A couple planning their wedding, or an art director hiring for a campaign, usually decides within a few seconds whether a photographer’s site feels right.
In those seconds they aren’t reading your About page. They’re reading the design: the first image, the type, and how much room the work gets.
I’ve spent years around working photographers, including a stint assisting one of the names on this list. The best sites I know all get those first seconds right.
Below are 15 of the best photography websites we could find, from weddings and fashion to macro and aerial work. After the list, we pull out the design lessons they share so you can use them on your own site.
Our Top Picks for the Most Inspiring Photography Websites
1. Vincent Versace: Best for Documentary Storytelling
Vincent Versace’s website puts the people in his photos first, which is exactly what a documentary photographer needs a portfolio to do.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to work as an assistant for Vincent Versace, and his passion for photography is just as striking as his portfolio. Vincent is a Nikon Ambassador and a Computerworld Smithsonian Award recipient, and his work is part of the Museum of American History’s permanent collection.
The design lives up to the work, with bold text, high-resolution portraits and an animated header that brings his work to life. The moving images in the header draw you in and add another layer to his storytelling.
I remember trimming prints from one of his trips to Cuba while listening to wild stories of his past travels. His site feels like an extension of those stories, focused on people and stripped of anything that pulls you away from them.
Today the site also has a Workshops section, so the portfolio doubles as a way to teach.
Steal this: If your work is about people, let your homepage be their faces, not your copy.
2. Corbin Gurkin: Best for Romantic Wedding Portfolios
Corbin Gurkin’s website tells romantic couples they’re in the right place before they’ve scrolled at all.
The site feels as intimate and elegant as her wedding photography. Soft colors and plenty of white space give it the feel of a beautifully made wedding invitation, and the photos get all the room they need.
Gurkin shoots weddings near and far, and her site makes that clear with a simple menu, a “Love Stories Near & Far” tagline and sections that flow into each other. It’s a good model if you want potential clients to feel that same gentle, romantic mood.
Steal this: Write one short tagline that says what you shoot and where, and put it somewhere no visitor can miss.
3. Levon Biss: Best for Niche Macro Work
Levon Biss’s website tells you what he does within a second: insects and other tiny specimens, photographed closer than most people have ever seen them.
The site is as precise as his macro photography. A clean, structured layout, lots of white space and almost no text leave the tiny details in each photo to do the talking.
To keep distractions low, he uses a minimal top menu over a clean three-column grid. It points visitors to his projects, including the “Microsculpture” series, while the Shop and Books sections let fans take the work home.
The whole site feels like a science exhibit, which suits the subject. It’s a strong example of a niche portfolio where clarity matters more than anything else.
Steal this: Give your best-known project its own name and page, the way Microsculpture has, so people can find it and share it.
4. Will Bremridge: Best for Lifestyle and Travel Work in Motion
Will Bremridge’s website brings a bright, sunny feel to lifestyle and travel photography. What sets it apart is the in-motion GIFs mixed into his portfolio, which make the images feel alive.
The clean, simple design lets those lively visuals take over, so the site feels fun but still polished. We particularly like his gallery that displays images of varying sizes in a grid-like layout.
It’s a risky choice, because a grid of mismatched sizes can look cluttered fast. Generous margins and white space keep it in check and give the page a playful feel that suits his brand.
Steal this: Mix a few short clips or GIFs into a still gallery to make it feel alive, and give them generous margins so the page stays tidy.
5. Ian Weldon: Best for Anti-Traditional Wedding Photography
Ian Weldon’s website filters out couples who want a posed, traditional album and speaks straight to the ones who don’t. It breaks away from the typical soft and romantic wedding sites before you read a single word.
The wordmark is set in red, shaded block capitals that look almost 3D, and it’s the only color on an otherwise plain white page. It reads more like a fairground sign than a wedding logo.
A fixed sidebar on the left holds the whole menu, and the homepage itself is one slideshow with no copy at all. The opening images are unposed and funny, like a flower girl pulling a face while a guest fusses over her.
The second menu item reads “I am not a Wedding Photographer.” That page pairs a long slideshow with his own manifesto against set packages and posed group shots, and it’s the boldest piece of positioning on this list.
Steal this: Say what kind of photographer you’re not, right in your menu. It’s the fastest way to attract the clients who want what you do.
6. Haris Nukem: Best for Edgy Fashion Portfolios
Haris Nukem’s website is as bold and stylized as his fashion photography. You land on high-contrast, full-width images full of energy and attitude.
The stark, minimal design suits his editorial work, which often captures raw emotion in colorful, highly stylized urban settings.
Simple navigation and very little text keep the focus on full-bleed visuals that dominate each page. The site feels more like an art gallery than a traditional portfolio, which fits how hard his work pushes boundaries.
Steal this: If your style is loud, keep the design quiet. A stark layout leaves all the color and attitude to the photos.
7. Paul Seibert Photography: Best for Aerial Cityscapes
Paul Seibert’s website makes big views feel even bigger, which is the whole job for an aerial and cityscape portfolio.
His work is all about wide cityscapes and sweeping views. The homepage opens with a carousel of tall image panels across the content width, and the high-resolution photos carry the scale and depth of each scene.
Very little text and a centered header and footer pull your eye to the middle of the page, right where the images are.
A centered logo that splits the menu in half usually makes a site harder to get around, but here the menu sits below the header instead. Navigation stays easy, and the space around the header adds to the sense of vastness in his aerial shots.
The fog-colored background and dark tones give the site a moody feel that matches the photos. Each section leaves room to breathe, which shows how much negative space can do for large-scale photography.
Steal this: Borrow your background color from your own photos, like Seibert’s fog grey, so the site and the work feel like one piece.
8. Tim Hawley: Best for Commercial Portfolios with Many Categories
Tim Hawley’s website is sharp and modern, built around a large masonry gallery that grabs your attention right away.
His work focuses on eye-catching advertisements and product photography. The site makes that clear by sorting his portfolio into categories and naming the brands he’s worked with.
The sidebar navigation is a smart move, since it holds a lot of information without pulling attention from the images. The result feels efficient and creative at once, which suits work made for marketing.
Steal this: Name the brands you’ve shot for. Commercial clients look for that proof, so don’t make them dig for it.
9. Alexi Papalexopoulos: Best for Combined Photo and Film Portfolios
Alexi Papalexopoulos’s website blends photography and film, and the dark, moody homepage sets his bold, gritty tone right away.
Big visuals fill the layout, with striking stills and his film work front and center, some of it playing as video right on the page. The focus is on motion and energy, and a plain text menu down the left keeps distractions out.
Bold colors and typography add an intensity and rawness that mirror the work.
Steal this: If you shoot video too, let it play on your homepage instead of hiding it behind a link.
10. John & Joseph Photography: Best for Luxury Wedding Brands
The John & Joseph Photography site feels as luxurious as the high-end weddings they shoot. The homepage opens on a large black-and-white hero image, with a Harper’s Bazaar quote right below it: “Top Wedding Photographer in the World.”
That one line paints them as an upscale brand with high credibility before a visitor clicks anything. A nod to Martha Stewart Weddings adds a second layer of proof.
The design is clean and very minimal. Black-and-white photos, mixed with softer color shots, show off their mix of photojournalism and high fashion, and a quiet sidebar menu that sorts weddings by location keeps browsing simple.
That refined look makes it one of the top photography websites for winning over high-end wedding clients.
Steal this: Sort your weddings by location, so couples can see you’ve already shot in their city or at their kind of venue.
11. Monaris: Best for Cinematic Storytelling
Monaris’ website makes visitors feel like they’re watching a film before they’ve opened a single gallery.
A centered gold logo and a gold menu sit above one large hero image that looks straight out of a movie scene. Scroll down and a grid portfolio takes over, so it feels like you’re looking through stills from a film.
The black background and gold accents suit her work, which uses composition and color theory to tell a story in each frame. Even the menu, which now includes a Partnerships page, stays small enough to leave the hero alone.
Steal this: Open with one cinematic hero image and save the grid for below it. Visitors get the mood first, then the portfolio.
12. Lara Jade: Best for High-End Fashion and Beauty
Lara Jade’s website feels as luxurious as her high-end fashion and beauty photography. The homepage sets the tone with striking editorial photos in a gallery that’s refined and glamorous at once.
The sleek, minimal design puts large, optimized images up front. The pure white background and extra spacing between gallery images make the full range of skin tones pop, and that matters a lot in fashion and beauty work.
All of it says expensive, stylish and sophisticated, which is exactly Lara Jade’s brand. (I’ve been thinking about Paris Fashion Week for the last 5 minutes, so I’d say it’s working.)
Steal this: If color and skin tones matter in your work, use a pure white background and extra space between images so they read true.
13. J. La Plante: Best for Turning Visitors into Bookings
J. La Plante’s website leads with bold, vibrant images that capture the adventurous spirit of elopements and destination weddings. Large, full-width photos pull visitors straight into the locations and intimate moments in the photographer’s portfolio.
The layout keeps the visuals first but makes booking easy. A red “Book a Consultation!” button sits in the header, and a “Now booking” banner below the homepage hero gives visitors a second nudge.
We also love the testimonials and awards on the hero image, which build trust fast while still fitting the design.
Steal this: If location is part of what clients are buying, lead with the places you shoot, not just the people in them.
14. Bryan Minear: Best for Personal, Approachable Branding
Bryan Minear’s striking black-and-white website complements his colorful, atmospheric landscape photography. The homepage goes against the norm, with no images at the top of the page. Instead, he uses a full-width headline to introduce himself.
That choice makes the site feel personal and inviting, a nice contrast with the rugged, moody landscapes he shoots. Rounded corners and generous space in his galleries add to the friendly feel.
Small touches keep that familiar feel going. His photography blog is called “Journal,” which makes it feel more personal right away.
His photos are high-contrast with lots of reds and oranges, which could feel intense, but the friendly design balances them without distracting from the work.
Steal this: Try opening with a short, friendly line about who you are instead of a photo. It makes a portfolio feel personal from the first second.
15. Emilee McGovern: Best for Photojournalism
Much of Emilee McGovern’s work covers activism and political protests, and her website shows how design can support the storytelling in photojournalism. She now also presents herself as an event photographer, with a tagline that reads “Photojournalist + Event Photographer.”
Her front page is a single full-screen image that stirs up determination and outrage before you even enter the site, which sets visitors up for the rest of her work.
The front page also puts her social media buttons up front, so visitors can follow her before the rest of the full-site content competes for their attention.
Once you arrive on the main site, the black-and-white design scheme and uppercase font underscore the seriousness of her subject matter. Hover overlays on each photo make it clear where to click next and invite visitors into each event and story.
Steal this: Add a hover overlay with the story title to each photo, so visitors know what they’re about to open before they click.
What the Best Photography Websites Have in Common
Look past the different niches and styles, and the same six habits show up again and again across these 15 sites.
The images do the talking. Levon Biss, Haris Nukem and Will Bremridge use almost no text on their homepages. The work makes the first impression, and the words wait until someone goes looking for them.
One clear niche, signaled in seconds. You know Corbin Gurkin shoots romantic weddings, Levon Biss shoots tiny specimens up close and Emilee McGovern covers protests before you’ve scrolled. A visitor who has to guess what you shoot has an easy reason to leave.
Navigation that stays out of the way. Tim Hawley tucks a long list of categories into a sidebar, and Haris Nukem gets by with three links. Both keep the menu from competing with the photos.
Credibility up front. John & Joseph put a Harper’s Bazaar quote right under their hero image, and J. La Plante puts awards and testimonials on the hero itself. It’s one of the simplest fixes for the conversion problems photographers run into.
A clear next step. J. La Plante’s “Now booking” banner and red consultation button tell visitors exactly what to do next. If you’re working on getting more photography clients, a booking button nobody can miss is a good place to start.
Some sell straight from the site. Levon Biss has a Shop and Books in his menu, and Bryan Minear sells prints from his. A portfolio people already love is the easiest place to sell from.
You don’t need all six on day one. Two or three that fit your work are plenty to start with, and you can add the rest as your site grows.
The sites on this list don’t just show photos, they tell a story. Here’s how to do the same on your site.
Which Photography Website Style Fits Your Work?
The right example to borrow from depends on what you shoot and who you want to book, so we’ve matched each type of work to the sites worth studying first.
If you shoot romantic or destination weddings: Corbin Gurkin and J. La Plante are the best places to start. One shows how soft color and white space can feel like an invitation, and the other shows how to turn that feeling into bookings.
If your wedding work is unposed or unconventional: Ian Weldon’s site shows that a strong point of view can be the whole pitch.
If you want to attract luxury wedding clients: John & Joseph Photography is the one to study. A press quote right under the hero does more for their positioning than a page of copy could.
If you shoot fashion or editorial work: Haris Nukem and Lara Jade are worth comparing side by side. Nukem goes full-bleed and loud, while Lara Jade uses white space to make every skin tone glow.
If you shoot commercial or product work for brands: Tim Hawley is the model to follow. His sidebar keeps many categories organized without pulling attention away from the photos.
If your work is fine art or a narrow niche: Levon Biss shows how to let one subject carry the whole site, and his shop shows how to sell it.
If you’re a photojournalist or documentary photographer: Emilee McGovern and Vincent Versace both put people and stories first, with almost nothing in the way.
If you shoot landscapes or aerials: Paul Seibert and Bryan Minear take two different routes. Seibert gives big views plenty of room, while Minear opens with a friendly headline before any photo.
How to Build a Photography Website Like These
None of these 15 photographer websites looks like a template, and yours doesn’t have to either. If your site runs on WordPress, Imagely is a plugin built for photographers that helps you build the same kind of site without writing any code.
Galleries that match the looks you liked. Tim Hawley’s masonry wall, Will Bremridge’s mix of sizes and Haris Nukem’s sideways scroll all have a match among Imagely’s 20+ gallery displays, including Masonry, Mosaic and Sidescroll. You can try the same photos in different layouts until one feels right.
Prints that sell while you shoot. Levon Biss and Bryan Minear both sell their work from their own sites, and Imagely’s eCommerce lets visitors buy prints straight from your galleries. With automated print fulfillment, each order goes to White House Custom Colour (WHCC), who print and ship it for you.
A whole site that looks the part. The Imagely photography theme comes with 80+ designs, and importing one brings its pages, menus and galleries with it. You start close to the style you liked, then adjust layouts, fonts and colors to make it yours.
Pick the one site from the list that feels closest to your own work, and keep it open as your reference while you set things up.
If you’re starting from scratch, we’ve put together a step-by-step setup guide that walks you through it.
Build a photography website that does your work justice
Galleries that fit your style, print sales handled for you and 80+ photography designs, all on your own WordPress site.
Frequently Asked Questions About Photography Websites
What makes a good photography website?
A good photography website puts your best work first and tells visitors what you shoot within a few seconds. It also loads quickly, keeps the menu simple and gives people a clear way to contact or book you. The sites on this list show what those basics look like when they’re done well.
What should a photography website include?
At a minimum, you need a portfolio of your best work, an About page, your services and a clear way to get in touch. Many professional sites also add testimonials, a blog and a way to sell prints or book sessions. Our post on the design mistakes to avoid covers what to leave out.
How many photos should be on a photography portfolio homepage?
There’s no fixed number, but fewer and stronger usually beats more. Several sites on this list open with one large image or a single slideshow, then let visitors click through to full galleries. A lean homepage also helps your site load faster.
Do photographers need a blog on their website?
You don’t need one, but a blog gives visitors and search engines more reasons to find you. Bryan Minear’s “Journal” is a good example of a blog that feels personal rather than salesy. Writing about real shoots and locations also supports your SEO as a photographer.
How do I make my photography website stand out?
Pick one niche and make it obvious, then let your strongest images carry the design. Small details help too, like a typeface that fits your style or a booking button that’s easy to find. Borrowing one or two ideas from the examples above works better than copying a single site wholesale.
The best photography websites all start from the same place: work worth showing and a design that stays out of its way. Be sure to check out our post on photography website design tips to stand out online for more ways to put these ideas to work.
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For more photography tips and WordPress tutorials, check out our blog.
