Practical Steps in Making Your Photography Website Stand Out

Why is photography important? There are at least a million answers to this question, but only one matters. Photography speaks. Photographic visual language is a language that can inform, educate and move people worldwide without the need for a shared spoken language. 

It can keep the memory of a loved one alive, hold a moment in history for future generations, be a witness to tragedy or joy. A great photo story, when well-authored and edited, is universally understood. It can appeal to all people and often says far more than words alone can.

But here’s the problem. While photographers are often amazing at creating compelling images, these particular skills do not necessarily translate into making their photography website stand out. There are millions of photographers on the internet. So what’s going to make a potential client pick you over the rest after a quick glance at your photography website?

To help you overcome this challenge, I’ve shared some useful tips. 

Showcase Your Best Work On Your Photography Website

Some photographers tend to make the mistake of showcasing sub-par work without realizing it. Perhaps that landscape shot required five hours of preparation or you had an emotional connection with a portrait (which is totally understood). Unfortunately, if these things do not translate into high-quality images, clients do not care. 

It is almost impossible to share the personal connection one has with a certain image. That’s why featured images must be able to stand on their own as one’s very best works. Especially if you use your photography website as a portfolio. You want to show off your best work and only your best work. Short and sweet makes a stronger impression than drawn-out and average.

Instead of being a jack-of-all-trades generalist or being tempted to show as much work as possible, this should be avoided as it may dilute your specialty. It may make it difficult for potential clients to understand what you are good at.

Read More: How and Why You Should Curate Your Portfolio 

Craft Compelling Captions To Make Photos Stand Out

While a photo can say a thousand words, putting a few words can magnify its meaning. Writing captions is another way to make sure you’re sending the right message or description to your readers. In some cases, photo captions can summarize what’s in an article or gallery.

Viewers are more likely to read captions that include critical information, location, numbers, or facts, giving the photo more sense. For instance, adding dates to the before and after pictures of a weight loss journey makes your photos more convincing.

If you don’t have a great story you want to share, avoid long-form captions. If you like storytelling, then please, dive in. The captions of National Geographic’s Instagram photos are perfect examples of long-form captions. Their impressive stories add value to their visuals which should be your goal too.

Why Consistency Is Crucial To Being A Successful Photographer

One thing that seasoned photographers are always talking about is getting consistent images. Consistency in your photography is an important piece of establishing your personal style and can serve you well in business. 

The reason for this is that consistency often translates to trust and credibility. When a client sees consistency in your images, they know EXACTLY what they are going to get. If they see a million different types of edits (from light and colorful, to dark and moody), this can get a little confusing. They often wonder what they are going to get when they book a session with you and may think twice. 

Find a style and stick with it

Finding your style can be tough. You have to decide on a particular look that reflects your personality and your strengths. If you’re like me, you’re drawn to many different styles, because they all look beautiful! But I assure you, it will be worth your time. After a while, people will actually seek you out because of your style.

Photos with a consistent editing style will also look better on your photography website. Uniformity also helps you blend images well with texts, graphs, and other elements on your photography website or portfolio

There are different ways for you to edit pictures that reflect your website’s branding:

• Choose a color palette: Color temperature invokes a person’s feelings or mood. Bright colors like yellow, red, and orange reflect high energy, while purple and blue hues appear calming. Choose your colors carefully.
• Use Lightroom presets: Presets guarantee you maintain a single style for all photos. They include filters that let you save time adjusting settings and colors, especially if you have lots of pictures to edit. 

Keep Your Brand Visible

This might sound obvious, but it’s often overlooked by photographers. The name of your brand has to appear in a visible and main part of your portfolio so the clients who see it don’t forget who you are and whose work that is.

It is going to be better if you present yourself as a brand instead of an individual person. Show your client that you are a serious artist who can create, design, and maintain a brand with a consistent quality of work.

Branding elements, such as your logo, design colors, and fonts, are very important for your photography website, as they are essential for building your brand. Choose a color palette and a unique font that will go perfectly with your overall web design and the tone of your photographs. You can even create your own font that will match your work and your personality. 

Most importantly, create a unique logo for your brand and make it clearly visible on every page of your site. Go with something that will reflect who you are and make people instantly recognize you. Your logo is your brand identity, so make it as powerful as your work.

Read More: How Storytelling Can Help Your Personal Brand

Pick a Memorable Domain Name for Your Photography Website

For your photography website to succeed, your domain will play a huge role in it. It’ll define your brand, provide the first impression to first-time visitors, and also help in your SEO ranking. 

Remember, potential clients and employers will do their research. Having a personalized domain that links to your photography website will enable you to own the results that come up when someone Googles your name.

Also, getting a memorable domain name for your photography website gets you a piece of your own online real estate, which can feel pretty empowering. That feeling is made even better if it reflects your personality, ticks all the right boxes, and actually brings people to your site.

Add Meaning to Your ‘About Me’ Page

The purpose of your ‘About Me’ page is to build a connection with a potential client. Sharing something personal can help you do that, and you can tailor it to your target audience. 

For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, you could share something about your own special day that shows you appreciate what’s important to your customers. Animal photographer? Talk about your own weird and wonderful pets. It all depends on your style and your personality, as well as on the people you consider your ideal clients. 

Just remember that your ‘About Me’ page isn’t really about you. It’s about sharing enough unique and thoughtful content that customers start to trust you and believe that you are the perfect person to provide what they deem most important.

Go Behind The Scenes 

There are many ways to get your clients interested in your work, and one unique way to pique their interest is by showing them the process of your job. In photography, this means some behind-the-scenes photos. 

A lot of photographers out there are pulling back the curtain of photoshoots and showing what really goes on behind the scenes. Through their Instagram accounts, some of them share two photos in a single post. The first one is the fully realized shot that is always intended – fantastical portraits that have a lot of editing. Once you swipe right, there’s another photo that reveals the elaborate setup that is created in order to make that first image a reality. It is an interesting concept that makes people want to know even more about you and your work. 

That is why, if you decide to try anything like it, bear in mind to keep the amount of behind-the-scenes photos to a minimum, just enough to give them a glimpse. And, this one goes without saying, only use photos that show you are good at your job.

Constantly Improve Your Photography Website By Improving Your Skills

There are many experienced photographers out there, but there is always room for more improvement. You’ll always discover more things to learn and understand in photography. This could be anything from new photography camera equipment to new shooting techniques.

Improving as a photographer involves hard work, experimentation, and having a vision for where you want to take your photography. It takes a lot of energy and it isn’t always fun or easy. I read somewhere, “Your first 10,000 images are your worst.” I’m not sure this is completely true because some of my early images are still among my favorites. But the gist of this statement is that improving your work takes time and thoughtful assessment of where your work is and where you want it to be.

Like anything in life, excellence comes from repeated effort. The more you work at something the more you learn, and the more you improve. There are no shortcuts. 

Even if you were born with significant artistic talent, creating interesting and compelling photographs can still be a challenging endeavor. I honestly think that explains in large part the allure of photography.

Back To You

If you read this article in its entirety, you probably noticed that I talked nothing about camera brands, lenses, lighting, models, posing, etc. 

In my opinion, the tips for making your photography website stand out from the crowd focus on things that are more important. Your attitude towards yourself and others, your mindset, your willingness to get help and help others, and your long-term vision for where you want to be. These are far more important than your skill with the camera. 

After all, almost anyone can take a picture – simply point and shoot. It takes a lot more to become a successful photographer who consistently creates art.

Now, try these on your website to impress viewers and make them spend more time browsing.