concise navigationg bullets is the best approach. Keep it Simple! ;)

Draw someone in... make them want to look around. And remember that studies have proven the average person will click on three prompts... and move on.

Just my two cents... and I am always looking! :cool:

[Reiter]

I agree with Silverballs! I have very slow dial-up and when it takes too long for a site to load I will get frustrated and move on! I like a nice "get your attention" picture of the stallion whether that is a head shot, riding, confo doesn't matter and then the availability to see more (i.e. me clicking on another link to see the pictures). If you have 50 pictures on your first page I will never see your web-site! ;)

[dbts]

I find it astounding that many stallion websites offer NO decent conformation pictures!! To me this is extremely frustrating. Please include this. Have him poised in the open stance on hard, level surface, so his feet clearly show as well. Bare legs with no wraps. Make sure you are directly perpendicular to his body, meaning no angle shots. Also, I like to see lots of offspring, especially with the dam and her bloodlines if known. I agree with others that a good head shot is necessary. These days video is getting very easy to include on the web page, so I'm beginning to expect that.

As a mare owner, you need as much info about the stallion in every regard to make a good breeding choice.

[Fairview Horse Center]

I have very slow dial-up and when it takes too long for a site to load I will get frustrated and move on! ... If you have 50 pictures on your first page I will never see your web-site! ;)

How about 37? :winkgrin: :lol: Can someone with dial-up tell me how long this page takes to open? I have tried to keep the photos small, but may have to change things a bit if it is taking forever to load. http://members.aol.com/fairviewhorsectr/nevada.html

[seramisu]

no such thing as too many pictures! I agree with everyone who says to put 3-4 great attention-getters (including a nice conf shot) and the rest as thumbnails or on a separate page so as not to slow down the loading of the page. I'd love to see at least a couple conf pics, a head shot showing character, trotting and cantering under saddle, free-jumping and jumping under saddle, and at liberty pics if possible.

Offspring photos are really important to me too, again the more the merrier but give them their own page. It's helpful to see the mares they're out of. I love to see - but see very few- pics of older offspring, not just cute baby pics.

I also love a video. YouTube is very under-used in stallion webpages - it's so easy to link to YouTube or embed a video, all SOs should be able to do it.

[FriesianX]

I started out with TOO MANY, it is so easy to do. Then, I cut it down to just a few, 1 conformation and a couple of catchy action shots, and added a link on my website to an on-line photo album with LOTS of pictures. I don't know if it is helping people or not, but a friend suggested that my website was taking too long to load:eek:

www.MysticOakRanch.com

[camohn]

Well I can say what I DON'T like:
I have seen plenty of sites with a bazillion pics at every odd angle. Lots of pics are great if they are GOOD pics. Showing nice gaits, good confo pic (not from a 45 degree angle at the chest or butt) and no more than a couple just playing in the field. I do like to see a head shot because it shows if he has a kind eye or not. I hate seeing stallion ads with the rearing and bucking shots. WHY exactly do I want to see that? Is that what I want to ride in my foal...nooooo.........

[SilverBalls]

Well I can say what I DON'T like:
I have seen plenty of sites with a bazillion pics at every odd angle. Lots of pics are great if they are GOOD pics. Showing nice gaits, good confo pic (not from a 45 degree angle at the chest or butt) and no more than a couple just playing in the field. I do like to see a head shot because it shows if he has a kind eye or not. I hate seeing stallion ads with the rearing and bucking shots. WHY exactly do I want to see that? Is that what I want to ride in my foal...nooooo.........


Or how about the sites that you have to scroll and scroll and scroll... never ending! :eek:

[Edgewood]

I say the more the better, coming from a mare owners perspective. If you post them on your page as thumbnails that can be clicked on for larger photos you don't get that terrible load time.



I like to see as many GOOD photos as possible. Either load them as thumbnails or on additional pages. I really don't like it when only a few are shown (and 4-5 are a few to me).

[Hi Jump]

I followed the idea that if I were not able to see the horse in person I would want to see lots of images. I must have hundreds up of performance, offspring etc.

But anyone notice those with limited information and few pictures elicit just as much interest ? as well, the Europeans often having just a few pictures for a stallion?

I was thinking of removing pictures of my horses down to a handful .

Synergy Sporthorses
Home to Cotopaxi and Raffaello
http://www.hunterjumperstallions.com

[Reiter]

How about 37? :winkgrin: :lol: Can someone with dial-up tell me how long this page takes to open? I have tried to keep the photos small, but may have to change things a bit if it is taking forever to load. http://members.aol.com/fairviewhorsectr/nevada.html

Not too bad! Took about 2 minutes and I probably would not have moved on! ;)

[Fairview Horse Center]

Oh, 2 minutes, you have more patience than I would have had. :( <sigh> I would probably have thought it was not a working page by then. Guess I will have to do some work. Thanks!

[pintofoal]

Oh, 2 minutes, you have more patience than I would have had. :( <sigh> I would probably have thought it was not a working page by then. Guess I will have to do some work. Thanks!

Darlyn, you have very lovely stallions and have work very hard over the years to promote them! Here's a bit of advice concerning your website, take it as a compliment, since I don't comment on much any more. You need a quick loading index page, with good keywords and domain name. You can the have a main page directory where from there your visitors move on to more photos of your stallion. do a couple of main photos then thumbnails that can be enlarged (as already suggested). I also think you really need to move on to a real hosting site--very inexpensive these days and easy to operate. I use to have my web on AOL so totally understand, but hosting there will not give you high ratings in the search engines and many will not browse a "free" hosted website. You can still keep your AOL pages just have links to your new server. Godaddy and such offer really good rates on both URLs and hosting. Hope that helps, I do have cable so your pages loaded right up for me. :) but as noted by others it can be slow via dial up (not that some of mine aren't, but do as I say not as I do--:lol:)

[Fairview Horse Center]

Thanks Liz! I do really appreciate your advice. The biggest reason I use my AOL space is because I have never been able to learn to use Front Page or another designing program. I try, get frustrated, and quit. I actually paid for space from Costco including the software to design it monthly for over 2 years, and couldn't figure out that either. I gave up. At the moment, I am stuck with the AOL program, Idiot Designer, um I mean Easy Designer. :lol:

My web connection is cable, so I pay for AOL JUST to host my site. It would probably save me money to go with paid webhosting. ;) I also do pay for my www.fairviewhorsecenter.com (http://www.fairviewhorsecenter.com) and have for at least 5 years, but again, I pay more for it to be aimed at my AOL page.

I did a page for a friend of mine on AOL and did include good keywords, and her site is high on google and other searches, I just have not done it for mine. :o

I will have to do a bit more work, lower the resolution on some photos, etc. I have forgotten the dial-up people since I went to cable. <:( sorry> Before I was careful to use 10 kb photos, but I got away from that. If I just drop the resolution on those, I can cut the loading time a lot.

[Reiter]

Yep, us poor dial-up people are still out here and not by choice believe you me! :(
For me having a webpage load in under 2 minutes is fast and since coth went to all the banner ads it sometimes takes forever for one of those pages to load as well. I've learned to multitask while on the computer. :D

[Hi Jump]

Fairview, your site loaded for me in about 9 seconds and I tried two different pages !

Synergy Sporthorses
Home to Cotopaxi and Raffaello
http://www.hunterjumperstallions.com

[Faiths CremelloWB]

some great ideas here. Thanks a bunch!!!

What got me thinking on this subject was that I have so many nice ones and I do not want to start taking the nice but older ones down. And I have also been looking into purchasing semen from other boys for my cremello and perlino Oldenburg Approved TB mares. (to get some new bloods in my program) While searching I noticed as Hi Jump said;

But anyone notice those with limited information and few pictures elicit just as much interest ? as well, the Europeans often having just a few pictures for a stallion?


That it is true. There are stallions out there who get quite a bit of interest who only have a few or couple pictures available. I have been given recommendations for my girls to stallions with hardly any Pict's available. I know I can contact the owners/agents for more pictures and I have on some. With one who I really like from the info. provided but the agent has only the two Pict's and no kids Pict's. But this boy is talked about a lot and is doing well in sport... still I want to see if he is better for one mare or the other or perhaps neither.

So for my guys I am going to work on thumbnails, film strip and slide show.

[Fairview Horse Center]

Hi Jump, are you on dial-up? DSL? Thanks.

[Hi Jump]

I am on cable, low speed, in a farm area with very old infrastructure and poor service. I have a great deal of difficulty seeing videos most of the time and cannot see my own website sometimes.

Further to my point, check out the subjects on this BB, "Anyone know about Balou de rouet" and such, people see very little and start talking about them with interest inviting conversation, selling without a doubt more breedings than anyone else onhere discussing how they can optimize providing information on their website. I don't see breeders tending to pick them apart dissecting every angle of the horse. I received videos from some prominent Europeans that have a brief clip of the horse, say a jumping round and two pictures and I have never once heard of anyone taking them to task needing more information, they still breed. I am starting to think like a close relationship, people take having all that offered to them for granted as familiar, once they have seen all the information.
Just a thought.

Synergy Sporthorses