Do pictures in a members area even matter?
 

How important are they?

that's a very good question. saw a camera forum guys asking if sports photography would switch to video as the internet is becoming more prevalent than print. -bmb

Good question, would love to see the results! Shoulda made this one a poll. I believe that it may depend on the type of niche, for example our bondage sites are very artistic and can only be captured on pics rather than video!

Well, I can't speak for all. But for us, pictures were always secondary.

Video was the key when we started 4 years back. Even before broadband was so popular. I basically went with what _I_ liked. Good, high quality video I could enlarge to my computer screen size.

It's worked for us.

Sure. Over that time I get the occasional complaint they want pictures. But I could count those e-mails on two hands over those years. For us, we probably leave money on the table with that thought, but recoup it on individual clip sales.

Our members want high end video. I'm sure they would like pictures as well. But the complaints are few... that is on our porn anyway.

That is a fantastic question.

We shoot video for every set and find that members are not even clicking on the pictures.

Give it 12 months and i think pictures will be a thing of the past.:2 cents:

Is that a GIF 89a in your sig?

Pics will never die, and use far less resources. It takes little effort to offer them alongside the video content, and makes promotion a hell of a lot easier (as well as better) than screencaps.

Photos are secondary but are demanded my members. I get mail on regular basis asking how come we do more video updates than photos. Go figure.

Agreed, I wouldn't have a bondge site without pics but it doesn't matter for many other sites.

But if there is even one surfer clicking them then I would keep adding them.

As a surfer, I personally prefer photos to video. And sites like FTV girls and MET-ART show that I am not alone. If your site has no photos (or worse yet...vidcaps) I would never return. In fact, if you don't have some decent sized photos on your tour odds are I would never join to begin with. :2 cents:

Is that before or after you do your chargeback?

i too, prefer pics to videos... but in my experience the vids are considerable more popular with the members.

Well I am not saying pictures are not important. We still shoot them. We use them for the TGP and promo stuff. But not so much otherwise.

Although I will give us this... our picture sets ACTUALLY MATCH THE FUCKING VIDEO.

:feels-hot

There is nothing I hate more than seeing a video, or picture set that makes you whip out the card, and go looking for it on a site just to see the pictures and video do not match.

:angrysoap:boid:thefinger:ak47::BangBang:

As Ditosta said it really depends on the type of site. Also the original of the content. Reality or video driven sites seem to do fine with high quality screenshots and members are there for video. One the other end of the spectrum, there are many sologirl sites that do not have any video at all.


One photo can be more erotic than hours of video.

Only if Paul Markham shoots it.

:winkwink:

"pictures gain members and videos keep them" ... this still true?

Although pictures are secondary, it is easier and quicker for a member to beat the meat to a still image vs. a video clip, especially if your videos cut away to the guys face at the climax :helpme

nice one :)

Yes, they are crucial and must be high res.
Yes you have to have them!

either of these will do... you would be a fool to not have images UNLESS your site was based only around videos!

We did a poll in the members area and 40 something % wanted them, It was a lot higher then I thought it would be but probably the ones that wanted bothered to vote or at lest 40% did LOL

It depends on the site... A babe site or a site where the girls have a lot of "fans", I'd say pictures are critical.. a hardcore site, video is all that's needed.... On my free sites I've noticed that about 30% - 40% of the clicks are still for picture galleries and the rest are for video galleries... So I'd say there's still a high demand for them, but again it depends on the type of site... I think what the brazzer guys do is best... while it's true that they have picture content of the hardcore action, I think it's more important that they have the pretty girl pics of the models in the scenes.

As a WM who actually puts some effort into my promotions and advertising, I find it extremely difficult to promote sites that don't have good picture content. In this day and age everyone just throws up FHGs and hope to make a sale.. I actually make more sales off my other promotions that are built around picture content.

Exactly. I think there will always be a need for picture content with babe sites, erotic photo sites like Met-Art, Femjoy, Hegre, etc, etc. Personally I love the high resolution erotic photo sets from those sites.

Reality sites I just don't think it's as necessary or necessary at all...only for promo, etc.

Micro-niche style fetish sites, yes photos are needed as people really into the weird small niches want to see photos, videos, heck if you can draw them a picture of the fetish they'd probably want it, lol.

So a lot depends on the site.

I see the videos as supplementary rather than the other way around. It takes 5 seconds to look at an image, but you could get bored waiting for something interesting/different to happen in a 5 min video.

Personally, I would rather the two be separate unless it is done right. Nothing is worse than watching a video and constantly hearing camera shutters and/or seeing flashes. That's almost worse than having a camera man who talks to the talent while he's shooting the video (unless it's gonzo). :disgust

And as long as we're on the subject, whats up with sites that post photo 'sets' with 2-300 pictures. I don't need to see 14 different shots of the exact same pose taken from the same angle. Did you hear that Abby Winters? :upsidedow



Also

I only have one photo set up. I just put it up last week as she's our most popular girl. I didn't get an ounce of feedback from my members. It definitely depends on the type of site you have.

exactly... and i agree... :thumbsup

pictures still matter, its more content, so why not have it? of course videos and movies arethe main thing, but people who join porn sites still look at the pics, especially if its good, original content...

Video is more popular with our members, but the HQ pics are very popular too.

With regards Ad Tools as well I think decent pics help sell a site.

Yep for some sites pictures are a must

This thread SUCKS without pictures...

There! It had to be said!!!

ADG

I think photos are important, however the quality of photos is really whats important if ya bother to have photos at all.

Dont use shitty photos if ya gonna go with a photo area.

Depends on the shooter, girls and the site. There are lots of surfers who want to look at pictures.

Videos are essential, pictures can be the difference between a join and a pass. One site offers them and the similar site next to it doesn't. Which one gets the join?

I haven't surfed on TGPs for years, but when I did, I preferred the picture galleries over the movie galleries.
It was because the short clips. I hated those.

But if it's in a memberarea with long movies, I would choose the movies over the pictures.

I never click the pics in members areas :)

I love pictures myself and vastly prefer them to 99% of video. I know pictures are very important to my members, but the demographics are probably biased because I have picture-oriented sites.

I love pictures myself and vastly prefer them to 99% of video. I know pictures are very important to my members, but the demographics are probably biased because I have picture-oriented sites.

Long ago, pictures were more important as the Internet was much slower. I have had many of the same sites for years, and have been adding more and more video as the members are demanding it. One of my newer sites is only video.

I have a bondage site, and yes, pictures are very important for that niche. I'd also say so for tranny content too as I have one of those sites too and members enjoy looking long at a picture of a hot tranny with a huge erect dick or peering into the weird looking fake hole of a post-op. Yet, video for that niche is a must and my bondage folks are wanting more and more video too--not just pictures. I'm actually going back and adding video for all my "picture only galleries" at the bondage site.

Most of my sites have both and picture gallery and matching video gallery. I hear from members in countries with slow Internet that they like the fact that I have picture galleries as their connections are too slow to view the videos. They frequently remind me not to forget about them as it appears many other sites are.

I agree with bondage style met art style sites needing pics...
But I think that as time progresses they are less important.
I also hate cam flashes going off during vids. If I were tio start a site tommorow, it would be vid only...

I think it depends on niche - for some glamour site its a must but makes close to no sense for bukkake site I think.
Anyway its gonna be a nice bonus forever I think.

I'd say single girl site/fetish sites (bondage, piercing, tattoo...) = Pics Very Important

Hardcore and all that includes 2 people doing something= Pics are not important at all

I think they are very important....

Our solo girl site pictures are very important ,our girl /girl site not as important. Also depends on the surfer some love pics some love video, to me I would rather have both then not meet the needs of a customer. Even if its 10 percent on those bigger sites thats a good chunk of people.

For my single girl site I shoot a set of pictures and let the video camera run at the same time.I'll also put the still camera down and hand hold the vid camera at certain times during and after the shoot to give me something to edit with. I make it a point to have the finished video look like it's part of the intended fantasy of the picture set and not a " behind the scenes " of a photo shoot. I also make sure that me or my voice is not on video so the member always feels like he's one on one with the model.

Every update is a picture set and if I have a video that goes with that set I'll let the members know that there is a video but I'll save it for later. Every so often between regular updates I'll throw in a corresponding video to a past picture set as a bonus.

My members LOVE the picture sets and will patiently wait (rebill) for the videos. I also never let them know what's coming next. I think this way keeps the members anticipation and interest high and wanting to stick around as long as possible to see what she comes up with next.

Very important... I have been talking to many of my members, and most of them love pics!

I think it's very important.

I would say it depends on the site. My members love videos, but they come back for the photos. Lots of them say they can't download or watch the videos (not enough bandwidth, not their computer, etc) but they love the photos.

depends on the niche aswell.. pics for my squirting site is useless, but the bread and butter of my boots site..