Create Your Own Photo Blog
Product Description
Photos exist to be shared
Whether you seek to showcase a professional portfolio or just want your family across the continent to see the pictures from the reunion, you can do it with a photo blog. Catherine Jamieson, whose award-winning blog, Utata, has a legion of fans, gives you all the tools you need in this richly illustrated, full-color guide. She translates Web lingo, walks you through setting up your blog, and provides professional tips… More >>
Categories: Books | 
Tags: Blog, Create, Photo | 
5 Comments »
a lot of fluff in this book, but when it gets down to building a photo blog, your at her mercy as all of the lessons require that you sign up with nexcess.net (which is a total rip off!) and even then, the coupon for the free month doesn’t work. I tried using a different host, but it’s rather complicated to install the programs and templates she uses in the book unless your really good with websites. this is not a beginers book at all.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book isn’t bad. It covers a wealth of material and gets into a fair about of detail on how to set up a photoblog, mostly on the suggested Nexcess.net.
This is fine should you choose this route, as you will have all the information on how to do that.
What could help the reader is a better organization of the material presented to keep one from having to go back and forth between pages to take in the examples presented. This will probably happen in the next edition.
Other than that, I admire the author’s talent, knowledge, and enthusiasm for photography and blogging.
Rating: 3 / 5
There were a couple of good ideas in the book but then I felt it became an installation guide for using Movable Type.
Rating: 1 / 5
I love this book! The photographs and illustrations are so beautiful that I’m constantly compelled to flip through the pages looking for ideas. “Create Your Own Photoblog” makes blogging seem so easy and fun; I can’t wait to get started!
Rating: 5 / 5
As someone who makes a living structuring information for maximum usability, I have to say that this book and the accompanying website are frustrating, maddening, and pretty much useless unless you’re willing to sign up for the hosting deal with the author’s suggested web host.
Some of the most glaring errors include:
1) Placing content that should be relegated to sidebars (i.e., the section on signing up for TypeKey authorization) right in the middle of crucial instructions for setting up Movable Type on your system. It breaks up the flow of information, and forces the reader to flip back and forth several times to ensure that she hasn’t missed a crucial step.
2) Files at the accompanying website are only available as Windows executables. I’m a fairly savvy Mac user, so I knew enough to drag the .exe files to Stuffit Expander to open them, but how many other Mac users might miss this crucial step? Make the files available as .zip or .tar.gz files for maximum compatibility.
3) Workflow inefficiencies: how efficient is it that the reader is forced to create a new blog after installing the author’s blog templates? Why can’t these templates be applied to the default photo blog that is created when Movable Type is initially configured?
While I’m sure the rest of the book has some useful information — I particularly liked Jamieson’s photo assignments – I’m so thoroughly frustrated with the installation/configuration instructions and information design of the book that I can’t help but give it a negative review.
This is but the first edition of the book – do yourself a favor and wait for version two, or check the website at createyourownphotoblog.com to see if an errata section is made available.
Rating: 2 / 5