35 beautiful photography websites – smashing magazine

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35 Beautiful Photography Websites â Smashing Magazine Interest in photography has exploded over the last 10 years, largely thanks to the developments in digital photography. Cameras and computers have become cheaper and more powerful, software more sophistocated and printers can now print photos that are as good (if not better) than anything produced in a chemical darkroom. Now, once youve acquired a digital setup, the economic restrictions of film and development costs have been removed and the cost of photography is virtually nil. Along with these developments in photography has been the parallel development of the Web. Ten years ago websites were largely clumsy, HTML driven constructions. Today, contemporary photographers have powerful tools such as Flash, WordPress and DreamWeaverwith which to develop their websites. Photographers can also sell their work through companies such as PhotoShelter or ImageKind, and through photo libraries such as Alamy and iStockPhoto, opening up new revenue streams. The result is that photographers are finding new and exciting ways to showcase their best work online. We took a look at some of the beautiful photography websites that we could find, analyzing the design trends and the reasons why these websites work. You may want to take a look at the following related posts: Beautiful Photography Websites Link Bottle Bell Photography5 The graphic design of this website perfectly complements the fantasy world of the photographers vision.

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Page 1: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

35 Beautiful Photography Websites � Smashing Magazine

Interest in photography has exploded over the last 10 years, largely thanks to the developments indigital photography. Cameras and computers have become cheaper and more powerful, softwaremore sophistocated and printers can now print photos that are as good (if not better) than anythingproduced in a chemical darkroom. Now, once youve acquired a digital setup, the economicrestrictions of film and development costs have been removed and the cost of photography isvirtually nil.

Along with these developments in photography has been the parallel development of the Web. Tenyears ago websites were largely clumsy, HTML driven constructions. Today, contemporaryphotographers have powerful tools such as Flash, WordPress and DreamWeaverwith which todevelop their websites. Photographers can also sell their work through companies such asPhotoShelter or ImageKind, and through photo libraries such as Alamy and iStockPhoto, opening upnew revenue streams.

The result is that photographers are finding new and exciting ways to showcase their best workonline. We took a look at some of the beautiful photography websites that we could find, analyzingthe design trends and the reasons why these websites work.

You may want to take a look at the following related posts:

Beautiful Photography Websites Link

Bottle Bell Photography5

The graphic design of this website perfectly complements the fantasy world of the photographersvision.

Page 2: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

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Daniel Kennedy Photography7

Top class professional photography presented in a simple to navigate, beautiful website.

8

East Photographic9

An unusual site because it belongs to an agency rather than a single photographer.

Page 3: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

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Jason Bell11

The website of world renown celebrity photographer Jason Bell. Yes, thats Mickey Rourke on thefront page.

12

Jeffery Salter13

Simple and effective design.

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Jill Greenberg15

A beautiful website from a master photographer. The photos are big, bold and colourful.

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Jonathan Glynn Smith17

A dramatic splash screen and beautifully minimalist design.

Page 5: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

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Kim Mendoza19

This website shows off the work of social photographer Kim Mendoza. The music is a nice touch,what visitor fail to be convinced of this photographers talent?

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Levon Biss

All the drama and explosive action of sports photography.

Page 6: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

Rankin21

A bold and colourful design from one of the UKs foremost fashion and editorial photographers.

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Steve McCurry23

The warm colours of this website are unusual, and make the website stand out.

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Timothy Hogan25

This website expands to a full screen to show off the photographers photos.

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Lara Jade27

A beautifully designed flash based website.

Page 8: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

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Brent Stirton29

Photojournalist Brent Stirtons website grabs you on the first page with a fast moving slideshow ofsome his most dramatic and hard hitting images.

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Burn Magazine31

Burn magazine uses a blog-like design to keep the lastest content fresh on the page. It uses a darkgray background to emphasise the sites logo, displayed prominantly at the top, and a large photo tointroduce the lead story.

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Gavin Gough33

Gavin Gough is a travel photographer currently living in Thailand. His website is a brilliant exampleof self-promotion. The front page has a small flash movie at the top and a large photo underneath.Dig deeper into the website and there are photo galleries showing only his best work, a blog forpersonal anecdotes and tutorials, and a stock photo gallery hosted by PhotoShelter.

34

Timothy Allen35

Timothy Allens website is a WordPress powered blog, slightly corporate in nature as its put togetherin conjunction with the BBC. The design is very effective, there is a fast moving slideshow at the topof the front page, and below that, a moving strip of thumbnails that are links to the latest articles.The latest article is published underneath, and at the bottom five short columns display links toarticles on Photography, Travel, Video, Tutorials and My Musings. The front page is designed to wowthe visitor and provide easy to follow links to all the interesting content within the website.

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Mitchell Kanashkevich37

A beautiful website, the reader is in no doubt that the website belongs to a travel photographer.Navigation is clear and simple and the photo galleries are stunning. The photographer has a smallcollection of his best photos. This is very important, because the quality of a portfolio is often judgedby the weakest shot.

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Bruce Percy39

A very simple design that leaves the viewer no doubt what hes seeing. A quick glance is enough tosee what the photographer does. Navigation again clear and simple. The black background workswell with the minimalist design.

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Face On Images41

Photographer Les Forresters website is a masterpiece of simple design. The colour scheme of darkgrays and blacks, with typography in gray, white and red is very effective. A moving slide showshows off some of his best photos on the front page, along with a nice introduction and the latestnews.

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Your Beautiful Photography43

Once you get past the splash page the simplicity and beauty of this website becomes apparent. Thephotos dominate, presented against a simple white background.

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Pablo Corral Vega45

Pablo Corral Vega is an established, well known photojournalist and his website reflects the qualityof his work. Note the simplicity of the opening page design, a stunning photo at the top, thephotographers name above, and more links below.

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Colin Prior47

Simple design from Colin Prior, a British landscape photographer. A simple to navigate menu bar, anabstract photo that makes the perfect backdrop for some text, and below some inviting images thatdraw the visitor into the different parts of the website.

Page 13: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

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Mark Velasquez

Mark Velasquezs website features imaginative, colourful photography, presented in a series of easyto navigate photo galleries. One reason I like the photo gallery layout because its easy to navigate,the photos are relatively small and quick to load, and the photos are presented against a neutralgray background.

Jeremy Cowart49

Sometimes, a pro photographer just needs a fantastic looking website that displays photos and littleelse. SEO and speed arent priorities, because the url will be given to potential clients. The importantthing is to wow the viewer. Thats what Jeremy Cowarts website does.

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Paolo Boccardi51

A big photo on the front page, easy to navigate links (I really like the little windows that pop upwhen you mouseover the links) and then horizontal photo galleries. Lovely!

52

Anna Kuperberg Photography53

A beautiful flash driven website. Excellent photography, a front page slideshow to show off the work,and a music soundtrack that seduces the viewer. A very professional design.

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Vincent Laforet55

Open with a bang! Vincent Laforets website opens with his video Reverie, a video which created somuch excitement amongst the photography world that it was downloaded over 1.5 million times thefirst 10 days it was online.

56

Chase Jarvis57

Chase Jarvis is famous amongst photographers for his blog, but his website is a masterpiece of webdesign. The viewer is greeted by a large, dramatic, slideshow on the front page, and an easy tonavigate menu. The portfolio pages are spectacular, and the flash based design looks great.

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Stefan Soell59

Another horizontal photo gallery, this one is interesting because the gallery is contained within aframe. Frames are a little outdated, but the advantage here is that the viewer can switch betweenportfolios without leaving the front page. The photographer sells fine art prints and books throughthe site, and the viewer is left in no doubt that hes an expert in his craft.

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Page 17: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

Amy Deputy Photography61

Another flash based website, beautiful in its simplicity. The front page consists of four simple squareimages, link text and the photographers name and logo. The soft pastel colours of the photos on thefront page complement each other. The website is also supported with a blog. Note the high qualityof the portfolios. The website makes it clear that the photographer operates at the high end of themarket.

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Page 18: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

Jessica Hilltout63

Fine art photographer Jessica Hilltouts website has a very nicely designed front page, organising herwork into three themes. Her names displayed along the top, and the categories along the bottom. Avery simple, but effective website.

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Chris Phelps65

A bold, graphic image on the front page, complemented by a simple navigation and design. A veryeffective portfolio presentation. All supported by a blog. Nice, very nice.

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Isabelle Ribeiro Photography67

Theres a lot to like about this website; a strong, simple front page slideshow, beautifully presentedphoto galleries, and a blog!

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John Wright69

Fashion photographer John Wrights front page is a masterpiece of minimalist design. Not having aphoto on the front page is a very bold move. Like many pro photographers, download speed issacrificed for effect with a flash based website. The moving thumbnails on the portfolio pages are awonderful touch.

70Last Click Link

Andrew F Photography71

Another masterpiece of Flash web design from a pro photographer. The opening photos arestunning, and I love the way they float up and down. The photo galleries are a joy to navigate andview.

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72Trends In PhotographyWebsites LinkBlogs

The best are entertaining and informative, establishing the photographers expertise and building arelationship of trust and credibility with potential clients.Teaching

Photographers are passing on their knowledge and experience to beginners and enthusiasts.Selling

Photographers are promoting themselves and their work. Some stock photographers sell theirphotos through their websites rather than the big agencies.Workshops

Many established photographers earn money by teaching, and promote their workshops on theirwebsites.Social networking

Many photographers have a page on Facebook, or a Flickr or Twitter account.Flash

Flash-based websites can be beautiful and effective, freeing the web designer from the limitations ofHTML and CSS. The downside is that theyre expensive to create, can take time to download andarent good for SEO. Often used by pro photographers who will send their url to interested partiesand need a spectacular showcase for their images.HUGE photos

Photography websites are naturally dominated by images. A recent trend is to display large photosfor maximum impact.Sophisticated design

Photographers are visual artists and need the design of their websites to reflect this. Good designoften works in the background by making websites quick to load, easy to navigate and search enginefriendly.Content over design

No matter how good the design, content is king. It may look pretty, but if it doesnt inform andentertain, your visitors wont return. Some of the most popular photography websites are nothingmore than a free Blogger blog.Related posts Link

You may want to take a look at the following related posts:

Page 21: 35 Beautiful Photography Websites – Smashing Magazine

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