How To Create The Best Photography Website: 40 Inspiring Examples

How to create a photography website? For photographers, designing a digital portfolio is not only desirable but necessary to promote their business on the web. The important part is no longer to be present but to showcase what you’ve done and attract prospective clients with it.

That is why, as a photographer, you need to import a portfolio on a breathtaking website and make its content irresistible. In this blog, we will discuss how to create a photography website that stands out.

How To Create Photography Website: Creating Your Own Portfolio

As we said, the task won’t be that simple. Collating won’t be enough, and you may find yourself suffering the consequences of your intention to collect all the best materials and present them in a visually appealing manner.

Photographers are doing fantastic work, but they are still not popular because they do not know how to showcase the art they’re creating. Still, creating a beautiful portfolio is not something you can skip nowadays, so give these tips a look, and let them lead you through the process:

1. Shoot specifically for the purpose

Isn’t it obvious? Art turns out much better when you’re not pressured to meet deadlines and expectations, so choose your subjects and shoot them for free. This is where you can make the most of your talent and create a breathtaking portfolio bring more clients on board. It can be a family member, a friend, or your favorite travel destination. You choose!

2. Focus on your target audience

How do you want people to feel when they see your work? Surprised? Shocked? Obviously, not everybody will fell the exact way you want them too, or see the landscape shot through your eyes, but having at least 50% of people reacting the way you want them to means you’ve already achieved the goal.

3. Edit your photos while designing a photography website

Don’t let editing slide through your fingers, because once an image goes live, there is nothing you can do about it. It will stay viral for years ahead, and assuming it is good, it will grace people’s walls long after you’re gone. Therefore, think about the impact you’re creating, and avoid presenting your work in a poor way which can hinder your future deals.

4. Choose shots carefully while designing a photography website

Choosing the right shoots is the most challenging part of the task, as a photographer is always torn between selecting his personal favorites and the ones that have been mostly appreciated by experts and clients.

Regardless of the effort he is investing in it, a photographer is not the most unbiased person for the task, because he will always strive to prioritize the things he likes, in comparison to the ones his audience may like.

In case you’re going through the same struggle, ask people whose opinion you can trust, and try to stay impartial for as long as you can. Narrow the work to 30 favorite photos, and remove one by one until you arrive to the desired number. In situations like this one, small nuances make a huge difference, so remove every piece that has whatever small flaw or feels defocused. Trust us-a small collection of perfect pieces is much better than a large, satisfactory one.

How to create photography website : Freelance photography

Nowadays, taking good photos is among the simplest tasks a photographer should perform. The business side of the process is what makes things more complicated, because competition is harsh, and one often has to invest more time and efforts to market his services and to keep customers on his side.

As this is not a choice, but an obligation, both professional and freelance photographers have to look for a key way to stand out, and to attract the attention of their potential clients.

Blogging

Blogging is among the simplest way to feed audience with fresh content, and to inform Google that you’re working and you want to promote your activity. Once you’re on the web, Google will take care of your rankings, and will let users know what you’re doing, and how they can reach you. In case you don’t have that much work to display, spread the posts wherever possible (social networks, for instance), or show personal photographs where your talent is more than obvious.

Using email lists

Email marketing means to world to any business, not just from the aspect of selling and promotion, but rather keeping interested parties who opt-in to see your work on board. It is an also an invaluable strategy for saving time.

The thing about email lists is that they indicate clearly who is interested in your work, and expresses enough confidence to give you an e-mail address and receive information. These people like what you’re doing, which is exactly why they want to be updated about your new photos on regular business. At the same time, these people are your prospective clients, so take good care of them.

Online/Offline networking

Good marketing also stands for reaching out to people in a manner which is familiar to them, and contacting them in a comfortable way without asking them to join a platform (subscribe to a newsletter_ they know nothing about. The best ways to go are social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook.

Our recommendation is to create a special profile (a group or a page) to display your work, rather than using your personal profile to share posts in other communities. That will unite people interested in your work, and will allow them to follow your professional development, rather than being interrupted by personal updates.

Create an image gallery, and add new images all the time, so that users will know you’re busy, and will familiarize with all aspects of your work and your talent.

Start participating in local professional groups, and build a network of colleagues where you can share good practices and familiarize with business owners who can grow fond of your work. Use these contacts to promote your work, and you will get more clients than you expected.

Photo blogs featuring

The internet is absolutely crowded with photography blogs, some of them really popular among users looking for ideas and advice. If you’re a wedding photographer, for instance, try to display your work wherever you can, and draw the attention of as many clients as possible. The mere fact that your work will appear on a popular blog increases the chance for you to be hired by clients who discovered you randomly, and are browsing information about you all over the web. It is simply invaluable for your business.

Benefit from reviews and testimonials

It is a very common strategy: use you old clients to hook new ones. When previous customers are satisfied with your work, you won’t even have to ask them to recommend it: there will be multiple great testimonials on your website to convince new users that you’re trustworthy.

Sell your work

Organize exhibitions to help people discover your work, as it is the most secure way to ensure future commissions. You don’t have to organize anything extravagant or expensive, maybe just selling prints or displaying them in a high-traffic area. You can even suggest collaboration to small local galleries or art centers.

40 Top Photography Websites on the Internet

1. Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk started as a Freelance photographer in 2010, but his approach to promoting his documentary projects soon took him to the top of the best photography website design list.

2. Ville Kansanen

Ville Kansanen is an experienced professional photographer, doing self-portraiture for about ten years.

3. David Jay Photography

4. Fernando Decillis

5. Mattsartain

6. Gonzaga Manso

7. Kristina Varaksina

8. George Logan

9. Morten Rygaard

Morten currently resides and works in Aarhus, Denmark. His work is almost always the focus of popular magazines and campaigns.

10. Jaime Travezan

In 2014, Jaime Travezan attracted the attention of world media, developing a special photography concept for the human body based on architectural collages and light movement.

11. Tim Hawley

Tim Hawley is an internationally known digital artist who won multiple photography awards worldwide.

12. Dmitrij Leltschuk

13. Jill Beth Hannes

Jill Beth Hannes is one of the establishers of conceptual photography, currently working and residing in Los Angeles, CA.

14. Jack Fillery

Jack Fillery is a famous British photographer whose studio is located in Peckham, London. Like the other photographers we mentioned, he has been awarded multiple times.

15. Agnieszka Traczewska

Agnieszka became famous for using photography to capture the most intense and extreme human emotions.

16. Mahesh Balasubramanian

Mahesh Balasubramanian used his Indian origins (Chennai) to develop a photography concept based on traditions and customs. His work mostly consists of travel shoots and daily life scenes.

17. Marcelo Castro

Marcelo Castro is another traveler who enjoys recording nature and everyday life, even though his vocation is engineering, and he works as such full-time.

18. Francisco Negroni

Francisco Negroni is a Chilean artist who is still working as a freelancer.

19. Bruno D’Amicis

Bruno D’Amicis is a nature enthusiast who travels to explore wildlife, native communications, and different cultures.

20. Sam Hobson

Sam Hobson supports wildlife conservation, best seen through urban wildlife photography.

21. Koen Demuynck

22. Brent Stirton

Brent Stirton comes from South Africa, where he became famous for his contribution to the documentary world.

23. Mareen Fischinger

Mareen Fischinger does photography and provides photo-production services, such as casting, booking of makeup, hair, styling, retouching, art direction, and location scouting. She is famous both nationally and internationally.

24. Corey Arnold

Corey Arnold is, in fact, a commercial fisherman, but the breathtaking landscapes his work places reveal inspired him to become a photographer.

25. Gavin Gough

Gavin Gough is a famous editorial/travel photographer who works with multiple well-known NGOs and commercial clients in over 50 states worldwide. He is still a freelancer.

26. Mitchell Kanashkevich

Mitchell Kanashkevich is famous for his curiosity. He does mostly documentary photography due to his restless spirit and will to explore the world.

27. Steffen Allen

Steffen Allen was hired by a famous New York studio as the head photographer for international clients. He is also doing freelance photography.

28. Caitlin Worthington

Caitlin Worthington is one of the best-known Australian photographers. He currently works in Perth, Western Australia. His masterworks are portraits and commercial photography.

29. Ryan Edy

Discovering Edy’s work in famous reviews, such as Creative Review or Communication Arts, is not rare. Just recently, Phase One Profile dealt with his talent, which has been awarded multiple times by One Eyeland, IPA, Px3, and Portrait Salon.

30. Christina Marie

31. James Day

James Day is a London-based editorial photographer, working primarily in national/international advertising.

32. Eli

ELI is a company that offers digital retouching.

33. Kuperberg

34. Mark Velasquez

35. Timothy Hogan

Timothy Hogan is another LA, CA miracle. He is a master of artistic photography who has won multiple awards worldwide.

36. Clayton Bozard

Clayton Bozard’s areas of expertise are music photography and editorial portraits. He is currently working in Columbia, South Carolina.

37. Daniel Kennedy

Daniel Kennedy, known as Dan Kennedy, is a famous London-based photographer who focuses on fashion and show business. He constantly travels between the UK and the US to shoot for celebrities and popular styling magazines, and he is known worldwide.

38. Jill Greenberg

39. Jonathan Glynn-Smith

40. Gavin Gough

Gavin Gough focuses mostly on traveling and editorial photography. He is still a freelancer.

Final thoughts : How to create photography website

• Don’t lose focus from your end user: regardless of whether you’re designing a portfolio to make money or to showcase your images, the users should be able to find it easily. It may sound like a cool idea to choose an uncommon layout or to work with complex navigation, but the truth is that such an approach can confuse users, and frustrate them to the extent that they won’t contact you even if they like your work. You can have the best photographs ever, but that won’t be of any use to your viewers if you fail to display them in the right format.
• These are the key web rules for designing amazing photography websites: simplicity, intuitive navigation, high contrasts, personalized themes, larger viewing areas, and creative about pages.
• Depending on your business knowledge, running a commercial website can be either easy or complicated. The website should ideally feel natural, with navigation paths that are comfortable to use, and are therefore memorable for your brand. Once you reach the desired result, you will be ready to branch out, and use even different means to spread your profile on the web.

We hope you now have a good understanding of how to create photography website that stands out from the rest.

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