Despite the rise of social media, having a website is still imperative in order to showcase your best – and not just latest – work as a photographer. Here, five professionals, including editors from the Guardian and the British Journal of Photography, offer an insight into what makes a photographer’s portfolio stand out.
With so many variables before we even judge the quality of the work, the presentation of your website can be tricky to perfect. Layout, colors, navigation – everything has to be right. Your portfolio introduces you before your clients meet you – and first impressions are important. In an attempt to unearth what industry professionals look for, the British Journal of Photography spoke to the following experts:
- Diane Smyth, Digital Editor, British Journal of Photography
- Ken Flaherty, Founder, Doomed Gallery
- Matt Martin, Co-Curator, Doomed Gallery
- John Wyatt-Clarke, Founder, Wyatt Clarke & Jones Photo Agency
- Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, The Guardian
The first question was quite simply: What do you look for? The answers offered a variety of advice, the most straightforward being that a website should be clear and easy to navigate. As Smyth puts it, “Design comes second.” Given the short timespan we tend to stay on a web page, it’s also crucial that although images are large enough in size to clearly be viewed, the file size should be kept to a minimum to ensure short loading times. There was a general consensus that a clear identity and aesthetic should be present; select only your best images, and try to avoid a wider range that includes weaker shots. Smyth also expressed a dislike for watermarks.
Next: how much can be said for the first impression? And which shapes that impression the most: the work or the layout? With the exception of Wyatt-Clarke, who admits he spends more time examining a portfolio because of his experience as a photo agent looking to work with photographers for several years, there was quite a bit of emphasis on the layout. Websites shouldn’t take ages to load, a lead image should grab attention, and further pages of your website should be at the forefront rather than requiring several clicks in order to access them.
How important is aesthetic? Is it important, or should a website simply be plain in order to let the work do the talking? Good news for those of us useless in graphic design: the verdict was that the photos are the most important aspect. A plain, simplistic layout is certainly not frowned upon. A creative website can definitely complement great photos, but as Wyatt-Clarke puts it, “No site will ever be good enough to disguise poor work.” Shields makes the interesting point that it’s “worth paying attention to the visual sense” of the publications you are hoping to work with or submit to and to ensure you’re on their level in terms of presentation.
You can read further questions in addition to the experts’ answers in full over at the British Journal of Photography.
[via BJP]
That pretty much describes every news organization.
Not all the time. I would agree that people are too sensitive these days, and there is an alarming suppression of free speech, but some people use this “PC gone mad” shtick to just be assholes and spew hatred. There is a middle ground if people are willing to listen to each other. Calling all liberals “snowflakes” or all conservatives “fascists” is unhelpful, and quite frankly, childish.
Let’s not forget that a woman, many of whom on the alt-right would have branded a “liberal snowflake”, was murdered during a protest, by a man who was influenced by media on the opposite end of the spectrum. The atmosphere in the US is toxic. It’s absolutely shocking to many of us here in Europe, how the US media conducts itself, and it just seems to be getting worse.
Last time I checked, hate speech is not protected by free speech. Free speech gives you the freedom of dissent. It isn’t designed to give equal standing to bigotry.
Most of the facists exist on the left? That is absolute nonsense, coming from someone living in a country with a huge population of neo- nazis. And, just to be clear, I don’t agree with e.g. banning people who are considered unsavory from Twitter. But then again Twitter is a private company....
Who am I to tell you? Like you, I’m free to express my opinion. Are you offended that I worry about my American friends? I’ve visited your amazing country twice, and I intend to go back and explore more. Some of my fondest memories are from spending time with US citizens.
That fact that you can’t recognize the toxic atmosphere in your own country is frightening. Mass shootings nearly every day, most of which don’t get reported by the media, people are terrified of the police because some have itchy trigger fingers or are scared themselves because they don’t know who has a gun. This is all aggravated by the polarized media.
“ I shouldn’t speak of ‘Europe’ as if it was a country’? Are you telling me what I can and cannot say? I live in a sovereign country, my friend. I say “Europe”because I have friends from all over the continent, i’ve travelled extensively and met many people from a variety of countries. We often speak of the US because our live are intertwined through the web and economics. If America sneezes, the world catches a cold, so we all pay great attention to US politics.
Europe is far from perfect. My own country is far from perfect. I’m just expressing my views in relation to your media because you expressed yours in regards to a British publication. I didn’t realize you’d get so offended.
Good morning Bob.
"The general meaning for fascism is authoritarian and intolerant."
Neo-Nazis are literal fascists, not in a "general" wishy-washy way. But I completely agree with you that some on the left go too far with political correctness, going so far as to be very non-liberal i.e. hypocritical.
"Considering the left created and practice, like a religion, political correctness, yes it is easy to say most fascism exists on the left. Modern times have shown how many have been imprisoned and murdered by authoritarian and intolerant leftists."
You are the one who started referring to the "left", which conveniently includes the hard left. Are now you equating all liberals with communist regimes? More hyperbole which sounds like US right wing media speak.
It seems to me that you think that all liberals think the same. This is exactly what I am referring to when is say the atmosphere is toxic and it's stirred up by the media. And I mean on both sides!
"And yet somehow you have insight into such a thing thousands of miles away. Amazing."
Because there are organizations which collate that data, and publish it. I was referring to major media outlets.
I never claimed to be American. The US, because of it's economic and military influence around the world, for better or worse, effects everyone, so I'm quite entitled to have an opinion. Where did I say that Europe was a country? I'm not anti-American, don't know where you got that from.
"meddling"? Having an opinion is meddling? You somehow deduce that I'm against American sovereignty. I don't know what you're talking about.
I don't know what else to say, Bob. Looking at American media and saying "oh, everything seems fine" is crazy, dude. And your right, I'm not American, but I have many friends in America, and they agree with my view. It's a shame that you think I'm being disrespectful.
You're taking nearly everything I say out of context, completely missing point in a variety of ways, making wild assumptions about liberals, claim to know what I'm thinking, being deliberately obtuse, exaggerating, calling me anti-American.
You clearly don't want to have a levelheaded discussion.
You don't like that I have an opinion about US media after you make a comment about a British publication? Maybe you shouldn't be so sensitive.
Good night Bob
If you are to assert that most fascists are on the left, they are the "worst fascists there are" and that history shows this, you'll need to clarify your use of the term "fascist." If you're planning on using the phrase as a catch-all for any suppression of freedoms and/or to describe opinions or actions you disagree with, you're misusing the term.
Historically, "fascists" stem mostly from ultra-right wing nationalist ideologies that opposed liberalism. There are fascists on the left, but the claims you've made are unfounded.
You have a fundamentally flawed understanding of these terms and their history that I have neither the time nor desire to address in detail.
I recommend educating yourself, Bob, you look like a fool.
You're avoiding historical fact and grammatical context, Bob. Last comment here, I honestly don't care if you plan to stay ignorant on this.
" The answers offered a variety of advice, the most straightforward being that a website should be clear and easy to navigate. As Smyth puts it, “Design comes second.",
Thats the saying of someone who doesnt know that design means to prioritize function over form or aestethic, so the design of a photography website must be made to prioritize showing the photo in a clean and unbostructed way.
his quote must have been, "aesthetic comes second"
So the landing page should have 1 key/main image and not a selection. I have a fullscreen website but for my latest site (http://abstractabstract.com/) I went with a gallery of 10 images on landing page, thought it gives a nice, quick overview of work.
Well that sure escalated quickly. Good post though.