Portfolio website for photographers, designers and freelancers

Taste first, the rest after

A client looking for a photographer, architect or designer decides within a few seconds whether your style suits them. If it doesn't, they're gone, however good you are otherwise. If it does, three practical questions follow: how do you work, roughly what does it cost, and are you available?

Most portfolios only answer the first question. They show beautiful work and then leave the visitor to work out for themselves how to go further.

The first screen: your strongest work and one sentence

At the top, put one image or result: your very best, not a collage. Underneath, a line saying who you are and who you work for. "Architectural photography for developers and architecture firms." Or: "Brand identity for new restaurants and cafés."

That sentence does what an image can't. It tells the visitor whether they're in the right place, and it gives Google something to read.

A selection, not an archive

Show six to twelve projects. Not a hundred. A selection shows you can choose, and that's exactly what a client wants from you.

Give each project a short caption with:

• The client, if you're allowed to name them.
• The brief: what did they want?
• The result: what did it achieve?

Those captions do the selling. "New brand identity for Bakkerij De Vries, so their second shop was instantly recognisable" says more than the most beautiful logo without explanation. If you have a measurable result, mention it, as long as the client is happy for you to show it. A portfolio of only images leaves the visitor guessing why it's good.

Fast, even with lots of images

Images are your product, but heavy photos make your site slow. And a slow site costs visitors. The BBC found it lost about 10% of its users for every extra second of load time. That's one example, but the direction applies to everyone.

So have your photos compressed to a modern format (AVIF or WebP) and only load them when someone scrolls to them. Your work looks just as good, and your site is up in a few seconds.

Services with a price indication

After your work come your services. At most three, with a from-price, a day rate or a package price on each card. Say what the price depends on: the number of images, usage rights, travel time.

A client who finds no price at all assumes you're too expensive. A from-price keeps them reading.

How you work

Explain in a few steps how a project goes, from first conversation to delivery. How many rounds of revisions there are. When someone gets the images or files. That removes the uncertainty for someone who has never worked with a photographer or designer.

About you

Only now comes your story: a photo of yourself, your background, publications and awards if you have them. Write in the first person, in few words. Your work has already said a lot.

Then perhaps reviews, client logos and LinkedIn recommendations. They sit late on the page, because your work is the most important proof.

End with availability

Close with your availability and a way to get in touch, with a promise about your response time. "I reply within two working days." For event photographers a date check works best: "Check whether your date is still free."

Better left out

• Pages with only images and no words.
• A slow gallery.
• Your biography as the first thing visitors read.
• Work without an explanation of the result.