Case Study: How To Create a Portfolio for A Photographer

Even if a web designer spends the most part of his working time in an office, it doesn’t mean that his job is boring and lacks any extreme situations. It’s true that the adrenaline level isn’t the same as the one of a hitman, but undoubtedly there are tons of difficult moments and a huge pressure when a new product is delivered to the customer.

One of the most challenging types of projects are the portfolios for artists, especially for the photographers. Paradoxically, the design and the development phase aren’t very complicated, but the really issue is that such a website must transmit some feelings and induce a special state to the user.

Personally, I am sure that a teacher can teach students all the design tricks, but it’s impossible for him to teach someone how to express a special state. Every web designer is aware that design is very subjective and due to this fact a correct project, one respecting the rules of beautiful design, isn’t synonym with a good one. Here is where the art enters into the scene!

Top Photographer Portfolio Websites

In spite of that, daily many cool photographer portfolios are added online. Clearly, the designers are OK with these provocations and some of them created stunning portfolios. If you aren’t sure, then I strongly recommend checking the photographer portfolios from below.

WorldinMyLens.com

NorthLandscapes.com

Shaw and Shaw

Chase Jarvis

Brookpifer.com

Tony Dorio

Steve McCurry

Vivian Maier

Froese Photo

Altogether, many photographers need portfolios and another part of them needs new redesigns and, under these circumstances, it’s impossible to neglect this market segment.

How To Create a Better Photographer Portfolio Website

We know that creating such a demanding portfolio requires a huge endeavor from the designers and in order to help them, we decided to share few tricks and tips that are useful. Everything that is man made is perfectible, therefore we are waiting for your interesting opinions about how to create better portfolios.

#1. Create for the users, but keep in mind the profile of the photographer

No matter how talented would be the designers, Internet will remain dedicated to users. The same principle should be applied by any designer having to create a photographer’s portfolio.

Some designers state that such a website should be focused around the images exposed, but it’s a great mistake. What would you think, the photos uploaded are created to be enjoyed by the visitors or vice-versa? The answer is obvious for everyone…

Going into the other extremity is still not a good solution. Yeah, the user is the most important entity, but also the works of the photographer are extremely important.

The best portfolio manages to achieve a perfect balance between user typical behavior and the intrinsic website purpose. In our case, the users are important but the portfolio must reflect the style of the photographer by using his best photos.

#2. Be honest

What would you prefer, a portfolio that is weekly visited by a thousand users and only three of them are turned into clients and the collaboration is perfectly working or one that is weekly visited by five hundred users and ten of them become loyal clients? I guess that the last option is way better.

Unfortunately, many photographers aren’t playing fair and expose photoshopped images or are informing the potential clients about skills that they don’t own. Definitely, a client will better appreciate a photographer that is expert in Photoshop, Lightroom and eventually he is master in HTML and CSS.

The clients will contact him, but I am very in doubt that he would finish a project if he isn’t honest about his potential. In conclusion, let people correctly know what you can do and don’t lie!

#3. Let the images speak for themselves

Well, this tip is mostly about common sense, but it’s very important and I considered that it must be at least mentioned.

The idea is simple: the users are visiting the portfolio to admire the works of the photographer and eventually to hire him. It’s crystal clear that a complicated design would negatively affect the viewer attention and it means that the respective photographer has a slight chance of getting hired.

#4. Every webpage is extremely important

A photographer portfolio isn’t constituted only from home page and the works uploaded. Many designers fully focus only on these and overall the portfolio created is in fact a poor piece of design.

A special attention should be paid to the contact form- how could someone contact the photographer unless the contact form works? Every aspect of a website is vital, don’t ever forget- the small details make the big difference.

#5. SEO and marketing are as important as the images uploaded

It’s a common mentality amongst freelancers that it’s impossible for a very good specialist to lack the clients. Still, there are many cases of talented freelancers that aren’t „assaulted” by customers.

Nowadays, more than ever, is capital to have a strong policy of marketing. Yeah, it’s somehow disappointing, but marketing is as important as the services provided.

A marketing strategy requires a budget and not everyone affords it. SEO also implies spending money, but some efficient measures may be realized with 0$ investment.

A photographer that has a good portfolio and it is search engine optimized will have more clients than one having a wonderful but not engine optimized portfolio.

#6. Social media is traffic driving

The Internet is full of photo-sharing networks and people are madly in love with these (i.e. Instagram, Pinterest). A photographer should benefit from the opportunities created by these networks; therefore it’s a must to have included into the portfolio the presences on various social media channels.

Social media is a free and efficient method of getting in touch with potential clients and it’s a sin not to profit from. Besides that, it may bring traffic to the portfolio! It’s clear- social media is a great tool in the right hands!

Conclusion

I hope that these tips will help you in creating better photographer portfolios and I will be grateful to everyone sharing with us his opinions.

Also, if you created a stunning portfolio don’t be shy and let us know the address- we will instantly ad into the above collection.

– Written by Daniel –