livebooks blog

Renee Anjanette is a food photographer based in Los Angeles. Born in Missouri, Renee grew up on the banks of the Mississippi and moved to California later in life to create her career in photography. She has worked for clients all over the United States. To see more Renee’s work, visit her liveBooks8 website: www.rafotostudio.com.

I came from a small town in middle America with no access to the arts. I thought I might love photography because I mentally composed images in my mind, enclosing the world around me in little boxes, so I took a community college course – Photo 101 and fell in love. I chose Brooks Institute of Photography back was when it was a small, private photo school in Santa Barbara, literally in a mansion on a hill overlooking the ocean. I cried and cried when I first arrived, thinking I had never seen such beauty. I finally ended up in L.A. working as second shooter for other photographers, a common method for developing your book and your skills on camera in a commercial studio. I now operate and also rent to other photographers, my own studio – Historic Hudson Studios in Hollywood, the incredible Herb Ritts former studio space. I primarily shoot food and table top for clients all over the country.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

RA: Elegant, chic, quiet.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

RA: Every 2 years.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

RA: I choose my favorites from each section (sweet, savory, etc.) to go into an “Overview” section, which is what I show on the “Homepage”.

Q: What is your favorite new features of liveBooks8?

RA: The new page designs available and it really is easy once you learn the basics.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

RA: Work with a designer, I did. I worked with the liveBooks designer to get more of what I wanted.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

Elizabeth Craig is a Beauty, Boudoir, and Fashion Photographer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her work ranges from weddings to portrait photography. She specializes in boudoir photography – capturing ordinary women in extraordinary ways. During her photoshoots, women of all ages are made to feel like super models while having their hair and make-up done professionally. To see Elizabeth’s work, visit her liveBooks8 website: www.elizabethcraigintimates.com

I am a mother, wife and photographer. My husband taught me everything “photography” 12 years ago. We began shooting weddings together, which we still do today. About 7 years ago, I began photographing beauty and boudoir portraiture and fell in love. This is my primary focus now and I get to live everyday doing what I love.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website?

EC: Clean and simple. I wanted the focus to be on the photography and nothing else, which is why I hired liveBooks to custom-design my site for me.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

EC: Usually about 4 to 5 times a year. Sometimes more.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

EC: The ones that get an immediate good reaction when seen for the first time. The ones that have a clear and powerful connection in the eyes and that are visually interesting.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

EC: Definitely that it has an HTML5 responsive platform and has a very user-friendly site editor. I like that I can get things changed on my site quickly so I can save time. That’s huge.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

EC: Keep it very simple and all about the photos. Doesn’t matter how awesome your logo is if your photos aren’t being displayed properly! It should be incredibly easy to navigate and clutter-free.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

Michael Zide is a Landscape Photographer who has chosen to depict most of his work in black and white. For the past 30 years, he has dedicated himself to perfecting his vision for landscape photography. During this period, he spent time in Martha’s Vineyard and other parts of the East Coast capturing his most iconic photographs. He now dedicates a grand majority of his time to running workshops, mentoring, and speaking about the art of landscape photography.
To see more of his work visit: www.michaelzide.com.

I came to photography in my early twenties, one of those course changes that took me by surprise. My interests suddenly changed from pursuing a career in the medical sciences to a growing interest in the arts. For someone without an aptitude to draw or paint, photography offered me the perfect path to developing my creativity and artistic self-expression. Drawn to landscape photography from the very beginning, I moved to Martha’s Vineyard when I was in my early twenties and began a 12-year project to create my own visual interpretation of this well photographed East Coast icon.

In time I became the staff photographer for a weekly newspaper and developed many of the skills necessary to eek out a living in the world of freelance. Moving to Amherst, Massachusetts in the early 1980s, I specialized in marketing photography for educational, healthcare, senior living, and business institutions. From my time on the Vineyard to the present, I have taught photography both full-time and in workshop settings.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MZ: Attractive, Professional, Useful

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

MZ: I change the site as my photographic galleries need updating or my current “happenings” need to be announced. I would say that happens every few weeks.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

MZ: The photographs on my homepage serve as a portal into my vision of the landscape. I choose them as representatives of the surprising moments I have found and photographed over time, hoping they keep the viewer’s attention and spark their imaginations.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

MZ: With SEO capability being so important, the new design was created to create a more user-friendly method of enhancing your internet visibility.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

MZ: Know what purpose you want your website to serve. Keep its appearance elegant and informative. Keep it easy to navigate through, allowing the viewer to take in whatever message you are hoping to communicate.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

Gustavo Paixão began his career in photography eight years ago while he was in college. The last five of those years were focused in the fashion industry. While growing up, he loved fashion and dreamed of becoming a fashion photographer. Fast-forward to today and he has now achieved his goal of becoming one of Brazil’s top fashion photographers. He truly enjoys seeing the idea of a great photoshoot running through his team. The combination of the clothes, makeup, photographic references, and the concept all coming together is a fabulous idea for him!

To see more of Gustavo Paixão’s work visit his liveBooks 8 website: www.gustavohpaixao.com

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

GP: There are three key words that describe the style of my website: simple, easy, and fast. I was looking for something easily accessible for those who wanted to see my portfolio with a friendly and soft interface. After spending my time looking for web designers, I visited the liveBooks8 website, saw the templates and it was love at first sight. It had exactly what I wanted.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

GP: As I’m busy with the photography workshops, I’m taking a break from the portfolio actualization. But normally, I update my portfolio monthly.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

GP: I’m a perfectionist when it come to my work. I choose the pictures that will go on my portfolio according to the quality of the makeup, clothes, retouch and the time they were taken. It’s not good to choose old pictures because a more experienced professional can note the difference in quality from one work to another. Believe me – your work quality may change a lot in 6 months!

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks 8?

GP: I love the full customization so much!

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

GP: Pay attention to all the customization options. Although the templates look simple, all of them offer a lot of features to make your website look more professional!

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.