Photo Tip: Websites

Posted by Matt Lange on Mar 23, 2010 in Information | 1 comment

I don’t feel like I’ve been sharing enough so I wanted to start offering photography tips.  I’m not saying that, by any means, I’m the end all be all with photography.  In fact I’m far from it.  I just have experiences and opinions that sometimes may help out, if you’re stuck in a rut or just starting out.  With that said….

….websites.  When it comes to websites, it’s my opinion (and I think the majority’s opinion) that less is more.  If you’re a photographer looking to get more work or simply show your work, you need to keep in mind that your site isn’t so much about you as it is your photographs.  You need to make your site as simple to navigate as possible.  Think of your site as a virtual portfolio book.  Back in the day you had to present a physical photo book to show people your work.  They would take the book and flip through it.  The only real text that would be in your book would be your resume.  So when you make a site, you want to keep the text minimal in the same fashion.  With the addition of the internet, it has made it easier to also add a simple bio of yourself as well.  When or if you add a bio of yourself, keep the same rule in mind:  Less is more.  Try not to write  a biography of yourself, it will rarely be read all the way through.  We live in a very visual world, so if you slap people across the face with a ton of text, they will become bored and stop reading.

Keep your work in categories, but don’t have too many.  In the words of Chase Jarvis, “if you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one”.   Find your niche and showcase it.  In my case, I sort of have two.  I should probably only show one, but I feel as though they go hand in hand.  I’m a portrait photographer (primarily sports) and a live sports shooter.  So these are the things I showcase.  I don’t showcase a ton of images because I want to make sure my best shots are seen.  If the viewer has to scroll through 100 images, they’ll never be seen.

Other notes:  Use simple colors, simple accents and minimal graphics.  Don’t distract from the images.  The site doesn’t need to be flashy and eye-catching…the images do.

That’s pretty much it.  If you are looking for some simple site templates, since most of us aren’t web developers, try these sites:

www.krop.com
www.bludomain.com
www.livebooks.com