So, assuming at this point you have shot some events and smaller shows, now it is time to showcase your work! I’m not talking about Instagram or sharing your photos on Facebook for family and friends (although it is a great way to promote your work), you will need to make a professional online portfolio. This will consist of a collection of all your professional photography work to grant clients a glimpse into your experience and style.
What Platform To Use
There are many services that will allow you to build a free website.
Some of the popular ones are:
- Wix
- Squarespace
- WordPress
Many sites use WordPress because it is free and very easy to use. They provide a wide selection of themes and provide you the creative freedom to personalize your website to your style.
Usually with these free sites there will be a logo or banner of the company’s name on your site but this is a good place to start.
Web Hosting
Hosting your own website is a lot easier and cheaper than it may seem.
WordPress and GoDaddy are a few providers to name some.
Look at GoDaddy for example, you can get a domain and free web hosting for only $0.99 the first year! All you have to do is make sure your domain name is available, which can be your name or business/professional name and bam you’re ready to start making your site.
Simple and Clean
When deciding on how you want the layout to look like for your site remember to keep it simple and clean! What I mean by that is that when someone enters your site you want them to be able to easily navigate and get a good idea of the work you do. If your site just has a bunch of random words and photos that are not organized in categories, it will not only turn away people from looking at your site but may affect the speed at which the page loads.
On your page you will typically have a home page, a page with your work (split up into sub-categories such as your concert photos or portrait work). You’ll also need an about me page, this will provide people with a little bit of information on who you are, what you do and where you are based out of, your experience, etc. Now, last but not least, you will need a contact page, of course how else will clients be able to reach out to you with potential inquiries.
But of course, have fun with it, add your own personal style, simple and clean does not mean it has to look boring but that it is easy on the eyes and easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for.
And there you go; you are ready to make your online professional presence known! It might sound like a lot, but you just have to take advantage of the many online resources offered to you. Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you found this information useful.
As always please make sure to comment down below to let me know what you think and ask any questions you might have. Stay tuned for the next post!