About

Directory Privacy Policy Page Added ~ 11.01.2008

The directory now has a Privacy Policy in the footer section of every page.

Best Makeup Artists Of My Free Fashion Industry Directory ~ 10.22.2008

As a cross promotional step the best photos of the best makeup artists were posted on the parent website of this directory.
The post was also promoted via the MySpace blog and StumbleUpon profile of Ferenc Ecseki Photography.

Photo is courtesy of:
Makeup Artist Directory Profile - Makeup Artist Website

Improved Directory Layout And AdSense Placement Optimization ~ 10.10.2008

AdSense optimization took place on the surface and "under the hood" for the directory.
The index page received rows of thumbnails of recent submissions courtesy of Drupal views and a keyword rich, informative but casual italicized headline.
Profile page layouts were changed to place text towards the top (instead of the large image) stylized with a thumbnail preview of the later seen large image.
The previous Leaderboard AdSense block was replaced with a smaller square next to the thumbnail and a rectangle ad block right below the profile text.

The AdSense module (with AdSense Section Targeting) and a very useful AdSense Injector module were used for ad placement.
The h1 title font has been dramatically reduced to allow the placement of more useful content into the top part of the page, what visitors see at page load.

Slimming Down The Profile Submission Form ~ 10.07.2008

The directory is still attracting too many users who do not create a profile page after registering thus defeating the purpose for both parties involved.
The real reasons for this are unknown because when these users are randomly surveyed they never send back useful responses.

The registration is streamlined and is a quick process without even having to click on a usual emailed confirmation link.
One possibility is that there are (seemingly) too many fields to fill out but in reality there are just a few mandatory fields marked by asterisks.

Therefore as an experiment the Profile Submission Form has been shortened by decreasing the mandatory "About Me" section from 50 words to 25 words, by eliminating the Instant Messenger URLs section all together and by deleting some of the social media URL fields to shorten the profile page creation process.

For good measure the already polite "warning message" on the user registration form has been simplified rewritten to be more eye-catching and persuasive:
>> !!! IMPORTANT !!! <<<
PLEASE DO NOT REGISTER UNLESS PLANNING TO CREATE A PROFILE PAGE
... to show up in the directory!!! Thank You!

Fashion, Style, Beauty, Make Up, Hair Styling, Photography Blog ~ 09.26.2008

The directory has been expanded with a Blog section covering news about fashion, style, beauty, makeup, hair styling, celebrities, designers, photographers and alike subjects.
The blog posts are just a few words with a link pointing to the original websites much like Twitter.

The blog post will be sent to both Twitter accounts that belong to this directory ( ArtOfBeauty and Ferenc Ecseki Photography ).

Fashion / Clothing Designer Category Added ~ 09.18.2008

A new category of Fashion Designer has been added to the directory.

ArtOfBeauty Twitter Account Opened ~ 09.17.2008

To increase exposure for this directory a Twitter account was setup in the name of ArtOfBeauty.
At this time the only Tweets are the links to the new profiles but in the future there will be more types of microblogging subjects and message formats will be added.

Drupal Backup and Migrate Module Installed ~ 09.14.2008

Drupal Backup and Migrate Module has been installed for the directory and scheduled backups have been set up.
This is security measure is a must for any Drupal website and considering that the directory has been online for over a year it is long overdue.
I have been backing up the SQL database but definitely not often enough.
The module is a snap to install and configure plus it has great features.

New Model Section: Male Model Profiles ~ 09.12.2008

Starting from today male models are able to add their FREE profiles to the directory.
Professionally I have not been concentrating on / photographing male models but I believe the new section will add visibility to the directory therefore more networking juice to the members

Google Custom Search and Google AdSense Added ~ 06.20.2008

Google Custom Search has replaced the previous original (Drupal) search box.
Visitors will be greeted by the Google logo next to the search button; the change was implemented for the sake of brand recognition and to provide the most complete and accurate search results.

For the sake of being able to keep this FREE directory FREE Google AdSense has been added.

Directory Main Index Page Gets New Title ~ 06.16.2008

The former (a bit too general and vague) page title: "FREE Photography Directory" is now changed to a more descriptive "FREE Directory for Photographers Models Makeup Artists Hair Stylists".

This way visitors of the directory home page get a "more immediate" idea about the content.

Agents, Management, Modeling Agencies and Magazines have been left out to keep the title optimal length and because those are not the most utilized categories.

Directory Registration Re-explained ~ 05.18.2008

Many visitors of this directory who decide to register still do not create a profile page. This has been a trend since the directory started.
The BOLDED reminder posted on the Sign up page has been further reinforced for lack of a better word with: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

Most people are familiar with MySpace so that could be an easy reference.
Step 1: create user account which entails choosing a user name and entering an email address.
Step 2: create a personal page with text and photo.
The registration and profile page creation to be included in this directory has been made very simple. Even the email verification step has been side stepped to satisfy busy people.

In the end anyone who registers but fails to create a profile page basically wastes his or her time.
After about a week their user accounts get deactivated (but not deleted) and life goes on.
The rate of this phenomenon is so significant this directory could be three times bigger if it did not occur!

Forzieri Advertising Removed Amazon Added ~ 05.15.2008

The Forzieri banner advertising has not delivered desired revenue, perhaps the weak US economy does not encourage the purchase of luxury Italian goods.

Hopefully people still read therefore Amazon links have been placed on the pages.

Forzieri And LinkShare Advertising ~ 03.31.2008

The AdBrite Ads are no longer on the pages of the directory.
AdBrite never really learned the content of the site and was unable to create useful ads. Their inline ads did not work at all.

Banner links from Forzieri.com and LinkShare.com are currently showing promoting items that will be of interest for the members and the visitors: fashion and generating income from blogging.

Introducing AdBrite Advertising Links ~ 03.20.2008

AdBrite ads are appearing on the pages of the directory.
It takes time for the ads to "learn" the type of content they need to match so for a limited time there might be advertising on the pages which have nothing to do with photography, modeling or makeup.

Inactive User Account Maintenance ~ 02.01.2008

Users' accounts who have not created profile pages were disabled as part of a periodic administrative maintenance. Meaning: about half the people who sign up do not create their member pages which is the point of the directory.

This is unfortunate for them, wasting time without results and for the directory which could be twice as large by now.
The entry below shows a special note which has been posted at the place of registration as a reminder. It has not made any difference as far as reducing the rate of these occurrences.

More Information Added For Directory Registration ~ 12.11.2007

The following note has been added to the Create New Account page, which is the first screen at the time of registration with the directory.

Important info:
This first step of "Creating A New Account" is ONLY USER REGISTRATION!
Please do not forget to CREATE PROFILE PAGE as well by clicking on Submit FREE Listing in the sidebar. Just by registering (creating a user name) you are not listed in the directory.

Since the start of the directory many people have registered who have not created a profile page. Without the profile page the registration is meaningless because registration information is not visible on the internet.

A more extensive post can be found here:
A Smart Photography Directory

Directory Operation And South East Asia Photography Trip ~ 12.08.2007

It is quite possible that my South East Asia Photography Trip may slow down the new member profile approval process. Please expect some delays due to sparse internet access in rural Asia.

Promotion of the directory and the recruiting of new members will also be affected but will not stop. Photos and stories will be posted about the trip in my main website: http://ferenc.biz.

Directory Promotion And Photographer Interviews! ~ 11.26.2007

Promoting the directory through direct emails has been scaled down during the past few weeks due to low percentage of responses and the time it takes to promote this way.

Instead the number of MySpace bulletin postings increased which is less overhead resulting fewer but a steady stream of new registrations.

All active photographers (ones with a profile page) are being invited to fill out the Photographer Self Interview Questions.
As with any direct email requests a 2-4% reply rate is expected only. The completed interviews will appear in the Ferenc Ecseki Photography Blog to provide further exposure and visibility to those members.

Inactive Directory Member Accounts Blocked! ~ 09.30.2007

Anyone who registered with the Directory but did not create a profile page is not really using the directory and utilizing its benefits.

Recently over 100 notification e-mails were sent out to all inactive members reminding them to create their profile pages. There was not any serious response so it seems those members will stop at the registration and never intend to create profiles.

These profiles today were blocked meaning their status was changed to inactive.
The memberships were not deleted merely placed on hold and this will be an ongoing process to better keep track of active members. This is an important step in the maintenance of the directory administration.

In the future if membership notifications need to be sent out they will be only going to active members which is a polite touch by not continuously bothering uninterested people with Directory news and updates.

Magazine Section Added To Directory! ~ 09.16.2007

A new section was added for magazines specializing in art, fashion, makeup, style, photography, modeling and perhaps more. The idea came from seeing the countless MySpace profile pages of magazines.

After some research it seems like there are not many (or any) high quality and comprehensive directories specializing magazines. The goal of this directory is create a magazine section which is the most complete and "easily digestible".
The already existing profile page template was slightly modified to fit the needs of the magazine submission form mainly by eliminating some of the unnecessary Instant Messenger and Social Networking fields.

Member Profile Editing Restrictions ~ 09.15.2007

Sometimes there has to be a compromise when it comes to usability, features and site administration. Today the ability to edit one's own profile page was restricted when it was discovered that some members deleted their profile photos and did not replace them with new ones.

Member profiles without photos are not as interesting and make the directory look bland and boring.
The presence of the pictures on the member pages adds to the visual impact and helps the visitor decide if he or she will actually click on the member's homepage link.
Also due to the minimalistic design style of the directory the photos provide essential break in the monotony which is intentionally part of the design to accentuate the profile pictures.

This step denying members to modify their profile after submission may not be a positive step and may result in increased email correspondence requesting changes to be made by the directory Admin.

Directory Front Page Improvement ~ 09.14.2007

Instead of having one of my photos (the same for the past 6 weeks) displayed as the welcoming image on the index page of the directory there will be various photographs shown from the directory members.

A link can be found below the photo showing who's profile page actually contains the image for easy reference.

The directory front page may go through face lifts in the future, with the ever growing number of members and member profile pages perhaps an easier navigation to the different categories and areas of the directory will be needed.

Alicia Nicole Florida Photographer Joins! ~ 09.09.2007

One of my favorite photos of this Directory can be found on the profile page of Alicia Nicole Photographer of Silent Shutter Photography in Coral Springs, Florida.

I love the style, creativity and outspokenness of Alicia so after her profile was approved I asked her for an interview by filling out my unique Photographer Self Interview Questions.

She did a great job, her photographer interview is an intimate, personal, fun and informative read.

Total Directory Member Count: 255! ~ 09.05.2007

Directory membership has doubled since the last count in 08.22.2007 from 119 to 255.
The number of member profile pages has climbed from 54 to 116.
The percentage of members who registered but never created profile pages stays at 55% which is still a very high number.

The current content of the Directory sorted by member type:
Female Model: 30
Photographer: 63
Makeup Artist & Hair Artist: 13
Stylist: 2
Agent & Management Company: 2
Modeling Agency: 6

Considering the Directory is free, how professional its content is, the number of e-mails sent out and the fact how simple it is to create a profile this not a very high number.

With time the ever increasing page count and content of the directory will push it into "visible territory" in Google searches so people will find it without being contacted.

Agents | Management Companies Section Added To Directory! ~ 08.31.2007

Another new section was added for agents and talent management companies today!
This was supposed to be a modest photography directory for models and photographers only but since the beginning there has been demand from related professions to be included.

Drupal (the content management platform this directory is running on) makes the expansion of the directory fairly simple and speedy. Of course after every major change there is a full backup all Drupal files and the SQL database to ensure minimal data loss in case of a disaster.

The recently added categories will expand the marketing efforts to new and exciting areas and add a multidimensional aspect of the directory.

Stylists Section Added To Directory! ~ 08.31.2007

The reason the stylists category was added today to the directory is because several stylists actually requested it via the MySpace profile of Ferenc Ecseki Photography. So it could be said: by popular demand the stylist section was born! Hooray!!!

Countless great stylists can be found on MySpace which is one of the major promotional avenues this directory is utilizing to contact talented artists.
The marketing of the Photography Directory is the top priority these days.

With the increasing content, namely the number of profile pages there is a need for improved navigation, better presentation of content and more engaging design which will be implemented in the near future.

ROSHAR - Best Makeup Artist in New York City Joins! ~ 08.30.2007

I am happy to have the profile of ROSHAR as part of this Photography Directory. I have had the pleasure to work with ROSHAR in Hawaii during a 2 day photoshoot.
This man is the most professional, creative, progressive, hard working and fun makeup artist anyone can ever ask for!

An interesting side project has resulted from the addition of the profile page of New York City's Best Make Up Artist.
In the upcoming weeks Google results will be tracked for searches like:
"makeup artist new york"
"makeup artist in new york city"
"best makeup artist in new york"
and so on to document any increase in the Google visibility of ROSHAR.
The information will be used to prove and promote the power of this directory.

New Directory Member: Toni Leigh ~ 08.26.2007

Another well known name glamour model Toni Leigh graces the pages of the directory.
As part of the ongoing cross promotion between this directory and my official homepage I blogged about Toni's profile submission: Toni Leigh MySpace Glamour Model - Photography Directory Member.

It is a great compliment for this directory when a busy and already established model, makeup artist or photographer takes time out of their busy schedule even if it is just a quick 5 minute sign up.
MySpace is a great social networking place with almost limitless possibilities to find some of the future participants of this website.

New Directory Section: Makeup Artists Profiles ~ 08.25.2007

The promotion of the directory has been almost a full time job so making a section for makeup artists has not been a priority. That changed a few days ago when a makeup artist from MySpace wrote requesting that very section!

This Photography Directory would never be whole without makeup artists so the section is vital and the start of the directory is the optimal time to create it instead of delaying it.

Total Directory Member Count: 119! ~ 08.22.2007

After sending out about 1000 emails the member count started to grow. These invitation emails were only sent out to models and photographers who already had profiles on other photography directories.

As of date 35 photographers and 19 models have created profiles which leaves 65 people who have registered but have not submitted their profile page.
The 65 people account 54% of the total membership. This number is very high even though the profile creation has been streamlined so it is really as fast as possible.
Modeling Agencies have not been contacted so their number stands at 2 for now.

In the near future e-mails will be sent out to all members thanking those who have registered and submitted a profile and reminding those who still need to add their pages.
Eventually all members should create a member page so the purpose of the directory is fulfilled.

Photo Upload Enabled! ~ 08.13.2007

Directory members are now able to upload one photo per profile which will show on the top of their pages!
Being new to Drupal (the platform this Directory is built on) means that implementing some features are beyond my capabilities at this time.
I received a helping hand from a great blog which featured a video tutorial exactly about how to elegantly solve the issue of uploading images in Drupal.

At this time I decided to limit image upload to one picture per profile but also to make it a required step. More images would increase bandwidth usage and the time to complete a submission.
Also one image per profile ensures that it is (hopefully) a quality photo because this way there is really just one chance to make a first impression!

In the future a there might be multiple image upload possible. Another great feature would be a photo album or gallery which could be integrated with the Directory where all uploaded pictures can be viewed.

Using CSS a wide dark border is added automatically to all uploaded images. Generally a dark background makes colors of photographs more saturated and B&W contrast more intense. The same design feature is employed on the main site of Ferenc Ecseki Photography.

Modeling Agency Section Added ~ 08.10.2007

At least in the beginning the Directory was going to have a modest goal of signing up models and photographers. Today a Modeling Agency section was added because an agency created a profile page and placed it under the models category.

There is a possibility that a 4th section for makeup artist and hair stylists will be created which would nicely round out the scope of the directory.

Directory Membership: 20 ~ 08.09.2007

The directory currently has 16 photographers and 4 models as members with profiles. A few other people registered but have not created a member page.

The profile page creation has been streamlined in the following way: after registration is complete it is no longer necessary to click on a verification link which used to be emailed out.

The new process allows people to type in their user name, email address, and immediately choose a password which lets them to log in.
The new user is then automatically directed to the page where the profile creation can begin.

The directory got its first spammer! Perhaps the process is so smooth that it may give the impression that it is fully automated. In reality all profile submissions must be approved by the Directory Admin.
The spammer entered their homepage URL 20 times filling up all social networking link fields with the same website address. The submission itself and the user account of the spammer was deleted.

Matt Hoyle Portrait Photography Joins ~ 08.08.2007

The directory received a great photographer submission in the name of Matt Hoyle.
There is a post in my blog about Matt Hoyle Photography joining the directory to keep the readers of my other site updated with the happenings of this directory.

Directory Promotion - Membership: 4 ~ 08.05.2007

I wish to thank the first 3 photographers who signed up with my directory:

• Samantha Nandez Fashion and Portrait Photographer in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Ken Steward Photography & Motion Pictures in Seattle Washington
• Model Photographer Mike Trobee in Memphis Tennessee

I have been sending out invitation emails to quality photographers and models.
Anyone who already has an online profile is usually interested in additional exposure and one can never have too many links back to their home pages!
Design was child's play considering what is next: the promotion and marketing of the directory!

Directory Is Launched! - Membership: 1 ~ 07.29.2007

The directory is ready to be launched after about 10 days of design, configuration and adding the welcoming content. Membership is currently one: myself, Fashion Model and Portrait Photographer Ferenc Ecseki.

If people actually sign up there will be no doubt chances to improve functionality and the aesthetics of the site. As far as short term plans my immediate goal with this directory is 1000 great photographers and 1000 great models.
At this time I do not know the likelihood of meeting these numbers or the time it would take to achieve it even if it is possible. But it is a nice round number and gives a chance to gauge the progress of the site.

Directory Design: Simplicity ~ 07.28.2007

I usually like minimalistic themes consisting of black and white and perhaps one more color. The start off point for this directory is the Vertigo theme.
The simplicity and structure of Vertigo has always appealed to me. I have experimented with this theme before. I love to take it apart, select the sections I like and rearrange them as I wish.

The most helpful free software that helped me with site design is the fantastic Firefox browser and my favorite add-ons. I could write volumes about how much Firefox increased my productivity!
I use quite a few add-ons and extensions but the following ones directly helped me with the design of this website:

• Web Developer - edit CSS "real time" and many more great features
• FireFTP - built in FTP client
• Html Validator - checks for HTML errors
• ColorZilla - built in color picker / eyedropper
• FEBE - to back up Firefox settings and add-ons

I anticipate that in the coming months more changes will be made if the directory will catch on.

Why a Drupal Based Photography Directory? ~ 07.28.2007

Drupal is a powerful content management system perfect for a large sized directory.
Drupal is not as easy to use as Wordpress which is the platform I used to build my photo blog and official website: Ferenc Ecseki Photography.
It was at the encouragement of my friend why I even decided to tackle Drupal.

As soon as I installed Drupal and did a very basic configuration I was in trouble immediately. My pages did not show up to anyone besides myself the admin. After trying to trouble shoot it for hours I decided to abandon the project in whole.
I do not usually give up after the first try but the possibility of having to struggle with Drupal from the start did not sound fun.

Once again my friend convinced me that I would give it another try. I reinstalled Drupal from scratch and I only added a few trustworthy basic modules. Many modules are already released but still in the development phase. My first lesson in Drupal: stick to the basic modules and do frequent full backups!

The power and capabilities of Drupal are optimal for this photography directory. I had maximum control and flexibility when designing the model and photographer submission forms. This one task alone would have been impossible to do with Wordpress.

With the help of Drupal this directory will be optimized for search engines for maximum online visibility for the member profiles. Photo upload is disabled at this time for bandwidth, site design, financial and time management reasons, it is possible that it will be made available in the future.