Creating an Impressive Photography Portfolio Website [+ Examples & Tips]

A photography portfolio is a concise collection of your photos to present your works in a professional manner. It’s equally important to have a photographer website/photography portfolio as this is the only, and yet, the best way to promote your business to potential clients. With an impressive site for photos, you can also showcase your skills and value as a true artist.

Like any formal application document, photography portfolios have different kinds - each should be designed specifically for a certain purpose. 

As a photographer seeking a professional career, you need to demonstrate your educational background, work experience, and skills when creating a photography website. If you’re a freelance photographer, you would need to demonstrate your works in the form of a project with detailed information about clients, concepts, accomplishments, etc. On the other hand, a photo gallery website works better for someone looking to sell their pictures or works of art. 

Let’s dive in to learn about the different formats/types of a photography portfolio based on its medium. 

Paper/Printed photography portfolio

Even though it’s now a digital era, photographers still need to have a paper photography portfolio. If you’re marketing yourself as a commercial or editorial photographer, it’s essential to print out your professional photography portfolio and promotional materials. 

This way, clients can take a closer look at your previous works with advertising agencies, magazines, or brands as well as some accomplishments you’ve achieved. A printed photography portfolio is also a safe bet when you have an in-person interview.

Digital/online photography portfolio

Most photographers consider their own portfolio as one of the most important tools they should have in their arsenal. A photographer's website or online photography portfolio takes a step further in promoting their online presence and reputation across national boundaries. 

Photography portfolio website

Especially if you are working as a freelance photographer, a photography portfolio website can help you attract potential clients. The key point is you need to represent a variety of previous projects that can attract a potential client or employer. 

Determine the purpose of the photography portfolio.

As mentioned earlier, each type/format of photographer websites or photography portfolios serves a different purpose. You need to make clear what career in photography you're seeking or simply what you make a photography portfolio for. 

Choose the works to be included in the architecture portfolio.

Instead of showing all your work, it’s better to include what has brought you success or what has gained the praise of clients or other experts in the field. This way, you can define yourself as a professional architect. 

Compile materials.

Regardless of the purpose, here are 3 elements you need to include in your photography portfolio. 

1. Personal information (resume)

• Full name
• Email address
• Social media accounts
• Address (optional) 
• Phone number (optional)
  

2. High-quality images

Photographers like you usually look to add imperfection to your work, so make sure you select only the best shots to represent on your site. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and be extremely picky and critical with your photos - that’s how to build a perfect photography portfolio.

3. Titles and short descriptions of works

If you’re pursuing a career in this industry, this is a key element in your photography portfolio. Think of this as the “Work Experience” section in a resume/CV where you provide information about the former projects or works. 

Design a front-page cover.

The first impression is the one that counts, so make sure your cover is eye-catching and able to pique the client’s interest from the start. You can start with a brief introduction about yourself or the nicest shot taken by you. 

Choose a suitable photography portfolio website/platform.

We’re now living in the digital age where everything is made easy with just a few clicks. Hence, you can find many tools and platforms for building a photography portfolio without spending a lot of time and money. 

Read on to see our picks for the best photography website builder.

1. CakeResume

The free online portfolio maker on CakeResume offers a variety of user-friendly tools, allowing you to make your very own portfolio quickly and hassle-free.

✨ Features:

• Allow you to create multiple portfolios and organize various projects in a way that is most efficient and convenient for viewing.
• Link your online portfolio to your digital resume created by CakeResume.
  

2. Flickr

Flickr is one of the most popular photo-sharing sites out there with billions of photos and members. Hence, this is a great platform for you to present your photography portfolio and connect with fellow professionals as well as clients all over the world. 

✨ Features:

• Share pictures and videos. 
• View other users’ activities and works; and the number of their followers and people following them.
• See the number of likes and comments under a picture/video.
  

3. WordPress

As a free, open-source website creation platform, WordPress stands out as one of the most popular freelance photographers’ websites. 

✨ Features:

Since WordPress allows you to have complete control of your photographer website, there are many elements that you need to customize on your own. 

4. Squarespace

Squarespace is a photography website, and generally, an all-in-one solution for those looking to create a good-looking website.

✨ Features:

• Customize the built-in template to fit your personal style and professional needs.
• Allow content creators to make videos to promote their business. 
• Share private work with clients by adding password-protected pages.

5. Zenfolio

As one of the best-known portfolio sites for photographers, photographers often use Zenfolio to create their personal websites either to display or to sell their pieces of work. 

✨ Features:

• Provide plenty of templates with each suitable for a specific preference and style. 
• Offer a bunch of useful components for a photography portfolio website.

💡 Refer to good-looking photography portfolios on the Internet. 

As a photographer, you look for inspiration not only to capture the best pictures but also to make an appealing personal website or portfolio. When viewing other photographers’ portfolios, you can grab an idea of how to demonstrate your value, how to arrange your works, or how to attract many potential clients. 

💡 Categorize the works for convenient viewing.

If you’re pursuing different types of photography, it’s better to categorize your works in relevant collections or albums. Hence, clients and customers can easily view your pictures without going through all the stuff.  

💡 Include your contact information and experience for potential clients. 

As noted above, including basic personal details is a must so that potential clients can get to know more about you and be able to contact you for work in the future. They also expect to see you prior photography experience, especially if you’re seeking a career in this industry.  

💡 Make sure to check spelling and grammar. 

You may think that photography only focuses on visualization. However, when it comes to a professional, formal presentation, it's important to make sure the content is error-free and flawless. 

💡 Keep your photography portfolio up-to-date. 

You may have many on-going projects, therefore don’t forget to update them to your portfolio or website. Adding fresh content can not only maintain your clients’ interest but also show the progress of your work.

As mentioned previously, before creating your very own photography portfolio, it is important to surf the Internet to find inspiration and references of what a good photography portfolio is like.

Here are 15 photography portfolio website examples for your inspiration.

1. Wayne Holtchan

Wayne’s product photography portfolio follows a minimalist web-design strategy that is user-friendly, straightforward - but incredibly inspiring. He uses it for the purpose of selling his works.

2. Zena Holloway

When looking at Zena’s website, you can quickly see that she specializes in underwater photography. It’s a very important thing that you need to demonstrate your area of specialization on your photographer website or photography portfolio.

3. Christina Wilken

If you're looking for an impressive wedding photography portfolio, take a look at this!

Christina's photographer website is brightly colored, which matches her specialization: newborn, children, and family portraiture. The website also provides essential features such as investing, booking, Q&A, etc. 

4. Pierre De Bellot

As a lifestyle photographer specializing in newborn, family, maternity, and couples photography, Pierre’s website brings a sense of peace, happiness, and freshness. There’s also a tab for reading “kind words" from previous clients.  

 5. Lisa Michele Burns

Lisa Michele Burns is a professional photographer, coach, and founder of The Wandering Lens. These are visibly displayed on her website with a very easy-to-read interface. 

6. Aneev Rao

Aneev’s photography page is created on Pixpa. He adopts an endless scroll of high-resolution photographs, making his portfolio incredibly attractive. 

7. Josiah Lewis

Josiah presents his areas of specialization in a very special way, with each banner image corresponding to a type of photography. This way, clients can have a quick view of the photographer's works and interests. 

8. Faisal Ismail

Created on Behance, Faisal's photography portfolio looks like his social media channel. It fully displays a lot of details about Faisal such as his personal profile, work experience, links to social media platforms, and most importantly, accomplished projects. 

9. Afaf Elsayed

Similar to Faisal Ismail, Afaf designs her photography portfolio by Behance. As she has accomplished plenty of projects, she tends to focus on her “Appreciations" to build up her reputation. 

10. Xenia Huang

CakeResume is the go-to photography portfolio builder for Xenia. Her works and projects are listed out in a simple way that readers can find easy-to-read. 

11. Gavin Manerowski

Gavin has taken advantage of CakeResume by linking his photography portfolio to his resume. This way, clients or recruiters can take a proactive approach to him in the future. 



12. Kent Kuo

Similar to Gavin Manerowski, Kent has attached his resume to his photography portfolio. He not only presents the most outstanding and successful projects at the top, but also designs them with a professional, informative look. 

13. Cosmotic Photography

Wix is a popular website for photographers where they can find many ready-to-use templates. However, Cosmotic Photography has made a great impression by the way they choose the font and present their works as a slideshow. 

14. Dory Younes

You may have seen this name among the top photography websites, recommended by many websites and professionals. Dory's beautifully-tiled homepage welcomes you with a video splash and its harmonious coloring. It's also easy to view all of the works as they are showcased in a grid layout. 

15. Hana Knizova

Viewing Hana Knizova’s portfolio makes you feel like reading an artistic, high-fashion magazine. Projects are presented in a moving background, which sets this fashion photography portfolio stand out from many other portfolios or websites.