If you’re a photographer, you need a very different website from an online store owner, or a dentist, or a restaurant…you need one that puts your photographs front-and-center, without any distractions. A website with a “wow” effect.
There are lots of ways to create your own photography site—one that’s as distinctive as your own style. Take a look and see how these photographers did it.
Tips for Photography Websites
Template: Stockholm
- Keep your navigation menu short and simple. You’ll notice that in many of the websites here, the top navigations have Home, Portfolio, Blog, About, Contact, and that’s it! Anything more might just detract from your work.
- Include some text on every page. You may think that your work speaks for itself, but it helps visitors to add some text describing who you are, how you work, and perhaps some context about each gallery. Also remember that search engine crawlers can’t appreciate your photographs (one of the downsides of being a bot), but they can read your text, so adding text and alt tags to your photographs will help with your search engine ranking.
- Don’t post every photo.
Though it may be tempting to load your website with gallery after gallery, it pays to go through and edit your collections to only show your favorite work. There’s only so much that people can absorb when they browse your website, and you don’t want to overwhelm them. Learn more about Jimdo’s different Photo Galleries.
Horizontal Photo Gallery. Photos by Alina Atzler
Examples of Awesome Photography Websites using Jimdo
Huib Vintges Photography
“No posing, no photo smiles” says Dutch photographer Huib Vintges on his website. “Just you and your loved ones.” His website perfectly captures that candid, journalistic style. We like the way he uses the Melbourne Template to create a full-screen slideshow and minimalist menu on his homepage.
Template: Melbourne
Ella Don Photography
German photographer Ella Don’s website is energetic and iconic, a perfect match for her photographs. From fashion to music to cities around the world, her portfolio site shows a photographer with varied interests but a distinctive style. She’s used Columns Elements to give her homepage a magazine-like feel, and the huge hero area in the Stockholm Template helps make a powerful first impression.
Template: Stockholm
Igor Trepeshchenok
This beautiful website from Latvian photographer Igor Trepeshchenok shows how a minimalist design can really let your photos stand out. His use of white space and a simple font create a quiet, reflective space to view his photographs—almost like a real-life art gallery. Here he’s using the Cairo template with no background image and a little bit of custom code. For a similar look, you can also try our Tokyo template.
Template: Cairo
Inkalude
Düsseldorf-based artist Inka Utrata has created a website that perfectly combines photography and illustration. The website’s simple drop-down menus clearly divide the portfolio into different subjects (but not too many), and there’s even a shop to buy branded clothes with the awesome Inkalude logo.
Template: Rome
Meduana
Obviously, we like any photographer who focuses on our favorite city of Hamburg, but there’s lots to like about the Meduana website besides its ideal subject matter. Dark backgrounds aren’t so common on photography websites, but here it works to complement the night time photography. We also like how the website displays its panoramic photos.
Template: Miami
Patrizia Spuler
Photography websites are for showing off your work, sure—but you also want to present yourself as someone people would like to hire. Switzerland-based photographer Patrizia Spuler does a wonderful job of introducing herself as a friendly, professional presence right on her homepage, with clear links to her social media feeds.
Template: Stockholm
Sergio Diaz
Like the Meduana website above, Sergio Diaz uses the dark variation of the Miami template to create a perfect match for his vivid travel photography. He’s done a great job of clearly organizing his portfolio, and he also uses the store feature on his website to sign up students for his photography courses in Spain.
Template: Miami
Vianne Fotografie
A beautiful slideshow, a warm introduction, links to her most recent blog posts, and voila! Vanessa, the photographer behind Vianne Fotografie in Germany, has created a simple, welcoming photography website. She’s making great use of her website’s blog to show off her recent work, and also providing quick links to her social media profiles directly in her top navigation to encourage people to follow her.
Template: Rome
Chris & Alina Photography
Photographers often work alone, but longtime friends Chris & Alina found a way to combine their talents into a photographic partnership. Their mostly black and white website stays simple without ever turning into “boring.” This is thanks to their varied page compositions, interesting font choices (Montserrat and Courier New), and of course their beautiful photographs in jaw-dropping outdoor settings.
Template: Rome
Thank you to all the Jimdo users who let us show off their amazing websites! Do you have a photography website you’d like to share? Or any tricks you’ve learned from building your own? Let us know in the comments.