livebooks blog

With full screen, eye-catching images, an awesome navigation, and one of the coolest logos we’ve ever seen, photographer Ted Tamburo knocks his website design out of the park.

Read on to see why we chose him as our featured website of the week and head on over to www.tamburo-photography.com.

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

TT: Minimal, Clean, Fun

Q: How do you choose the imagery for your homepage?

TT: I intentionally do not display an image on the homepage. I want an entry point that is neutral and very minimal. This allows the user to then choose where they go and what they see without being influenced by a random homepage image that may not relate to their needs. Plus I simply love negative space and simplicity.

Q: How often do you update your website?

TT: I don’t have a specific schedule. I tend to add new images as I shoot them and I occasionally decide to re-work the order of them as well. It’s easier said than done but changing things frequently is generally best as it creates a new experience for the end user and also keeps you creatively sharp.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

TT: The behind-the-scenes back end of liveBooks is what initially attracted me. The FTP, the ease of adding and changing images, it’s the stuff the user does not see that I actually like best.

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

TT: Edit. It’s a tough decision choosing what you show and I often see people with just massive amounts of images on a site. I think they feel that more somehow shows they have experience or something. I find that very few people have the attention span to really look at more than a couple dozen images at a time, then it all just becomes the same. I also sometimes see people repeat images. For example, I have a drink portfolio and a product portfolio (among others). In many cases a drink shot (say a bottle) is also in essence a product shot. I am tempted to repeat the images in both portfolios. That would be fine if someone only looked at one or the other, but what if they look at both? To me it looks odd to have repeated images, as if you are trying too hard to fill up space. You have to choose – and making those editing choices is the hardest part.

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

There’s really only one way to describe photographer Ben Clarke’s website: cool. Everything about it screams modern and highly impactful and we are so excited to feature it this week.

Check out what he had to say about his site’s creation and head on over to www.benclarkev.com to see the full thing!

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

BC: Tailored, Modern, Visual.

Q: How do you choose the images for your homepage?

BC: I go with images that have a cinematic touch, also photos from a shoot that brought happiness or joy in the moment.

Q: How often do you update your website?

BC: I will change out images or add something when I believe I captured the vision I had or was just totally surprised by an outcome.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

BC: liveBooks’ new feature, which displays a mockup of the site across all different devices now that are browsing the web is nice and convenient. This is on the new platform’s back-end.

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

BC: I would draw inspiration from a website that is impressive ans is accomplishing things that you are going toward. Don’t be afraid to make tweaks once liveBooks has made custom changes. Keep in mind your original idea when working with liveBooks creatives. Be willing to adapt to what is current and available within the design elements. Give the site character and have original content for viewers.

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

Photographer Bruce Racine has one of the coolest homepages we’ve ever seen – and that’s just the beginning of his fantastic website. Read on to get a glimpse of his site and head on over to www.bruceracine.com to see more!

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

BR: Simple Delivery Vehicle (for the complexity of photography)

Q: How do you choose the imagery for your homepage?

BR: I use a flash graphic that is a holdover from my previous liveBooks website. I like having a more generic welcome to the site that graphically represents the photo process.

Q: How often do you update your website?

BR: I aim for every eight weeks but have taken up to six months due to being too busy.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

BR: The editSuite. Very simple uploading and organizational process that has a visual interaction basis. I also like that I know exactly how the images will fit into the design of the website without continual redesign.

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

BR: In the case of photography, make sure the design doesn’t overpower the imagery. Keep it simple to let the work you are trying to promote speak for itself.

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

Photo-stylist Lisi has an incredibly bright, colorful, and eye-catching website. We just love the pop in her images and the way it draws us in and makes us keep clicking – we had to share it with you as our featured website this week.

Check out the sneak peak below and head on over to www.lisidesigns.com to see the full site!

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

LD: I would describe my website as colorful, simple-clean, and stylish.

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

LD: I select images that represent me. As a stylist I receive images from different sources and for that reason, I have two ways of selecting the images that will go on my site. When the images are either from a client or a photographer I make my selection when I feel a profound connection with the image. I don’t necessarily select an image because I worked on it or even because it’s published. Sometimes in the same story there is an overwhelming amount of variations of the same image so I select the image that speaks to me…the one that makes me the happiest. When there is an image that I personally photographed and styled, I choose the image that I connect with and that feels good. I call it “complete” when I don’t get tired of staring at it. I also use the same strategy when I rotate images out of the website. If I’m tired of looking at the image, it’s time to rotate it or time to replace it.

Q: How often do you update your website?

LD: As soon as I finish a job that I’m super proud of, I just cannot wait to add the new images to my site. So, with that being said, as soon as the images are ready I make the time to include them in the site. Sometimes as often as weekly.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

LD: My favorite feature that liveBooks offers has to be the editSuite and the navigation. In my industry when looking for talent you only have a minute to look through hundreds of websites, so having an easy-to-navigate structure is a plus for a client; you really want that person to concentrate on the illustrated work.

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

LD: To somebody designing their website I would suggest to look at sites that they like and gather a list of “whys.” Then contact a support specialist at liveBooks to discuss the design. liveBooks has an incredible amount of great templates that are simple and easy to manage. Another piece of advice is to keep the web design simple. At times a simply designed template and a good support specialist is all that’s needed or at least a great start.

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