What a photographer website needs: pages, words and photos

A photographer's website needs your best work, and also the plain information photographers often leave out: what kinds of sessions you shoot, where, roughly what it costs, how it works, and how to reach you. Clients fall for the pictures, but they book when they can picture the session and know the next step. A handful of well-made pages covers it.

What a client checks before they write to you

People looking for a family, senior, newborn, headshot or event photographer usually go through the same quiet checklist:

Do I like the style of these photos?
Does this person shoot the kind of session I need?
Do they work near me, and where would we shoot?
Is this roughly in my budget?
What is it like to work with them?
How do I book or ask a question?

Your site should answer them in that order. Most photographer sites answer the first beautifully and the rest barely at all, which is why good photographers get inquiries that start with "How much?" and then never reply.

The pages to have

Home. A few of your strongest images, one line saying what you shoot and where, and a clear next step.
Portfolio or galleries. Your work, grouped by session type.
Sessions or services. One section per kind of session with what is included.
Pricing or investment. At least starting prices or what affects them.
About. You, in a real photo, and how you work.
Contact. A short inquiry form, phone, email and your service area.

Optional: a page of client reviews, a "what to wear" guide, a client gallery login, a blog if you actually keep it up. How to build the portfolio itself so it loads quickly on a phone is a subject of its own; see photographer websites: portfolios that load fast on phones.

The one line under your name

Many sites open with a photographer's name and a single beautiful photo, and nothing else. A new visitor has no idea if you do weddings, real estate or pet portraits. Add one line:

"Family and newborn photographer in Columbus, Ohio, in studio or at your home."
"Headshots and personal branding portraits for professionals in the Twin Cities."
"Natural-light senior portraits around Asheville, outdoors and on location."

That line also helps search engines understand what the site is about, which is worth more than any keyword tricks.

The sessions page, in plain words

For each type of session, write a short block:

What it is and who it suits: "Family sessions, up to six people, outdoors in a park near you."
Length and location: "About an hour, at a park we choose together."
What you receive: how many edited photos roughly, how they are delivered (an online gallery to download), and how long it takes.
Prints and products, if you sell them, and whether they are included or extra.
How to book: a date, a deposit or retainer, a short contract.

Clients are often confused about what "digital files" or "print release" means. A line in everyday words helps: "You get a private online gallery and can download and print the photos wherever you like."

Pricing: show at least where it starts

Many photographers fear that showing prices will scare people off. In practice, people who see nothing tend to guess high or assume you are hiding something, and either way they do not write. Common approaches:

Session prices with what is included
"Sessions start at" a figure, with packages explained on request
A price range for collections, with an inquiry form for the details

Whichever you choose, say what affects the cost (number of people, travel, hours, prints). The broader trade-off is in should you list prices on your website.

Your about page: you, not your gear

Clients are inviting you into their homes, their children's first weeks, their mother's 80th birthday. They want to know you are kind and calm. An about page that works:

A real photo of you, ideally with a camera in a natural setting
How you came to photography, in a few lines
How you run a session: "I keep things relaxed; little ones can take breaks; we chase the light, not a shot list"
What people say about working with you, in their words, with permission

Leave the list of lenses and camera bodies off. Clients do not choose photographers by sensor size.

What to leave out

Galleries of every session you have ever shot, unsorted
Photos you would not want to be hired to repeat
A splash page or intro animation before the site opens
Right-click blocking scripts and huge watermarks across every image
Music that starts on its own

Make contacting you easy on a phone

Many inquiries happen on a phone in the evening. Keep the form short: name, email, phone (optional), session type, rough date, location, and a box for anything else. Show your email and phone too, as tappable links; some people would rather call. Say when you usually reply ("within one business day") so they are not left wondering.

For more on forms, see contact forms that people actually fill in.

What to do this week

Write the one line under your name: what you shoot and where.
Group your portfolio by session type and cut each gallery down to your best work.
Write a sessions block for your most popular session, with length, location and what clients receive.
Decide how much pricing to show, and write it.
Fill in your own contact form on your phone and check the message arrives.

If you have a site already but it is slow, cluttered or hard to use on a phone, you can see your site rebuilt first with your own photos and words.