Your Photography Website is an Important Tool
Just about every photographer, whether seasoned professional or budding amateur, has some sort of online portfolio. It’s the easiest way for potential clients to view your work and get a sense of your skill level, style and experience as a photographer. But having a great online portfolio is more than just posting a bunch of pictures online and calling it a day. Your website should accurately reflect who you are as a photographer and you should treat it with as much care as you do when putting together a physical portfolio.
Here are few things to keep in mind when designing your website:
Flash isn’t always the best idea
Flash is great for presenting the actual photos, but don’t build your whole website on it. Some web and mobile browsers (like the iPhone) can’t view flash and you don’t want to limit who can and can’t see you work. Search engines like Google have hard time finding 100% flash sites as well, and you want to make sure you pop up when someone is searching for a photographer.
Make your contact information easy to find
If visitors have to dig through your site to find an email address or studio phone number to reach you, chances are they won’t bother. Just like your contact information is on all your business cards and included in your printed portfolio, you want it on your website. Maybe you even create a “Contact Me” form so potential clients can reach out to you without ever leaving your site.
Layout is important
Just like you carefully arrange the photos in your printed portfolio, you should also organize the photos on your website. You want your work to tell a story and put your best foot forward. You should also keep the overall website design simple so as to not distract or clash from your photography. Keep fonts and colors simple and elegant. The site is all about your photography, not what crazy design you have going on in the background.
Include a customer review section
Nothing helps inspire confidence like a “Hear What Past Clients Have to Say” section. Hearing from previous clients who were impressed and happy with your work goes a long way in convincing a visitor that you are the photographer for them.
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