Domain status
Hosting prep only until purchase is confirmed.
The domain repurchase is not confirmed until the Cloudflare payment issue is resolved. Keep building locally; do not treat custom-domain routing as ready.
Epic & Forever review dashboard
Review the future version of the photography brand.
Start with the site draft, then the story batch, then curation. Covers and broad batch pages are still provisional; the public site should be judged by the strongest image-led direction, not by weak folder-scrape artifacts.
Start here
Review in this order.
First: does the homepage and identity feel like a real photography brand? Second: use the launch shortlist to decide the first public portfolio lane. Third: use the full story batch only after that. Fourth: use curation for favourite-frame decisions, especially Rebekah and Lannah.
Public draft
It should feel real before it feels complete.
The public pages now avoid review links in the main navigation and lead with Portraits, Weddings, Commercial, Travel / Prints, About and Contact.
Launch target
Make the temporary site feel real.
The first public version can be small, but it should feel as intentional as James Alton Films: strong identity, excellent hero images, curated story pages, quiet booking paths and no archive-dump energy.
Brand direction
Editorial Noir with human warmth.
The current recommendation is a dark cinematic gallery shell softened by warm documentary sections. Sensual work belongs under Portraits as a tag or mood, not as a separate top-level offer.
What to judge
Judge the best path, not the whole archive.
- Pick the shoots that feel like the future of Epic & Forever.
- Give favourite image numbers only on the strongest pages.
- Flag anything public-sensitive, too old-feeling, over-edited, or not your taste anymore.
- Assume public categories are: Portraits, Weddings, Commercial, Travel / Prints, About and Contact. Sensual work lives inside Portraits as a tag or mood.
What not to trust yet
The covers are provisional.
The current story batch is useful for review, not final publication. The next photo pass needs stricter selection: no blinking, no random BTS, no trees as people covers, no wedding setup moments as wedding covers, and better sequencing by time of day, outfit or location.
Photo editor brief
My next selection pass.
I will treat this like a magazine/photo-editor pass rather than a folder scrape.
- Portrait covers: face, posture, presence, clean eyes, intentional crop, no half-blinks.
- Wedding covers: bride/groom/dress/suit/emotion first; documentary prep later inside the story.
- Commercial covers: brand usefulness, human clarity, product/service context, not behind-the-scenes logistics.
- Travel / Prints: place, ritual, atmosphere, print potential, and chronological story flow.
- Story order: sort by time, outfit, or location so pages stop feeling like a shuffled export folder.
New tool
Curate Rebekah and Lannah properly.
The curation tool starts with 63 Rebekah images and 111 Lannah preview images, with exact source paths preserved. Mark favourites, maybe frames, rejects, cover candidates and notes; then export the selection JSON so I can turn your picks into real story pages.
Prints
Review the geese and Laminart model.
The print pricing page now includes the five Canadian geese candidates found in Dropbox and a Laminart calculator. Current draft default is Aluminum Luxury Mount, 20×30, vendor cost $270 CAD, retail estimate $810 CAD before shipping and tax.
Contact sheets
Quick visual triage, not final selects.
The 2019 sheet is mostly older travel/print archive, not a portrait portfolio. Sunny is a 2026 sheet. Mo is a strong KFS-era sensual portrait direction and the sheet has been rotated for review.
Questions for James
Answer by voice.
Which 8-12 shoots feel like the public launch portfolio? Which image numbers are favourites on those pages? Which single photo should open the homepage? Which shoots feel too old, too private, or too awkward to lead with? For deeper notes, use the interview packet and search Apple Notes for the listed shoot names, locations and older brand wording.