Ten Commandments of Photography Websites

I encourage every photographer trying to market themselves to get their own web page. It's a great way to let prospective clients see your portfolio online without the distractions of advertisements and other people's work. It's also a good step towards "branding" yourself - for instance I've chosen to be known as "Stephanie Elizabeth" with my photography, so when I am online I am either that name or selizabeth, hence my website selizabethphoto.com. It's short, sweet, to the point, and most of all easy to remember and spell.

As much as a website can help you though, if done wrong it can hurt you just as much. Here are a few tips to keep you from straying into the path of cheesy, slow, annoying websites.

1) KISS - keep it simple, stupid. I could have had my website be stephanieelizabethphotography.com but that is FAR too long for a web page name. I get tired of typing it halfway through. So keep your domain name short and easy to remember.

2) Music. If you set music to play on your web page you may as well send your clients to your Myspace to see if they'd like to book you. Music on web pages makes them slow and is annoying and distracting. The focus should be on your photos, not your musical taste. If you absolutely MUST have music on your page, do not make it play automatically. Opting in is always better than opting out.

3) Advertisements. I saw someone with advertisements on their website because they were too cheap to pay $5/month for Godaddy hosting, so they went with the free hosting that has advertisements. It looked cheap, tacky, and I didn't bother looking at any of their work.

4) Flash, animation, scripts, and other frills. There are lots of options out there for adding pretty bells and whistles to your page, but going back to #1, simple is best. Having a lot of animations means longer loads times, and for someone who is on a slow machine or connection they probably just won't bother. Again, the focus should be on your work, not what cool scripts you were able to find online.

5) Organization. When someone visits my page they go immediately to the "home" page and from there can go to any gallery they wish, along with my about me and copyright sections. I do not have any "nested" galleries - that is to say that when you click the Fashion and Glamor gallery, you'll be immediately brought to a gallery to view photos, not another screen to subdivide more. Try to categorize your work into a few broader groupings instead of tons of smaller nested galleries. The fewer clicks and loads a person has to go through the better chance they'll see and enjoy your work.

more website tips after the jump

6) Appropriate content. Be aware of what audience you are catering to and choose photos to showcase accordingly. I do a wide range of photography from nature to artistic nudes, however soon I plan on looking into school event, senior portrait, and wedding photography. To present myself the best I can I'll be replacing the "personal" gallery with my nudes with an "events" gallery instead. Domains are so cheap that you can always create another one to separate different types of artwork.

7) Text. Any worded areas of the site should be checked for grammar, spelling and punctuation. txt spk or tYpInG lYkE dIs is just flat out stupid and makes you look like a 5th grader. I also prefer to take a neutral tone when writing my bio (which you should include to let people know more about you); instead of saying "stephanie elizabeth is the best upcoming fashion and nature photographer in new england" my bio is more along the lines of "Stephanie is an up and coming photographer working out of the Southern and Mid-Coast Maine areas. She works in nature, fashion, and portraiture photography." It is positive while still staying modest and factual.

8) Optimize your photos. I upload my photos at a height of 440px saved as high quality jpegs. The size of your photos depends on how large they need to be to be effective, while keeping in mind how much space they take up on the page and how long they'll need to load. My galleries are small and are running on horizontal tables right now, but since they are growing I am now converting to flash galleries made in Adobe Lightroom 2.

9) Consistency. Pick a color scheme and style and stick with it throughout the entire website. The galleries should all be the same in coloring and how they work, so that viewers don't get confused trying to figure out a new gallery each time they look at a different section.

10) Viewable. Choosing limegreen text on top of a white background sucks. Try not to use absolute whites or absolute blacks over large areas. This tends to hurt eyes and can look bland and boring. My website is white but not a pure white - if you check out the color it's actually #f1f1f1 instead of a pure #ffffff. It makes the black/gray text stand out well without being overly harsh.

Hopefully the tips above can save your website from a crummy demise and help you build a great online portfolio. If you have any questions about anything on my site (the coding, why something is the way it is) feel free to comment here or email me.

scam watch

Since putting myself out there as a photographer and as a model I've been running into increasing numbers of scams and just general shady people. There's one in particular that I want to bring to light, so I'm writing this in hopes that in the future when people google search the "company" this entry will come up.

A month or so ago someone I know tipped me off to a listing on craigs list looking for fashion photographers in the portland area. I responded saying I was interested, and heard back from someone with the email @fpi4models.com telling me they liked my work and asking if I would be availbe that tuesday or wednesday. I emailed back say I should be, just need to know the location and time of the shoot. I googled the company "fpi4models" (fashion photography international 4 models) and got one hit back from a model wondering if they were for real, as well as their website.
So I went on their website... they're "efolio" is full of work that I'm quite sure is stolen. It's poorly laid out, the copyright notices on the images are partially cut-off, they have no contact info. To top it off the address at the bottom of the website says they're based in New York, but when I did a whois.net look-up for their domain it's registered to someone in North Carolina. WTF?

whois.net domain information for http://www.fpi4models.com

domain:                          fpi4models.com
created:                         26-Aug-2008
last-changed:                    26-Aug-2008
registration-expiration:         26-Aug-2009

nserver:                         ns57.1and1.com 74.208.2.9
nserver:                         ns58.1and1.com 74.208.3.8

status:                          CLIENT-TRANSFER-PROHIBITED

registrant-firstname:            Clifton
registrant-lastname:             Roberts
registrant-organization:         Fashion Photography International
registrant-street1:              534 William Hooper Cir
registrant-pcode:                27278
registrant-state:                NC
registrant-city:                 Hillsborough
registrant-ccode:                US
registrant-phone:                +1.9192593935
registrant-email:                cliftonleeroberts@gmail.com

Basically this what I think happens. They find hotographers to "hire"... then they put out castings for models. The models reply to the castings and are told "we like your look but you need a better portfolio, here is a list of photographers to contact. Get a quote from them and we'll pay for half"
So the models are given a list of photographers to contact. Model pays anywhere from $100 to $1300 to "build their portfolio". Now, fpi4models is paying half this bill, but I think in reality they're just having that money funneled back into their pocket through the photographers that they rope into this. Then the model ends up with a shitty portfolio, and never hears from this place again.

I never heard back from them, but just tonight got an email from marilynwunder@fashionphotosinc.com about some FABULOUS new way to make money with your photos. I googled fashionphotosinc.com and to my complete unsuprise their website http://www.fashionphotosinc.com/ has the same content as fpi4models.com

whois.net domain information for http://www.fashionphotosinc.com

Domain Name.......... fashionphotosinc.com
Creation Date........ 2008-12-18
Registration Date.... 2008-12-18
Expiry Date.......... 2009-12-18
Organisation Name.... Lycos, Inc.
Organisation Address. 2421 Clay St SPC 23
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. Sacramento
Organisation Address. 95815
Organisation Address. CA
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Admin Name........... Clifton Roberts
Admin Address........ 2421 Clay St SPC 23
Admin Address........
Admin Address........ Sacramento
Admin Address........ 95815
Admin Address........ CA
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES
Admin Email.......... clifton.roberts@musicvideomodel.net
Admin Phone.......... 347-767-3302
Admin Fax............ +1.7814667060

You'll notice that both websites are owned by a man named Clifton Roberts. He also appears to be connected to musicvideomodel.net, a website which also produces hits on google of models wondering if it's a scam agency. Whois look-up of that website shows it's registered by someone named Murvin Headen, but is also located out of North Carolina.

So, if you're contacted by any of these agencies or see them listing castings, my advice would be to stay away! From the shadiness of this whole mess I'd say it's not worth your time.

Winter Birds

Buying Used Gear on Craiglist

In the past months I've discovered the wondrous cess-pool that is Craigslist. I've seen scammy postings, advertisements by hookers, and cheap-ass wannabe photographers promising to shoot your 8 hour wedding for just $50 and provide incredible images at the end.

However! There are some gems to be had on Craiglist if you can just avoid the herpes.

I've managed to get the following in the three months from good old CL:

Canon 5D, less than a year old in like-new condition w/ two batteries and a charger: $1500
75-300mm Series III USM Canon Lens: $75
Backdrop support system that is higher than all ceilings I have encountered thus far + 10x20ft black muslin: $100

By my estimates I have saved roughly $1k from buying used equipment. $1000! So how can you get in on this money saving action?

1) Check early, check often. I try to cruise by the listings on CL at least once a day. I got the great deal on the lens because I saw the ad for it and immediately contact the person, and set up a meeting to buy it that afternoon.

2) Do your homework and don't be afraid to haggle. If they're selling used equipment and you know you can get a better deal somewhere, see if you can haggle the price down. The worst they'll say is no, and you might just find a way better deal elsewhere (just make sure to check resellerratings.com before buying from online stores!)

Another big issue is making sure you don't get scammed. My first purchase via Craigslist was spending $1500 on a used 5D body from a complete stranger out of state. I was nervous, but I took precautions to keep myself safe.

-Always ask why they are selling the equipment, and in some cases ask for photos of it. They should be able to give a good answer, and if they can't -beware-. If they can't give you a solid believable answer then it could be stolen equipment, which if traced to you could land you in some hot water. The 5D was being sold because the woman liked film better and just didn't use it enough. The lens was being sold because the person was simplifying their gear. The backdrop was being sold due to the owner moving cross-country and no t needing to take it with him.

-Buy locally, and sell locally. Nigerian email scams anyone? Variations of that happen on CL as well. I posted some equipment for sale and had someone contact me who apparently was in Texas, but needed the equipment shipped to Africa... but it had to be soon since the person was about to leave for London. Uhhh yeah, right! Buying locally also means that you can keep shipping costs to a minimum or just meet in person.

-Use paypal for large transactions! It will keep you safe; you won't be robbed while carrying it around, it won't get lost in the mail, and the seller won't get your personal information. And if the whole deal suddenly takes a turn for the worst you can dispute the transaction as fraud and get your money back.

-For smaller transactions in person, I pay cash. I also prefer to get paid in cash unless I know the person or can track them down easily. Paying someone in a check could result in stolen identify and fraud, and getting paid with a check could end up with you at the bank finding out that it's bounced and you've just been scammed out of your gear for free!

-If you're meeting in person, bring a friend along. It might sound distrusting or cynical, but you owe it to yourself to look out for you. I bring along my boyfriend Dylan, he's got a big scary beard to scare away creeps. Also meet in a public place; I've met at a hospital and a dunkin donuts to do transactions and both were fine. Just be sure that the place you go won't get mad if you're hanging around without buying food or doing business there.


With some careful scouting and common sense you can some great deals on used equipment. Just make sure to keep yourself safe, and if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

A Working Studio For Less $$$

So you've been taking photos outdoors or near windows to make use of natural available light. But now you're wanting to explore other kinds of portraits with backdrops and controllable lighting - after all, it's not always sunny or nice out!

The problem is that, like most photography equipment, back drops, stands, and lights are very expensive, and can take up a lot of space. If you're like me with only a dorm room to work in most of the time, space is a luxury.

These two factors combined are enough to make a person just give up entirely, but wait! There are a few great ways to make your own studio gear on a budget.

Lighting is a doozy - it's expensive and it takes up a lot of room. A "standard" softbox can run you anywhere from $60 to over $150. I've seen them range to $200 all the way up to over $5k!
Then you need a good power source, and a place to store it when you aren't using it. All in all for a student or anyone without a dedicated studio space, having full on pro lighting equipment can be a huge headache and just not a workable idea.

The wonderful thing is that you can still get great lighting that is much lighter, portable, and best of all CHEAP! Same for backdrops.

The above was taken using just one small clip desk light placed behind the subject, , the kind that you might find at wal*mart. There was also normal light from the ceiling fixture lighting the subjects front. When you shoot using normal indoor lights you generally will need to tweak things in photoshop to get rid of the orange tone that the lights give off.

This photo was taken using just two clip lights from walmart that cost $6 each. I used energy saving lightbulbs in them - they last for a long time, don't heat up, and give off a pretty clean (non-orange) light compared to normal bulbs. I clipped them to a chair and a bureau to position them and had them plugged into normal outlets. The background is a blank off-white wall.

That photo was taken using one clip light, and a white blanket as a background (photoshop was used to make the background smoother). Blankets and thick or doubled up sheets can be good background if you have no blank walls, but if they wrinkle they can look very tacky, so be careful and iron them beforehand if at all possible.


For more powerful lights you can get floodlights from a hardware store, and set them far back from the subject or hang something in front (not on or over, always be careful of fire hazards) of it to diffuse it. The good thing about floodlights is that you can get them for cheaper than 'real' lights, and they can take a bit more of a beating if you have to move them around a lot or store them. You can also use white pieces of foam core board or silver baking sheets as reflectors to bounce light onto your subject.


With back drops I would suggest trying to get a real back drop if you can... it will be a lot easier to take full length photos, as regular sheets won't be long enough. I found a used backdrop with a 10x20 foot black piece of muslin on craigslist for $100 - to put this in perspective, the cloth alone can retail for about $75, and the support system can sell for $200. I've also bought my camera for hundreds less than I would have normally paid, as well as a telephoto lens that I didn't think I could ever get. Craigslist is a great place to get cheap equipment if you know how to look for deals, what questions to ask, and how to avoid being scammed or taken advantage of. Next time I'll go over ways to get the most out of craigslist to expand your collection of camera gear.

Taking Better Self-portraits

Photography is an expensive hobby. A good camera can run in the thousands of dollars, and pro equipment for a studio racks up cost very quickly. I've run into people who think they can't ever take a good photo because they just can't afford it, so in this entry I'm going to give some tips and tricks for taking better pictures with the camera you have. I've also included some of my earliest photos that were taken with a small samsung point and shoot.

Attack of the myspace photos! (or: why aren't my photos getting attention?)

You need a photo for your [insert social network site here] or decide that you just want to take some self-portaits. You grab your digital camera and start snapping. You upload all 500 photos you take, and are rather upset that no one comments on them or pays attention. Why is this happening?

We all know what a myspace photo is - someone grabs their camera or cell phone and starts snapping away at a 45 degree angle to their head. This is not good photography. You can argue all you want but I am here to tell you that those photos are a dime a dozen and generally suck. If you are trying to take a good quality self-portrait and actually express something about yourself other than the fact that you can rotate your shoulders and raise your arms above your head, you have to move beyond them.
Variations of this include pictures taken above your head to let everyone see down your shirt. Don't be a slut, no one wants to buy the cow when they can get the milk for free. There are ways to be sexy in photographs without being cheap and trashy.

Other common mistakes are:
-Close ups of a body part (generally eyes) that turn out blurry. What is the point of sharing these? If you have beautiful eyes, turn on the macro function of your camera, stand next to a light source, and have someone else take the photo.



-Shots very close to your face with the flash on. Yes, this will wash out (over expose) your face and make your skin look flawless, but it also erases your nose and most of your features. If you feel self conscious about your face then get creative and find ways to cover it, or take this is a great way to work on your self-esteem and acceptance of your body (which is what you should be working on in the first place).

-The trout.
Pushing your lips out, pouting, and sucking in your cheeks. This doesn't extenuate your lips or make your face look slimmer... it makes you look like you've eaten a lemon and it's not attractive in the slightest. Try a gentle close mouthed smile for a classic and attractive portrait. Practice in the mirror, and you'll get it down.
You can also use the mirror to see what angles flatter your features (not the 45 degree above the head angle) and use this knowledge to your advantage. A good full body pose is to stand with your hips point slightly to the left or right of the camera and twisting your torso at the waist to face the camera more head on. It generally takes weight off your tummy and minimizes any extra jiggle you might have.

-Mirror picture with flash
Using a mirror isn't always a bad way to take a self portrait, you can get some very interested effects with them. However - TURN YOUR FLASH OFF. What would have been an otherwise good photo can be ruined by a huge white splotch over your face from the flash firing. If the room is dark, turn on lights, use a lamp nearby, and open shades to let natural light in (bonus: natural light makes your skin look better).



-Abusing photoshop
Photoshop is a very powerful tool, and a lot of fun to play with. That being said, don't go crazy with filters. They can turn a perfectly fine portrait into something that looks very unskilled and juvenile. Polarizing filter and sharpening are two drugs of choice I've seen people overusing.

-Sensory overload.
I generally upload one picture per day or one picture every two days to deviantART
Uploading two or more photos, let alone twenty, is a great way to make people ignore you. Uploading just one or two give people time to look at them and appreciate them instead of being bombarded with image after image. And restricting yourself to just a few also makes you more critical of your photos so you only chose the very best ones to share.


I hope this has shed some light on ways to improve your photos! Next time I'll talk about ways to DIY your own studio equipment to take great photos without spending lots of cash.

need a helping hand

I've entered a contest on brickfish, it's a photography contest with the theme of "beautiful places in the world". I have to two photos entered. The winners are decided based on rank which is a combination of votes and "viralness" - meaning how far and wide you can spread your entries.
So I am asking, as my friends, to help me with this. Click the two links below to see my two entries:

http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PhotosAlbums/PhotoView.aspx?picid=729799_41281455

http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PhotosAlbums/PhotoView.aspx?picid=729779_52434746

You don't sign up for anything, you don't give your email, your name, nothing. You just click the vote button. You can vote once every 8 hours. It takes maybe half a minute to do, and you would be helping me so much - $1000 is a lot for a college student. If I win it that's $1000 less off my bills that I need to worry about, $1000 less in loans I take out.

I also ask that you post the links wherever you can, to try to reach as many people as possible. Those of you that know me know I am extremely serious about my photography and it would be amazing (and my first time) to win something from it.

<333 thank you!