Thread: Opinions sought / business card

thought I'd update my cards, this bedla is from Damiena, btw ,r:;

why are you headless?? It's a nice layout, but I want to see your face on a card.

Originally Posted by nasila

why are you headless?? It's a nice layout, but I want to see your face on a card.

Yeah, we wanna see your pretty face.

Originally Posted by nasila

why are you headless?? It's a nice layout, but I want to see your face on a card.

cause I like the bod in the pic, but didn't like the face ,r:; , came out weird with a strange grimace...

I'd prefer to see your face too.

Also, I find the font distracting - fine for your name, but maybe something easier to read for the important info? And last, you left the @ out of your email address. :)

sigh. ok, thanks for the responses!

Pretty! Clean layout. But you forgot the '@' in your email address. Also the font (to me) makes 'Dances' look like 'DaXes'. But maybe it is just me.

Another vote for your face, but yeah--that is a great torso/body shot!

I'd like to see your head. We all know how important the face is to expression emotion in the dance...do you want a client who just picks your body and doesn't care about the whole package?

I know exactly what your going through, I've been working on my card since last night and I'm still not happy. And why is it that when your body looks great there's always something strange happening with your face. Posting it here for some feedback was really smart(my card hasn't gotten that far). Your body and the costume are awesome and I love the cool font.

I agree that it would be nice to see your face -- and I also agree that your body looks great here! Have you considered doing a photo collage?

i vote for the face too, for the above reasons and for marketing reasons.
you will lose the "hey, that's the dancer from the card!" factor.

Originally Posted by Monica

Pretty! Also the font (to me) makes 'Dances' look like 'DaXes'. But maybe it is just me.

I thought the exact same thing. I had to re-read it twice and then squint to make out that it was an N and a C and not an X.

Hi Kina, I always see your eye on the threads and just looked at your gallery. What beautiful pics of you! I was just going to say that you might consider getting a quote from a pro to design your cards. I did that and it was a lot cheaper than you would expect and I think it makes a huge difference in the way people view you and your business. Now, I am fortunate enough to have an (well actually two) extremely talented designer as a student. I trade services wtih both of them and it is totally worth it to me. Now I just need to get someone to redo my website. It's still done by me. Anyway, just wanted to share that with you. Have a great day!

I also thought it was an X at first glance, and I had a negative reaction to the headlessness as well. Made you seem objectified, and of course the viewer also has to wonder whether your head is attractive.

I have an idea, though. What if the body shot was the background for the card, and your face, or another shot that includes your head, was boxed? If you send me the photo, and another one you like that's just a head shot or includes your head, I'd be happy to play with it for you.

Originally Posted by Monica

Pretty! Clean layout. But you forgot the '@' in your email address. Also the font (to me) makes 'Dances' look like 'DaXes'. But maybe it is just me.

Another vote for your face, but yeah--that is a great torso/body shot!

Thanks, I like the font but hadn't noticed that it does that to the "nc" in dances.

Originally Posted by ozma

I'd like to see your head. We all know how important the face is to expression emotion in the dance...do you want a client who just picks your body and doesn't care about the whole package?

I hear what your saying.

I find that the gp wants only someone who looks good, and will be able to identify bad dancing, but aren't really aware of what good dancing is.

So, I hadn't thought I was objectifying myself, although I can see why people would think that, it's a valid point.

Originally Posted by leenanyc

I know exactly what your going through, I've been working on my card since last night and I'm still not happy. And why is it that when your body looks great there's always something strange happening with your face. Posting it here for some feedback was really smart(my card hasn't gotten that far). Your body and the costume are awesome and I love the cool font.

Thanks Leena, it's really not easy when your not a trained design artist. Well, it was a first draft, I played around with some ideas and things that I like.

Problem is, I know what I like but don't have the software (or skills) to do it right and I'm too impatient to wait

Originally Posted by bintbeled

I agree that it would be nice to see your face -- and I also agree that your body looks great here! Have you considered doing a photo collage?

I'm not quite sure what you mean? How would you do a photo collage, and do you meant a compilation of different shots? How would that work on a card? Very interesting idea!

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

i vote for the face too, for the above reasons and for marketing reasons.
you will lose the "hey, that's the dancer from the card!" factor.

yeah, but you don't have my face! I swear, my face just doesn't want to look good in pictures! It makes me want to pull my own hair out in frustration!

Originally Posted by Leyladancer

Hi Kina, I always see your eye on the threads and just looked at your gallery. What beautiful pics of you! I was just going to say that you might consider getting a quote from a pro to design your cards. I did that and it was a lot cheaper than you would expect and I think it makes a huge difference in the way people view you and your business. Now, I am fortunate enough to have an (well actually two) extremely talented designer as a student. I trade services wtih both of them and it is totally worth it to me. Now I just need to get someone to redo my website. It's still done by me. Anyway, just wanted to share that with you. Have a great day!

Thanks Leyla, would you mind sharing how much the quotes were? And might you be willing to send me the names in a pm?

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I also thought it was an X at first glance, and I had a negative reaction to the headlessness as well. Made you seem objectified, and of course the viewer also has to wonder whether your head is attractive.

I have an idea, though. What if the body shot was the background for the card, and your face, or another shot that includes your head, was boxed? If you send me the photo, and another one you like that's just a head shot or includes your head, I'd be happy to play with it for you.

that would be awesome, Lauren! Thanks! I'll do it when I get home tonight!

I was thinking of something thought (not juxtaposed like this) but maybe the torso shot be one side of the card, with the word belly dance across the tummy and on the other side a full shot of me with the information, or maybe vice versa?

I also meant to meta-quote this, but couldn't figure it out, sorry!

Originally Posted by kina

I'm not quite sure what you mean? How would you do a photo collage, and do you meant a compilation of different shots? How would that work on a card? Very interesting idea!

I'm currently having cards made and couldn't decide what picture to use, so I asked a local photog, Roger Wood -- yup, the one who wrote that Zaghareet article about restaurant dancing -- to play around a bit. You can see some of his work -- including our own Damiena -- at Performance Photography

Mine came out a bit differently. I just put a copy in my gallery, if you want to see it. One picture is used as background, with text on top of it. (This is the almost-final draft; photo credits missing.)

BTW, Roger's prices are very reasonable, I think. And he's working with other photogs' pix here. These are by Michael Baxter and Carl Sermon.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

I'm currently having cards made and couldn't decide what picture to use, so I asked a local photog, Roger Wood -- yup, the one who wrote that Zaghareet article about restaurant dancing -- to play around a bit. You can see some of his work -- including our own Damiena -- at Performance Photography

Mine came out a bit differently. I just put a copy in my gallery, if you want to see it. One picture is used as background, with text on top of it. (This is the almost-final draft; photo credits missing.)

BTW, Roger's prices are very reasonable, I think. And he's working with other photogs' pix here. These are by Michael Baxter and Carl Sermon.

your card is lovely! wow, look what you can do with a little skill (in design terms!)

thanks, that's an awesome suggestion. I'll look into the rates...

Originally Posted by kina

I hear what your saying.

I find that the gp wants only someone who looks good, and will be able to identify bad dancing, but aren't really aware of what good dancing is.

So, I hadn't thought I was objectifying myself, although I can see why people would think that, it's a valid point.

That, and not putting your head on looks suspicious...

The only way I'm going to be happy with a torso on a card is if someone REALLY commits to the torso. I mean blowing-up that torso up to fill the whole card and then warping the text ever so slightly to create a modern version of the "How to stuff a wild bikini" poster with a slight shout-out to old cheesy album covers...

Originally Posted by ozma

That, and not putting your head on looks suspicious...

The only way I'm going to be happy with a torso on a card is if someone REALLY commits to the torso. I mean blowing-up that torso up to fill the whole card and then warping the text ever so slightly to create a modern version of the "How to stuff a wild bikini" poster with a slight shout-out to old cheesy album covers...

I love how your mind works!

Although there are quite a few NEW cheesy album covers that feature torso shot, but come to think of it, not ones I would to be on.

Originally Posted by kina

I love how your mind works!

I did two years as a double major (illustration in the design department and drawing in the fine arts department) before I dropped the illustration major and concentrated on fine art.

Originally Posted by ozma

I did two years as a double major (illustration in the design department and drawing in the fine arts department) before I dropped the illustration major and concentrated on fine art.

yeah, but the creativity is there on it's own, and can't always be taught. I have a decent eye, but I don't "see" in the same way as you do, which is why I buy art and costumes, and you can make them ,r:;

I'm having a cartoon drawn of me (see, I hire, you could do it :-) maybe I can implement that idea into it...

Originally Posted by kina

that would be awesome, Lauren! Thanks! I'll do it when I get home tonight!

I was thinking of something thought (not juxtaposed like this) but maybe the torso shot be one side of the card, with the word belly dance across the tummy and on the other side a full shot of me with the information, or maybe vice versa?

Oh, this sounds totally doable, Kina. I don't usually have enough free time to volunteer for projects like this, but at the moment I do, and I'd enjoy it.

Consider whether you might want to do one side or the other in black & white, it will save you quite a bit on the printing.

mt 2 cents the GP wants to see your torso. they care about weight. head shots, back shots, too many veils etc. i think makes them wonder what you are hiding. the only thing i would change in close cropping the torso more. it's your cards do what you like. tina