The first thing you need to do is to straighten out your photographic life. I don’t say this to be rude – it’s just very important that you have clear idea why you need a website. Hey, it’s not even a safe bet that a website is what you need to further your goals – and you’ll only find that out if you define what you want achieve.
Reading this article will take you two minutes, and I recommend that you take another hour to do the exercise. By following these guidelines you’ll make sure that you’re not wasting time on a website that won’t help you.
I’ve seen many photographic websites come and go over the last few years. Many were created on a whim, because the photographer felt he had to have a website, only to dwindle into obscurity because he wasn’t really sure what to do with it once it was “finished”. Heck, I did it myself with my first website – a static page that showcased some random stuff I’d done way back when I was nineteen.
It took me three years and a lot of time to realize that in order to really create a site that is useful, you must think about it. You have to plan what the site is for and make sure that happens, otherwise you’re just wasting time where you could better your photography or be with friends and family.
A website can help you get more social. It can also enable you to reach out to more people. But it’s also work. If you’re not willing to put in that work flickr or similar sites nets you exposure and the social aspect. But then again – flickr won’t reward you with something distinctly yours.
The exercise
So I need you take an hour. Sit down or soak yourself in a bath, and think about where you are and what you want to do with your photography. Write it down. What you find out will determine what kind of web presence you need. If you have trouble getting started I’ve compiled a few questions that should put you on track:
- What do you usually shoot?
- Are you happy with that or do you want to take your photography in another direction?
- When are you especially proud or satisfied with your photography?
- Who are you shooting for? For clients or for yourself?
- If clients, whom? If not clients, why not?
- When do you have the most fun? Is it when you’re talking to people about photography, or is it when you’re out shooting? Or is it when you’re presenting your photography and getting feedback, or something else entirely?
Be brutally honest. If you don’t figure this out beforehand, or don’t do it well enough, chances are you’ll run in the wrong direction. That’s why I really recommend doing this even if you think you got it figured out already.
So what’s the point?
I want you to gain an overview of your photographic life. The insight you gain by sitting down and thinking about your photography should guide you in your communication. One could say you’re setting goals – “I am here right now, and I want to get there. How do I accomplish that?”
You need to figure out if a website is a part of that how. And if it is, what kind of website would that be?
Using myself as an example
Once I finally took the time to do this myself I finally discovered that I could summarize my photographic goals in two short items:
- Improvement – I wanted to talk to other photographers and get feedback.
- Strut my stuff – I also needed to show of my work to get fun assignments.
My goals have since evolved, but a few years ago I had to figure out a way to get this to happen. And it turns out a website was not neccesary at that time, even though I thought so at first. Instead I realized I should focus on talking to others and showing them my photography as a first step – so I joined flickr and got involved in the community.
Once I talked enough to other photographers and got decent critique my pictures got immensely better, so I took it up a notch and started a (now defunct) photoblog. It was a simple text blog on blogger, so I didn’t setup or pay anything. In the blog I tried to see the small unnoticed things in my surroundings. Forcing myself to shoot on a theme like that furthered my skills even more, and a year later I felt a need to brand myself more. That’s when I created the first iteration of linusbohman.se using Wordpress. Three iterations later I’ve expanded my scope from a photoblog to an experimental playground for lego, graphics and web often enhanced by photography – but I wouldn’t have figured that out unless I took the time to realize that I first needed to better my skills. I suspect I would’ve been stuck as a rather crappy freelance photographer instead of the multi-discipline creative I am today.
So, sit down and think, and tell me: what are your goals?
