Thank you to Andrea Stern of @AskSternRep for inviting me to be a guest on the APA Los Angeles Navigating The Unknown series discussing best practices for commercial photography websites. Watch the replay here.

FYI, portions of the audio may be difficult to understand, so I’ve filled in the ‘blanks’ below -

In this episode we are discussing:

How to choose a photography consultant.

What does a photography consultant do?

What does an art buyer look for in a photographer’s website?

Tips for building a great commercial photography website.

How many photos to include in a commercial photography website.

Great overview pages and tips for photography websites.

Best templates for commercial photography websites.

How to set up your contact and bio page on a commercial photography website.

and more…

Audio Recovery:

10:40 There are different kinds of photography consultants, some specialize in fine art photography and others specialize in commercial and editorial work. Look for a consultant who has experience in the industry you want to work in.

22:05 The people who are looking to hire you are going to have to share your work with their coworkers as well as their clients, it’s important to have a good website.

23:05 If I don’t see a photo of the photographer on their about/bio page, I go looking for it on LinkedIn, so you might as well have a great photo of yourself on your website.

29:20 Your website categories or gallery names need to use industry recognizable terminology (this is not a good opportunity to be creative, i.e. use words like lifestyle, beauty, portraits, food & beverage, not i.e. “play” “glam” “sweet & savory” or “humans” - that also does not serve your SEO.)

31:25 If you are defaulting to a full size image view on your website, don’t assume that viewers are going to know that you have a thumbnail view available. Defaulting to thumbnail view makes it more likely for visitors to your site to look at more of your portfolio. The less of a learning curve in your navigation (the simpler your navigation is to understand), the better. People don’t want to spend a lot of time clicking around and going back and forth.

32:00 Do consultants help photographers with their SEO? Yes.

35:35 I can tell by looking at a photographer’s work how experienced they are by the level of styling in their images. Great styling can indicate to a client that you are experienced in working with a team or on larger productions.

1:08:41 Top or left navigation is best on photography websites, but if you are using top navigation, it’s better for it to be static, for the navigation to remain visible at the top while the user is scrolling.

1:10:40 Consultants are a bit like therapists, we’re interested in your mindset and discovering what’s blocking you from reaching your goals.

1:14:40 LinkedIn can serve almost like a blog for photographers. The great thing about LinkedIn is, if someone in your network likes or comments on something you post, that post then gets served to all of that person’s network (it shows up in their news feed) which can be really valuable.

For more advice on websites and portfolios for photographers, jump on my calendar for a free consultation call, sign up for a one-on-one portfolio review with me, register for my Commercial & Editorial Photography Masterclass, or sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future portfolio review events.

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