livebooks blog

Michael Holtby is a Travel and Wildlife Photographer based in Denver, Colorado. His work has been exhibited in the Camera Obscura Gallery in Denver and has published a variety of print portfolios including a coffee table book called One Planet, One People. To see more of his work, visit his liveBooks8 website: www.denverphotography.com

I have been taking photographs seriously since 1968 when I traded a kayak for a Pentax Spotmatic. My mentor was a student of Minor White and inspired me to do more than snapshots. In the early 1980s, I attended the Colorado Institute of Art in Commercial Photography and was initially a Studio Product and Portrait Photographer. At this point, I am retired and can now take assignments only selectively, related to my primary interests: travel, ethnic cultures, and wildlife. I sell my work with gallery showings, but primarily I would describe what I do as “personal work”.

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

Colorful, impactful, and joyful.

How often do you typically update your website?

I update my site usually about once every three months, usually following a lot of travel shooting. However, since updating to liveBooks8, I’ve been tweeking it every couple of weeks.

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

I try to display photos on my homepage that grab your attention, but also represent the various galleries.

What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

My favorite feature of liveBooks8 is the ease with which I can modify my website, add to it, and display galleries. I also love the video gallery that allow viewers to quickly peruse or choose a closer look.

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

The average time people are on a website is likely to be short, so tailor your site to hook viewers with a quick look.

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

January is a great month to start new projects! A new year brings the possibility of change and a great way to experiment with new tasks.  Whether this means creating new business deals, editing and updating your website, or new photo shoots, we know that January can be a month dedicated to positive changes. This is why this month’s playlist is all about changing and moving.

We hope that there is something on our January playlist that can help keep you motivated and focused on the good things and projects to come!

Is there a song that you have on repeat right now? Tell us which one at social@livebooks.com!

Jay Goldman is a professional photographer specializing in wedding, bar-batmitzvahs, personal and corporate events and more! His studio is located in Los Angeles, California where he has created the majority of his career. To see more of his work, visit his liveBooks8 website: www.jlgweddings.com.

I started my career 25 years ago in NYC. I assisted for a couple dozen photographers whose work I liked. There was no internet. I found their work promos in a double volume 1990 Workbooks that I stole from the ad agency my roommate worked at. On the weekends, I shot film, on a Hasselblad, 12 frames on a roll. Many headshots and musicians. I hand printed my client’s 8×10 black and white headshots in a rented darkroom.

Fast forward 25 years: technology has exploded. I now shoot all my work on a Canon 5DS, with 50 MB files onto a 64 GB card or tethered to my 27″ iMac. I live in LA and have a studio in midtown for 10 years. We are a highly diversified studio. Revenue split between Weddings, Bar-Bat Mitzvahs, Personal and Corporate Events, Portrait, Product, and Jewelry Photography.

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

JG: Imagecentric, nonbulshitty, and juicy. I think one of those is a real word.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

JG: I am constantly tweaking the site.
I decided to have a New Work gallery, so I try to swap in and out anything that is exciting to me that I am currently working on.
The beauty of LB8 is how fast you can jump in, drop a photo into a gallery, see a live preview, publish and then jump out. It’s like the Matrix.
The answer is out there, Neo, and it’s looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.

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

JG: This something that I always struggle with. Sometime I am attached emotionally to an image and want to use it, I need someone to tell me that it is not strong for the site. I get a lot of opinions from wedding industry colleagues and from my brides. I think the homepage images should change every 6 months.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

JG: The whole redesign of liveBooks8 is amazing. I have been a liveBooks client from the very beginning. When liveBooks launched, the editSuite was revolutionary. Then it got a bit antiquated. Now in liveBooks8, the live preview is quick and you can try different things out. I think I have pressed every button in the design module. I found the design of my “Kind Words” page by accident. I would have never thought that I would be using circles in my design.

Q: What advise do you offer to someone designing their website?

JG: My advice is to make sure that the site has impact and is easy to navigate on a mobile device. That is the way the majority of my clients are browsing JLGweddings (at least brides). Also, realize that on the initial visiting session to your site, they may not have the time to go past your first gallery. Pack that one much heavier with your strongest work. If you hook them there, you made the first cut, and they will go deeper into your site.
I made another gallery design choice:
Everyone is very good at one-handed scrolling at blazing speed through Instagram feeds. In my New Work gallery, I purposely made every image horizontal so the gallery can go full-frame on a phone and someone can scroll straight down through the gallery of juicy images without putting down their triple, venti, half-sweet, non-fat, caramel macchiato with extra hot foam.

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

Casey Curry is a celebrity, portrait, and fashion/beauty photographer based in Los Angeles, California. Casey has worked with A-list celebrities such as Michael Caine, Kate Winslet, Billy Bob Thornton, and many others. To see more of work, visit his liveBooks8 website: www.caseycurry.com.

I’ve been studying light and taking pictures since I was the was a child although my start in the industry began with an assisting job for David LaChapelle. His creative approach fused with the talented photo crew he surrounds himself with set the bar for the level of production I wanted for my sets. From then, it’s been a slow burn of testing, developing my craft, and shooting commissioned work. As my aesthetic matures, so does my need to push the limits of what I can deliver for my clients – this can only be found through constant testing. I’ll often watch a film or look at a classic painting and think, “Oh that look would be great for this band/upcoming project.” It’s a continual path of discovery. I never stop learning.

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

CC: Clean, minimalistic, modern.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

CC: Since I started constructing the layout and curating work, it’s been a daily effort. From here on out, I plan on updating my site on a bi-monthly basis.

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

CC: The homepage is intended to give viewers a taste of each section of the website. Additionally, each image is meant to showcase the diverse approaches I’m capable of.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

CC: It’s been years since I use the old liveBooks, so I can’t attest to how much it differs. I can, however, say that it is the best self-managed website I’ve user, and I’ve used quite a few of them. The functionality is superior. It is not only user-friendly, but also technically superior with the built-in SEO and design customization capabilities.

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

CC: Although it’s important to stay true to yourself, get feedback from peers in your field – or better yet, from those you draw influence and aspiration from. I always try to surround myself with people who I feel are better than me, and I took the same approach when building my site. Also, you need to strictly limit the content you display (that’s where the help of others can really come in handy). It should only be the best of what you have to showcase and it needs to take your viewers on a cohesive journey. A good portfolio is one that doesn’t feel disjointed and doesn’t ever get boring.

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