MarsBreed

5 BEST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Social media offers an excellent opportunity for photographers to connect with potential clients. In the digital era, it's a great asset. By showcasing your work on these networks, you can reach new audiences. Whether you are a professional or freelance photographer, the following social platforms will help you show off your work and get the right people to take notice...

1. Behance: Behance is a classic portfolio publishing network that functions like a LinkedIn for creatives. Designed by Adobe, this is one of the best photography networking sites currently out there. The platform is ideal for sharing your portfolio and favorite images, allowing other Behance users to like and comment on your photos. By learning from their feedback and professional critiques, you can improve your work. The coolest feature of Behance is that it lets you find professional gig opportunities right on the platform. With your portfolio already available on the site, getting work becomes effortless.

2. Visura: Visura is not exclusively for photographers. It also allows editors and other visual creative freelancers to connect and become part of a personal network. Using the sharing tools of Visura, you can make sure that your work reaches the right people. Apart from publishing your photography portfolio, this platform also lets you blog about and share news of your work with a wider community. Since this web platform also has photojournalists among its members, it offers a great opportunity to connect with them for better exposure.

3. Pinterest: Pinterest is different from other social media sites as it is not all about getting likes or followers. It provides links to your website and draws potential clients. This means sharing images on Pinterest can lead the business to your website. Using beautiful pins, you can showcase your photography skills to the world. Its quick sharing option attracts more people to your work in a short time. Pinterest also keeps you up-to-date on the latest photography trends. Many users utilize this platform to find wedding and event photographers. If any photo goes viral, you don’t have to wait to get tons of work.

4. Exposure: If you are a photographer who wants to share stories about your photos with the whole world, this is the right social media platform for you. Although the free plan for Exposure will let you publish only three stories per month, you can always subscribe to its paid plans for more. Reading the stories posted on Exposure will provide you with the feeling of going through your favorite magazine. Its neat and easy-to-read layout with photos in large format makes browsing the platform convenient.

5. Instagram: Instagram is the compulsory entry in the list of any photography-related social platforms. The immense popularity of this website puts your portfolio on a platform with around one billion users. Besides offering a space to share works and ultimately compile a virtual gallery, it lets you engage with your followers. You can drive inspiration from them and build confidence for bigger projects. You can also develop a community of photo lovers through your account because this platform is full of people searching for stunning photography and connections. Use it as a valuable marketing tool by posting high-quality photos that attract potential clients.

PROS AND CONS OF WIX PORTFOLIO

The first thing you might be thinking is whether building a Wix portfolio is really worth it. After all, platforms like Dribbble and Behance are free, and can do a perfectly good job of showcasing your work.

However, there are a few advantages to building a Wix portfolio, to give you a little food for thought:

1. You can actually create a Wix portfolio for free. You only need to pay if you want to add certain features (e.g. ad-free site, use your own domain, access extra features)

2. With sites like Dribbble and Behance, you get virtually no say in how your work is displayed. Wix on the other hand offers over 60 portfolio templates to choose from – and the designs are genuinely impressive (more on that shortly

3. Thanks to Wix’s built-in apps and vast integration library, there is a ton of extra functionality you can add to your site. Think blogs, contact forms, newsletter signups, image galleries, videos, and much, much more. It offers countless options to enrich the user experience of your site, which can translate into more business for you.

Now... consider these 3 cons

1. It’s true that sites without ads tend to convey a higher level of professionalism. That’s why it’s likely that you’d (eventually) need to purchase an ad-free plan – and Wix’s prices (starting at $16/month) come out slightly higher than those of website builders such as Weebly and Webnode, and of popular portfolio builders like Semplice, Format and Cargo.

2. Unfortunately, Wix’s page loading speeds aren’t the fastest, lagging behind most other website builders for both desktop and mobile. That could affect both user experience and SEO rankings, although I’d say this is more of an issue for animation-heavy sites, or if you’re selling your products online.

3. Although there’s a good amount of flexibility baked into Wix’s editor, you won’t get the same amount of design control as with a hand-coded or WordPress-developed website – something to consider if you prefer to start from a blank canvas, and have free rein over your design. (If this is the case, it might also be worth checking out Webflow, which is a good middle ground.

Now that you know the pros and cons of a Wix portfolio, you have a wealth of choice to chose from. Need further consultation? Contact us now.

WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER ADOBE PORTFOLIO

Adobe Portfolio comes free with any Adobe Creative Cloud plan. It allows you to build a portfolio website quickly to showcase your creative work or photography. Adobe Portfolio is one of the best solutions if you want a personal portfolio website but don’t want to put too much work into it. It comes with elegant themes optimized for photographers, graphic designers, or even illustrators. Your Adobe membership includes unlimited hosting and bandwidth. You can upload as many photos as you’d like.

If you’re already working with Lightroom, there’s no doubt you should take a look at Adobe Portfolio first. Check out the pros:

1. Adobe Portfolio Themes: There are 8 Adobe Portfolio themes available. Each comes with a modern and slick look and feel. Other platforms offer more themes. Having too many options makes it a lot harder to pick one. You can customize and edit each theme in Adobe Portfolio. But you are limited to the basic look and feel. The interface is easy to use. You don’t need any knowledge of HTML or coding.

2. Lightroom Integration: You don’t need to export images and upload them individually. Just pick a Lightroom album using the Adobe Portfolio Interface. They’ll display automatically on your website. Here’s another huge advantage. How often do you re-edit a photo? I know I do it a lot. In many website galleries, a new image edit would mean uploading it from scratch. Adobe Portfolio tackled that problem. All your Lightroom edits sync to your Adobe Portfolio pages. They can be updated on your website automatically.

3. Automatically Resizes Your Photos: Adobe Portfolio automatically reduces the resolution of the image to optimize load time and viewing. This makes it less likely for someone to steal your photos. And you don’t need to worry about optimizing your photos for the web. It also means you don’t really need watermarks over your photos.

There are always going to be potential clients who want to see your work on your own personal website. It looks more professional and shows more about you than just your work which could be the determining factor in landing a job.

Adobe portfolio is a great choice for beginners or for semi-professional photographers to create their photography portfolio.

WHY DO I RECOMMEND PIXIESET?

If you’ve ever looked for an all-in-one platform to share and sell your photography, Pixieset is, in my opinion, worth checking out. It’s not the only site of its kind out there by any means, but it’s the one I prefer. If ‘cutesy’ isn’t your thing, don’t let the name discourage you; it’s a powerful tool for professionals and hobbyists alike. Here’s a complete Pixieset Review, including all of the pros and cons of the online gallery.

First, let’s start with what Pixieset is. They originally started as a simple online gallery for professional photographers where pros, mainly wedding photographers, could store and share final images with their clients. They added print partner integrations for online ordering, website functionality, and more over time. According to their website, it’s “an all-in-one platform for modern photographers, offering photo client galleries, websites, online stores and studio management software tools.”

Top Reasons:

1. Lightroom plugin: This reason deserves to be listed first because it’s often the most overlooked feature of Pixieset. The Lightroom plugin allows you to export directly to Pixieset. Why is this important? Because the process of exporting to your computer and then uploading to your online gallery is time consuming, especially for large weddings.

2. Aesthetics – Easy on the eyes: Pixieset galleries look polished and professional, are responsive, and are mobile-optimized. Their recent acquisition of Flothemes should only amplify the design and aesthetics of their galleries and websites!

3. User friendly: It’s pretty painless to get up and running with it and there’s a support page to help out before contacting customer service if needed, and the whole experience is intuitive.

4. Sell Photos via Their Print Lab Integrations: Clients can order directly via Pixieset’s shopping cart. You can either self-fulfill or choose one of the three labs the company works with. If you choose lab fulfillment, you can set a blanket percentage markup or mark products up individually. The client places their order, pays their own shipping, and products are shipped directly to them from the lab.

5. Can Double as a Website: If you don’t have your own domain, you can create Pixieset galleries for different areas of your portfolio which can be viewed from “yourname.pixieset.com.” Setup is simple and straightforward, and you will gain a place to direct potential clients to view your work. If you only want to share your work for kicks, this is still a great option that is simpler to set up than a website from say, Squarespace or WordPress, and more polished and personal than most hobbyist-centric photo sharing platforms. Photo communities are wonderful, but it’s nice to have your very own little slice of the web too.

If you’re a photographer, you know that having your own website is essential to your business. Not only does it give you a place to showcase your work, but it also allows potential clients to contact you and learn more about your services

But how can you find the best website builder for photographers?

To help make your decision easier, I’ve compiled a list of the 7 best website builders for photographers.

1. Elementor: Elementor is a web builder designed with creatives in mind. It has templates for media, eCommerce, and resumes. And it has specific portfolio templates for photographers. If you’re worried about your computer skills, there’s no need to worry with Elementor. The interface is intuitive and easy to use. Many of the features work with an easy drag-and-drop system. It’s perfect for your first website builder.

2. Squarespace: If you’re looking for the most fashionable home for your photos, Squarespace is the one. The builder might have enticed many photographers with its attention to visual design but it’s also making waves thanks to its intuitive dashboard and features suited for photographers, such as managing events and bookings.

3. Zyro: At the top of the list in the best website builder for photographers picks is Zyro. The platform is relatively new but it has made a name for itself by simplifying and accelerating the website creation process. Plus, it includes beautiful picture-centered templates, and excellent AI business tools – at a price, several times lower than its closest competitors.

4. Pixieset: Pixieset is another website builder designed for photographers. A no-code tool that will make it extremely easy for you to create a beautiful website to showcase and sell your photos. It comes with plenty of templates and it allows you to create a website, a client's gallery, a studio manager, or a store. It comes with a client management tool that allows you to create invoices for your clients and manage contracts and forms so you won't even need to leave the editor for those tasks. It has a modern look and feel, and although it is more simple than other web editors, is perfect for those who want to have something up and running in no time.

5. Wix: Wix offers a much cheaper solution compared to all the others but you can still create a professional photography website. Wix is focused on being easy to use. The entry to the product is very quick because you can do quite a lot with the free version - to at least get you started but you will surely want to select a paid plan to advance your website further. One great thing about Wix is their ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence), you will get asked questions about the website you want to build, and from your answers, the ADI will help generate a working website for you. Definitely a good website builder for photographers.

Hello there... My name is Oscar, pioneer of Marsbreed Initiatives.

Marsbreed is dedicated to supporting Photographers maintain a healthy online presence. This includes, but not limited to, website setup, online gallery, one-click booking function, asset sale and featuring and social media management.

Photographers deserve a bold presence online that not only displays an attractive portfolio but also declares availability. A key feature to support this is "easy accessibility" where potential clients can easily contact you and book your top quality service.

We offer FREE consultation services for every photographer who's ready to take their craft to the world wide web. Support is also fully available for photographers who need management and V.A support.

Marsbreed is dedicated to seamless integration and management of your online tools as a Photographer. This includes Wix, Pixieset, Adobe Gallery, Showit, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

Got any problems??? We are ready to serve you.

Message us now!