Portfolio works like a business card and helps you attract new clients. Creating any type of online portfolio is a daunting task and especially, if you are designing a photo portfolio, then the job becomes even more difficult.

A photographer can’t fill his portfolio web design with text and drawings. He has to showcase his photographs in an eye catching style and impress his potential clients.

However, during portfolio design, photographers often make mistakes and ruin the visual appeal of their site. They either try too much or too less and fail to impress the viewers. Here is a list of some common mistakes and how you can avoid them.

• Improper Arrangement- The basic rule of any type of website design is proper arrangement of web pages. When people will come to your site, they would like to know about you and the services you offer. If you place “gallery” page after “contact” page in anticipation of better business, clients may get confused.
• Too Much Material- You may have taken 1000 photographs in various events, but that does not mean you should upload all the photographs in your portfolio. Be selective and choose only your best photographs.

You can also create different albums to prove your versatility. For instance, you can design “wedding”, “fashion event”, “birthday” albums and upload relevant photos in each album.

If you also offer photo editing services, then display some of the photos you have edited to mesmerize your audience. In the “photo editing” album, put the actual photo and the edited copy side by side to prove your editing skills.

• Trying Too Hard- A complicated portfolio design can ruin your business. Some photographers think complicated design looks professional, but that’s not true. Don’t forget that your clients are looking for an expert photographer, not a web design expert. Hence, you should design a simple portfolio to increase conversion rate.

However, that does not mean you need to design a bland portfolio. You can use a Flash gallery in your site and present the photographs aesthetically. Add audio effects to the Flash gallery to set the mood.

• Confusing Navigation- Design a simple and easy to use navigation process for your portfolio and help the viewers scan your web pages effortlessly. If you have multiple pages under one category, then design a drop down menu. For instance, if you have three photo albums in the gallery, you can design the drop down menu like this- Gallery>wedding album>birthday album>fashion show album.
• Aesthetic Chaos- Whatever content and images you may share in the portfolio site, always maintain the visual balance. Don’t use garish colors or unreadable fonts. Choose eye soothing light colors for website background so that the photographs grab viewers’ attention. Give enough white space between text content and images to give your portfolio a clean and professional look.

While designing the online photo portfolio, stay away from the aforementioned five mistakes. However, if you don’t want to take any chances with your portfolio design, you should hire a website design company India and take their professional help.