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Keith Ketchum is travel, lifestyle and action sports photographer. He obtained his degree in Studio Art from University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) where he drew, painted, designed, and focused in photography. He has worked for clients such as Travel + Leisure, ESPN, New York Post, Rolling Stone Italy, Surfline, Free People, Engadget, Freesurf, KaiKini, Jawbreaking, Slide, Kauai Lifestyle Magazine, Indie Swim, and ESM. To see more of his work, visit his liveBooks8 website: www.keithketchum.com.

I got my start in photography through surfing. I traveled most winters to get away from frigid North Carolina, where I’m from, and would bring a cheap film camera, a couple of surf boards and a journal. Eventually disappointed with the quality of work I was producing at such beautiful location led to an investment in better equipment. This in return led to a decent portfolio and my first official staff photography job with a surf, art, music, and fashion magazine. That was a fun job. It was an eclectic group of creatives from different outlets coming together to form a quality publication. What started as a regional magazine eventually went world wide for a couple of issues. This all happened while I was studying studio art (drawing, painting, photography, design, etc) at UNCW. The magazine lasted until shortly after I graduated college before dying, like most print does, but by then I was established shooting fashion, weddings, assignments from other publications, fine art, and had a little studio space. My wife and I moved Kauai for a change, to settle down and start a family. It was always one of those places that felt more like home than home. I always called it my neverneverland. It’s also hard to take a bad photo here. We’ve been here for a few years now and I’m extremely happy with my work and the people I get to work with on the island and from around the world.

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

KK: Clean, effective, and quality.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

KK: I try to keep things fresh on my blog and depending on how busy I am, I skim back over the recent assignments posted there and pick the best few images from my website. Sometimes I update every month and sometimes a few months go by before I’m able to sit down, catch my breath, have a glass of wine and go over recent work with Bimini, my wife, asking which images she likes best.

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

KK: Homepage images are like the teaser trailers of your website. They are very important and extremely difficult to decide on. You want to get the audience interested with composition and color (a.k.a.: eye candy) without giving too much away. You want to show what you do but only slightly. They have to click a few buttons to get the full effect. I also try to pick generic images that people can put themselves in. So, slightly pulled back vs. up close and personal.

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Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

KK: It’s hard to narrow down one favorite new feature about liveBooks8. I love how simple and designs are. They are clean and they let the images do the talking. The Scaler quality is amazing. I also love how easy it is to update, enter metadata, upload, view the mobile version, jeez…like everything.

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

KK: My advice for most anything art related, website included, was given to me when I was young from photographer Aaron Chang. “Less if more”. Many art instructors in college would eventually give the same advice. I think over time and I came to realize the true meaning of it, but those would be the wise words passed down from creatives I look up to. “Less is more”.

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

Gaelle Morand is a photographer based out of California. Her work ranges from travel and entertainment portraiture to editorial and fashion. She’s worked with clients such as Universal, Island Def Jam, and Epitaph Records, as well as celebrities such as Olivia Wilde and Dita Von Teese. To see more of Gaelle’s work, visit her liveBooks8 website: www.gaellemorand.com.

My work in photography gives me access to people’s lives in ways that pull beauty out of the ordinary – I’ve done series of images framing close in on faces from cultures so different that the minute details tell an unexpected story. The subject might be a Tibetan nomad, or a musician headlining a rock band – to me these subjects are equally fascinating. I’m as interested in documenting culture as I am in finding what makes one person’s journey unique within that culture. I also have a long history in the motion picture industry, in CGI – mostly in lighting and look development, which I suppose is the common thread with my work in photography. In movies as in photography, I try to bring a cinematic perspective to my work. I enjoy crafting intricate studio lighting setups in service to an impeccable style. (Though I’m quite a fan of natural light, too!) I’ve been fortunate with opportunities to travel, and to meet a wonderful cross section of people and cultures. I’m looking forward to continuing that journey, camera in hand.

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

GM: Personal, Crafted, and Vivid.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

GM: It’s very unpredictable!  It could be four times a month or four times a year, depending on where I’ve been and how much shooting I’ve been able to do.

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

GM: I try to select a set of vibrant and diverse images that somehow work well together. They can be very different as far as the subjects are concerned, but are tied in by a similar or complimentary color palette.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

GM: Without a doubt, it’s being able to try it all by visualizing various layouts. The interface is easy to use and you can get great results quickly. Customizing options seem endless and designing becomes very exciting.

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

GM: It’s obvious, but less is more! It’s about showcasing the best work and keeping the layout clean and simple.

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

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.

Nancy Ney’s website is our first featured website of the week for 2017! Nancy has dedicated the majority of her career to Advertising Photography. As a result of traveling for the last few years, she has shifted some of her career focus to be dedicated to fine art travel images. To see more her work, visit her liveBooks8 website: www.nancyney.com

I started working in NYC as a production assistant when I was in my early 20s. I was very interested in photography and began shooting production stills on the set and developing and printing them to give to the clients. From there, I started testing with models and put a fashion book together. I got a big client right away. Jacques Cohen Espadrilles with a full color ad in French Officiale. It wasn’t too long before I opened my first studio on Union Square and started working in fashion and advertising. I had a long career in N.Y. eventually buying a loft at 620 Broadway in 1996 and selling it in 2011.

Winner of IPA International Award in 2016

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

NN: The aesthetic of my website in three words would be Fine, Art, Travel.

How often do you typically update your website?

NN: I will update the website after I come back from visiting a new locale. So usually about four times a year with some updates in between.

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

NN: Choosing the photos to display is a painstaking task. Since I shoot in a 2×3 ratio and the homepage images are square, usually it is an image I love that crops well to a square!

What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

NN: I guess my favorite new feature on liveBooks8 is the ability to see the way all the different platforms will look in the design center.

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

NN: If I were offering advice about designing a photography website, it would be to keep the format simple and clean and be ruthless about your editing.

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