As a photographer your online presence is crucial in representing who you are, with a network and gaining job opportunities. Emphasising a website is also emphasising yourself as a photographer and person. Presenting you to possible clients and other possible job opportunities that could come your way based on your online presence and representation. 

For my own website, it has taken time to get it to the point where it is of a standard that represents me and is clear, making it easy from viewers to navigate the layout simply. By making it simple , it means anyone can use it and not feel overwhelmed or lost in too much going on. The opening statement of the website took the most time. Working out what worked as a landing page to draw people into what it is that I create in my photography, while also showing off my style clearly from the start. 

The format of my website has changed over time and originally was on the “Wix” sight, which I made at college. Furthering my education at a higher level I started again on Format and have been on it ever since. The format layout I have changed 3 times as my style and representation in myself has changed. Building my confidence as a photographer has led to the over all more confident changes of the layout of the website to make it stand out more as before the layouts have been very restricted and somewhat boring, now that I look back at its development to the current website. 

Each time I have looked at multiple themes before choosing what I have chosen and having only one or two issues with each of the two previously:

Started with “Sun”: The issue with this was that the gallery images would take up the whole screen but only with landscape photographs, not only that but it would crop them to the size of the website screen ruining the shape and overall perception of the landscape images. After looking at the themes once I decided I wanted to change, I decided to have a website that felt clear and simple. 

Leading me to choose “Grace”. The reason I chose “Grace” was because it did not crop my images and you could see the whole image at a decent size on the screen. Although when you tried to click on the image it would not show it bigger or separate from the others only in the gallery layout form. When the website was changed to the “Grace” theme, one of the main issues with this theme was a distracting little side gallery on each gallery of project. That would not disappear  and could not be removed. Due to it eventually feeling so distracting to me, I emailed format about if it could be removed. It couldn’t be removed but they sent me a couple more themes similar and I chose one of them to change to (Mode) which seemed a lot more sleek and flowing. Presenting my work clearly and in a bolder more eye catching way. 

And the current them is “Mode”, which at this current time I am not having any issues with. 

Some other recent changes that have been made to my sight have been to the gallery which now only shows my most recent work that I am proud of and my contact page which I have developed a stronger bio on. The bio is short but effective in portraying myself and my style which has come out more recently in my photography. 

With much of the website I wanted the text to be minimum but informative in what the work is and how it came about. That way overall the pictures speak for themselves showing my strongest work. 

Having added a books tab as well this year, as a way of showing another skill to viewers of the website. Thereby enhancing and drawing attention to the skills I have and have learnt, making me overall more desirable due to the skills I have gained and progressed. The books will be shown in videos, with the pages being turned but also a photograph of the cover will be shown before the video to draw attention to look inside the book. 

The website is connected to all my photography social medias and is up to date on contact information. Which it always has been, whenever an update happens on one it is changed on the other medias too, as a way of showing cohesiveness and that they are all connected. A viewer that way knows it is your work and pages they are looking at due to the similarities. 

The main aspect I still need to add is my CV which I am currently working on and will add to the about page when completed.