A portfolio website is an essential marketing tool for any creative professional. Whether you’re a designer or a photographer, potential clients will judge your capabilities by what they see at your portfolio site. In many cases, your portfolio site will be one of the most significant factors that a client considers when they are deciding who t hire.

Photographer portfolio sites showcase work, provide biographical information regarding the photographer, often include a contact page, and are perfect for inspiration and creative influence. Below are 25 portfolios with different styles and approaches.

Web designers often browse through portfolio websites of other designers for inspiration and ideas that can be used in their own work. Photographers, like designers, need to display an attractive portfolio for their website visitors, and many photographers have excellent portfolio sites.

In this post, I’d like to take a look at some of the best. Here you’ll find photography sites that are well designed and also showcase amazing photos. You’ll see a few different styles and approaches. Many use a large background image or a large slider to showcase the photos at their best. Others use many smaller thumbnail images to fill the screen. A minimalist design style is also common because it allows the photos to be the center of attention rather than being overpowered by the design details of the site.

If you use WordPress, one resource we’ve come to love for photographers is Photocrati. It’s a WordPress theme that is specifically made for photographers. Using their theme will help you create a stunning and responsive photography website.

You can also see our collection of the best WordPress photography themes for more ideas and options.

The website of Jen Huang Bogan features large photos on the homepage (you can scroll down the page to see more). The navigation menu is simple and located in the left sidebar.

This site is different from most others showcased on this page because of the sticky footer navigation menu.

Pedro on the World, the site of Pedro Oliveira, uses a splash page that leads to the nice portfolio page shown below.

Dave Hill’s homepage features thumbnails of several photos and films. The design utilizes a white background and minimal styling with a navigation menu in the header.

A clean, minimal layout and design that puts focus on the photos.

Peter McKinnon’s site is currently a one-page site that directs visitors to a few different projects.

The portfolio site of Theron Humphrey uses a light background color and a minimalist style. The front page showcases medium-sized versions of several different photos.

Clean design and layout with a slide to showcase photos on the homepage.

Photographer Giles Clement uses full-screen photos and a unique design to create a portfolio site that really stands out while showcasing his work.

The site of Eric Ryan Anderson uses a clean design and layout with a white background and very basic navigation menu. The photos take center stage.

Deanie Chen also uses a white background and a simple design with a left sidebar. The main area of the homepage uses a slider to showcase the photos.

JUCO, the site of Julia Galdo and Cody Cloud, stands out from the crowd with many bright and colorful photos on the homepage.

Clean design that showcases several photos above the fold.

This site features a video on the homepage and a clean, elegant layout.

A large background photo is the most prominent aspect of this website’s homepage.

Gavin Gough’s website is unique. While it showcases photos, it uses an approach of showcasing different stories or themes.

The full-size background photo takes center stage in this design.

This is another site that makes excellent use of large background images to show off the work.

Beautiful showcase of photos in a grid.

This design complements the black & white photos that are on display.

Morgan Norman’s site uses a splash page with a large image that leads to the portfolio page shown below.

A splash page allows visitors to choose to enter the website or view details about Brandon’s book, Ultraviolet. If you choose to enter the website, you’ll see the portfolio shown below.

Horizontal scrolling is used to showcase the photos on this site.

Another example of a clean design/layout that makes use of horizontal scrolling.

A clean design and layout with a white background and two columns of photos.

Emilee McGovern’s homepage uses a full-screen background with links to the two different sections of her portfolio: photojournalism and editorial.

Many thumbnails are used to showcase a variety of photos on this homepage.

Ben Yan’s site uses horizontal scrolling to showcase the photos.

Deb Schwedhelm’s site features a clean design and a large slideshow on the homepage.

Peter FIsher’s site uses a white background and a simple layout with minimal styling. The homepage features two columns of photos.

Take note of the obvious and subtle differences in how photographers manage their layout and site organization. The design of the site should serve the style and purpose of your portfolio. While there are a number of different approaches used by the sites in this showcase, one thing they all have in common is a simple or clean layout. In order for the photos to stand out, the design and layout should be simple.

Photographers will have thousands of photos to choose from for their home image(s). It might take some time to decide what imagery you want visitors to see first, but quality is better than quantity. You want to give each photograph the space it needs on screen. Try to pull them in with one or two striking images that will encourage more exploration.

Many photography sites use a toggle feature that allows for viewing photos one-by-one, or seeing a thumbnail grid for a quick overview. A scrolling grid with mid to large-sized images is a great, simple way to encourage visitors to keep viewing, plus this will feel familiar to anyone who uses Instagram.

Use text wisely. If your portfolio is journalistic or story-based, it might make sense to include some context or explanation with the photos. Testimonials or price information makes sense in some cases, too. Just make sure that the text doesn’t overwhelm the page and detract from the impact of the photography.