There are 54, 400 photos taken every second. On a single day there are 4.7 billion. Imagine how many photos are taken in a year. It is 1.72 trillion!
The word photograph originates from the Greek photos which means light and graph. Photography, the word itself, means “drawing with light’. An ample description of the art as it exudes a romanticized aspect but at the same time the complexity of recording a moment in time on a piece of light-sensitive film.
Photography as an art was the result of the advancement in technology which gave photographers a means to control or manipulate the photos to show their artistic expression.
They’ve achieved this by using different cameras and lenses, various exposures to light, timing and projection. And, with the digital format, you can further manipulate your image to whatever outcome you want to achieve.
Photography nowadays is much more accessible than ever before.Anyone can buy a camera and start taking pictures. Your smartphones or mobile devices have a camera built–in. In 2023, 93% of photos will be taken by smartphones.There is also an absurd amount of photography tutorials that you can take online.
You can either choose analog or digital, depending on how much you’re willing to shell out. Some would argue that digital is less expensive since no film needs to be developed. But, the various gears, editing machines and storage devices could get pricey.
Either way, photography as an art form is considered one of the most popular. It is very diverse in terms of self-expression. It allows you to capture memories and stories, as you see it.
It is projected that the photography industry will be valued at $44.07 billion in 2025. That is an astonishing valuation and is quite optimistic for those who are in the industry. This gives more validation to the industry and profession that is often perceived as frivolous and unprofitable.
Sure, every business has its ups and downs. And, being a trained professional doesn’t always mean that you’ll find work. Like most, you’ll need to tell people who you are and what your business is capable of doing for your clients.
There are a lot of photography niches you can fall into but generally, there are four categories you can be in; commercial, fashion, journalistic, and fine art. Each category has its work requirements and aesthetics to comply with. But mostly, the style and techniques do not differ much from each other.
Commercial photography earns the highest, with earnings of $100,000.00 per year. Here, you take pictures that showcase products or services. Your main goal as a commercial photographer is to make your image desirable enough to generate sales.
The most popular and well-known category is fashion photography. You’ll be taking pictures of models for print ads, advertisements, and billboards. You’ll be in photo shoots, editorials and runway shows. Composition is very important here. You need to be able to direct your models on poses and how to interact with the camera. The average annual salary is around $45, 000.00 to $70, 000.00.Â
Photographers Need A Website Too!
Being a photographer is a noteworthy profession if you can establish your name in the industry. But that could be hard to achieve since it is very competitive. In the US alone, there are 293, 339 people employed in the photography industry in 2023. 26,034 professional photographers are currently employed in the US.
A great way to get your name across is by having a website. You can have a lot of photography website ideas by browsing through some of those sites by well-known photographers. This could be very beneficial for your business in terms of increasing work opportunities and having passive income streams.
Say Hello
A website is a great way to introduce yourself, your work and your business to the world. You’ll need your website for people to reach you and do business. Make sure all your contact details are easy to find. Measure your customer satisfaction by having website feedback. It could help you have an idea of things that your customers need or want. This will help you improve your business and also increase customer engagement.
Show Your Portfolio
The website will be your portfolio. The website will showcase all the work you’ve done. All images in the site will reflect your creative passion and aesthetic flare as a photographer. You can display your various compositions and artistic styles. You can have perfectly curated galleries that demonstrate your expertise in the field.
There is also control in terms of your image’s aspect ratio. Most sharing sites and Social media platforms have specific aspect ratio or image size requirements. This could be limiting if you have larger images. Having your site could prevent this from happening.
Have an Online Store
Your website could generate other income besides taking commissioned photos. Selling prints is a lucrative business of photography that you need to consider. You just need a high-quality printer and materials and you could sell your prints online. It is also a great way to advertise your name since the prints would bear your name or business/studio name.
You could expand your store to offer more products and services. You could license your image or offer stock images. You can put your images on merchandise and offer them on your site. Since photography classes are very popular, you can offer online courses.
Earn More
Another way to earn more on your website is by Search Engine Optimization or SEO. There are 136 billion indexed images on Google Image Search.You need your photos to stand out.By optimizing your website, you’ll rank high on various search engines.
A higher rank means that your website will be the first one people will find when they search using keywords that describe your business. The probability of them clicking on your site to check it out is also higher.
Think carefully of the keywords you’ll be using in your website. Make sure that these keywords best describe your business. Try to avoid using broad descriptions since a lot of businesses will use them too and this could increase competition in the ranking.
You can also earn by doing affiliate marketing or advertising. Promoting other businesses’ products or services on your site will give you additional income. You can also earn a commission when someone purchases through their link in your website.
Promote products or services you are truly fond of or you have used before. You could lose the trust you have gained from your customers if you promote shifty businesses.
10 Easy-to-Use Photography Website Design Templates
As per zippia.com, 94% of first impressions are based on your website design. So, how your website looks could affect your business.It could be overwhelming to design the website of your dreams. Good thing that you can find various photography website design templates you could use online. You could draw inspiration from these photography website ideas or use these templates for your photographer websites.
1. Liza
One of the photography website design templates you can use is LIZA.The site offers crisp high-resolution images that will help your business. It has nine amazing gallery layouts you can choose to show off your photographs. It offers multiple layouts available that you could use to have a photo gallery that would appeal to a lot of visitors.
It has features that will help reach a wider audience. It is compatible with a lot of browsers like Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Edge, Safari, IE10 and IE11.
2. Oculus
If you want highly customizable photography website design templates try Oculus. Best for showing off your portrait portfolio and photo studios, this website is filled with features that will outstandingly display your work.
It has multiple header variations, a text slider, a creative color style and filterable portfolio and portfolio detail pages. It even has a blog list and detailed pages to ease website usage.
You can use Remove bg to help you edit your portraits. Easily remove the background and edit it to add more elements to further enhance your portrait.
3. Fabric
This photography website design template, offers a slideshow template for your photo galleries. If you love looking through a stack of photographs, you’ll love Fabric. You can have a main gallery on the homepage of your site and then add additional galleries to your menu.
It guides your visitors to click through your homepage and offers a unique experience as it creates the effect of going through a photo album. The menu disappears immediately to have your photographs as the central focus.There is an intimate quality that could appeal to your viewers
4. Mica
You are not limited to having only photo galleries on your website. With Mica, you can have both images and text as part of your site. Storytelling is also a great way to share with your viewers about experiences that you’ve had.
Travel photographers and photojournalists will often need context on their images. The description will not only give information but also creates a fascinating narrative that will captivate your audience.
5. Beacon
If fashion photography is your cup of tea, you a Beacon will be a match. They offer photography website design templates that are best for fashion photography. The theme is very much like magazine editorials that will best showcase your portfolio.Â
Create galleries that are accessible from your home page and let your visitors scroll through your images horizontally. This is optimized for ease of use and their viewing pleasure.
Use a photo editor for photographers to further enhance your photos.
6. ART
To show off your work, you need a website that would greatly display them. With a lot of competitors around, you need to stand out. Art will help you achieve that.
It is minimal in design but offers a lot of options for your photographs. They have unlimited photography website design templates to choose from. They also have the option for a custom logo. You can have up to fifteen scrolling animations and set posts with or without a sidebar. This would help you be noticed.
7. Crea;tink
Your photographer websites should not only display your artistry with the use of photographs. The design of the websites should also show your creative passion and aesthetic.Â
Crea;tink is an HTML template that offers numerous attractive header styles. It also has various blog, portfolio and shop layouts to choose from. There is an unlimited combination of elements you can have. You have access to more than 40 different demos with the option of using different fonts and color schemes. You can create your own unique website that could be both visually appealing and productive.Â
8. Spruce
In Spruce, their photography website design templates are best suited for real estate photography. You need photographs to showcase the best features of the house or building if you want it to look appealing to buyers. Spruce has a tiled effect with built-in frames. A combination of colors that would highlight the photographs, would make an exceptional gallery.
9. Peak
A lot of people appreciate very creative website design. But, some people like a simpler approach. They want the photographs to speak for themselves. The images will tell the story,
Peak offers an experience of scrolling through images like you are in an art gallery. It gives you an easy-to-use navigation and a customizable tiled gallery. It is simple and orderly – a minimalist dream comes true.
10. Sepia
Sepia offers a variety of portfolio styles and blog looks that will help you display your work to the world. The template is also customizable to fit your needs and is very intuitive in design. Your website could be viewed on all devices because Sepia is compatible with browsers such as Firefox, Edge, Chrome, Opera and Safari. Your photographs will surely be enjoyed by a lot of people.
Professional photo editors could help you raise the quality of your photos to be more captivating.
What Templates are You Using
As shown above, there are a lot of photography website design templates available online. They are designed with various kinds of photography in mind and are very much intuitive when it comes to navigation. They offer a framework for which you’ll build your own website that will display your photographs.Still, here are some must-haves that are very important and should be included in your website.
- Best Photos Portfolio – need I remind that you should only put the best shots in the websites. Put photos that best show your style and expertise. You need not post ALL your photos since it may cause slow page loading and your SEO may be affected. Choose wisely.
- Links to your Social Media Accounts – a lot of people have social media accounts, so should you. It not only shows your work, it also is a way for people to contact you. Add your social media links in your website and vice-versa. This helps in increasing your chance to be known and it is also good for networking clients.
- About Page – you are the star of the website. Have a portion of your website introduce you to your audience. Talk about yourself and your journey in photography. This adds intimacy with your audience. Forming rapport and to an extent an emotional bond with customers is always a good thing. As per zippia.com, 71% of consumers are frustrated when they feel that their website experience is impersonal.
- Contact Page. – when you create your site do not forget the contact page. This is crucial. How would people contact you? You’ll miss out on jobs if it is too difficult to get in touch. Phone numbers, Business address, email, social media accounts, etc., should be easily found on your website.
- Customer Testimonials – it is always a good thing to add previous client’s testimonials in your website. This adds integrity and professionalism to your business. Just don’t write fake ones. Testimonials need to be voluntary and authentic.
Conclusion
Always remember that your website is where you form a connection with your customers. It is either by sharing with them your creativity and passion for photography or by actually reaching out and exchanging ideas through email and social media.Â
Like any other business, you aim to build trust and confidence. Professionalism and good business practices will help gain customer loyalty. Nurture the relationship you have with your customers and they will support you all the way.
So, create your photography website right now. Let the world see your outstanding work. Offer them your perspective of the world.Â
Let them see what you see behind the lens of your camera.