Websites: How They Are Viewed

Websites: How They Are Viewed

by William Lulow

I thought I would review a topic I have written about previously only from a lightly different perspective. Earlier this month I wrote about how photographers’ websites are viewed by both art directors and the general public. Everyone looks at websites differently, but most give them a quick glance, probably searching for images that interest them. Rarely do they peruse the site past page one. If they are looking to acquaint themselves with the site’s owner, that may prompt them to view other pages to investigate more deeply. If they don’t see anything that interests them on page one, the chances of them looking further are slim. So, it’s common sense to put the kind of work you are seeking as a photographer on page one. I get inquiries about all sorts of jobs even though my first page is all portraits. I learned long ago, in the world of advertising, art directors get to know photographers for the kinds of images they make most. Then, when they need something like that, it might prompt them to call. IF they have saved your information. I am based in the New York City metro area but am no longer in Manhattan. However, I work in the city often as well as the surrounding suburbs and occasionally further away like in Philadelphia, Stamford, Connecticut and in Westchester County (where my most recent studio was located six years ago. I am now based in Livingston, NJ.) 

Throughout my career I have photographed product and fashion catalogs, fashion postcards, book jackets (both author’s bio pictures as well as objects) and, of course portraits for musicians and album covers and headshots for authors, actors and other performers. I know the ins and outs of photographing most anything successfully. But the subjects I love to photograph most are people. These are some of them:

So, I have put what I consider to be some of really good portraits and headshots on page one of my website. As I mentioned, photographers usually become known for a particular genre and style, and it’s probably best to showcase that rather than showing too many different ones. And, with THAT said, I have always, somehow attracted clients who need a variety of things photographed. For example, I had someone who called me with a job to photograph a dental tool:

I had done many items like this for various catalogs I photographed years ago. She wanted the LED lights to be visible and I knew just how to do it. Another client needed a product shot of a breast pump machine with plastic bottles that needed to be shown against a white background:

I had even done this kind of photograph before, so I knew just how to execute the shot. I even had a client who had some bulbs to photograph. Again, because I had experience lighting this kind of thing, I knew just what to do:

One of the things I have always loved about photography is the kinds and variety of projects that are “out there” and the number of ways various subjects can be successfully photographed. 

The problem is that not all websites are viewed in depth. People just don’t always have the time to investigate all the pages of a website, nor every image placed there by the photographer. I have taken to publishing only images that I really love and that meet my standards of excellence. I do it more for myself than anyone else. My strategy here is that if I publish images I truly love, people will see them. Again, people rarely have the time to look at a website completely. They need to get an impression of what the photographer does in the first few seconds of viewing. They have to be able to see what they want immediately. 

I have received many jobs, mostly from the appeal of my site. And, it’s really the only effective advertising I do these days. 

There is a reason for that, though. Mainly, it’s because at this stage of my career, I just want to do assignments that I want and that are offered by clients I like and respect. Another thing I have been doing quite a bit, even when I had a big studio in Manhattan, is teaching. I have had over 40 or so students since I moved my studio to New Jersey and I still enjoy teaching people of all types how to use their digital cameras, how to use artificial light to make great images and about the history of the medium as well. So I want that to show on my website, which I think I have done. 

Events are also fun things to shoot. Another of my specialties is shooting performing musicians, which I have done from the beginning of my career. 

It’s now up to people who want to get to know me and my services to dig a little deeper for more information. My basic message is that I love making images and my love of photography has been the driving force for me for the better part of my life. And, I love the challenge of making great photographs.