Last Updated on 08/12/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
If you don’t have a photography website for your portfolio, you’re doing something really stupid for your work.
This is a very, very strong opinion; one that I actually feel is a fact. It’s taken me a really long time to sit and ruminate over this idea, but I’ve come to the ultimate conclusion that if you’re one of those photographers who only showcases their Instagram, then you’re doing yourself an injustice. Why? How? Well, some of this comes from just what many photographers complain about when it comes to Instagram.
Instagram, first and foremost, isn’t your website. You don’t own it. It doesn’t really have your branding all over it. It can be shut down at a moment’s notice for just not adhering to their terms of use. But with an actual website, that stuff is significantly different. If you’re generally doing illegal things, then a server/host may shut your website down. But the only thing cutting the reach of your website is you. You’re probably not creating blog posts to get yourself that Google link juice that puts you at the higher end terms for SEO. You’re probably not driving people to your website. You’re probably not updating it. You’re also probably not pushing it hard enough.
With Instagram, you’re pushed to produce new content and post all the time in an effort to make the best of the platform’s algorithm. That’s all it’s about. So you’re not necessarily curating and displaying the best of your best work. What do I mean by that? The creme de la creme! When I ran La Noir Image, I had this one idea: show off 10 images to a millionaire, you have a chance to get one sold of $1,000,000. In that situation, which images would you bring along? You’ve only got one shot!
That’s the mentality you should have on your website because when someone comes there, you need to captivate someone. You need to display the absolute best photos in your portfolio. The stuff you normally post to Instagram can go on blog posts. After this, you can push that content out on Instagram. At that point, you’re at least building two platforms at once. But when you just build your Instagram, all you’re doing is building a portfolio on a platform that isn’t going to specifically get you all that you need to make sales, etc.
“But I’m just a hobbyist!” is what I’m sure some of you are saying.
To which, I retort, “So what?” If you care enough to have professional gear, you should apply that mentality holistically to your entire body of work. Your presence should be professional as well with a website.
No, this isn’t a sponsored post about a website. They’re just some thoughts that have been simmering inside of me to the point where I hear conversation after conversation about the algorithm. They’ve boiled to the top.
Discuss please in the comments, I’d love to hear your insights.