This week, we were promoted to make improvements to our website. My site (on which this blog is hosted), was relatively up to date, but there were some changes I had been intending to make for sometime. This was a great reminder to follow through with these plans. I use Format to build my site, it is a little restrictive with regards to modifications, but I am relatively happy with the layout and design options provided.

Previously, I was using a horizontal scrolling layout for my website, which displayed images beside one another - this was the first element that I changed this week. My website (when viewed on a computer) now displays images one at a time, and the viewer is required to click ‘next’ or ‘previous’ to navigate through the series. I hope that this will encourage the viewer to focus on each individual image. I have also added a thumbnail viewing option, as an alternative way to view all the images in a collection. 

Another change that was more pressing, was creating a site that was more adaptive to different devices, as my previous layout did not display well on tablets and smartphones. I had found that it was not intuitive for the user to navigate, and I was not happy with the appearance of certain elements, such as image captions and menus. I think my new layout is a vast improvement, as it is much more user friendly and my work is better presented. I have tested my site on a few different devices, all of which were successful, so I feel more confident sharing it with others.

 I am now in the process of strengthening my content. I believe that I need to edit down the number of images in my series Witness Marks, and also think more about sequencing, in order to strengthen this body of work. 

I have been spending more time promoting my work through social media, the current module has encouraged me to post to instagram more regularly, and it has been reassuring to receive positive feedback on my work, particularly from new audiences. I have been making an effort to connect with other photographers via instagram, and also submitted my work to an online exhibition by The Documentary Department. I know that I still need to improve my social media presence however, and I wonder if adding more video content could help - I always take interesting journeys to my shooting destinations, but never share videos or photographs of my working process - something that I believe my followers might like to see.