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Few things are as important on your photography website as your portfolios. Why? Because they showcase your actual craft and portray your images in the way you want your audience to view them. However, putting together effective and action-inspiring portfolios is much more than uploading images and throwing them into folders and calling it a day. So much goes in to selecting the images you want to showcase, the order in which they appear in the portfolios, and even the layout of the galleries. We have just a few tips for the best ways to get started creating the perfect photography portfolios – check it out!

Plan the Layout Before Uploading

Before you dive in to the process of deciding which photos will make the cut for your website portfolios, make sure you have a general outline or plan of how you want your galleries to be laid out. Do you want your images displayed in a slideshow format? In a collage? In a sliding format with visible thumbnails? Do you want full-screen images or photos with borders? This layout will most likely be subject to change once you actually begin building your portfolios, however using it as a starting point will get the ball rolling on how you want your images to be viewed.

High Resolution Images ONLY

While this should go without saying, make sure that the content you choose to populate your portfolios is only of the highest quality. This may mean sacrificing some of your favorite, more candid shots for ones that are clearer and more professional looking (those other shots belong on a blog or your social media accounts).  While higher resolution photos may make your galleries take just a few seconds longer to load, it is well worth it to wow your potential clients with stunning imagery.

Be Picky, Very Picky

As a professional photographer, all of your images are beautiful. However, take on the mindset of leaving your audience wanting more after they view your portfolios. Do not put up every single photo you have ever taken – be extremely picky when determining which photos make the cut. Better yet, have team members, friends, peers. and other people take an objective look at your images and tell you which ones have the biggest impact for them. Make sure to keep in mind your target audience when making final decisions – if you are a wedding photographer but like to shoot landscape photography on the side, do not clutter your website with a landscape portfolio when your target audience is engaged couples.

Order Your Images Strategically

Once you’ve decided which photos to include within your portfolios, you’ll need to decide where to put them. The order of your images is extremely important, and will have a subtle, yet extremely impactful, effect on your audience. Place your strongest photos at the beginnings and ends of the portfolio so that you will make the biggest impact at the beginning and leave a lasting impression at the end. Weaker photos should be placed in the middle because you cannot guarantee that your viewer will always click through the entire gallery.

To Caption or Not to Caption

Providing additional details and descriptions of your photos is completely subjective; on one hand, it is nice for the viewer to have some more context surrounding the image and get a sense for your style. On the other hand, sometimes it’s better to let the imagery speak for itself. In determining whether or not to caption images always think about your target audience and whether the additional context will provide value in swaying them to make a decision to hire you, buy your work, or contact you. Whether you choose to include visible captions, always make sure to include keyword tags, titles, and descriptions for each photo so that search engines can pick up that content and rank you higher in search results.