FOR ARTISTS & CREATIVES
What Should a Photography Website Include? A Page-by-Page Guide
A page-by-page checklist for UK photographers: home page, galleries, about, pricing, testimonials, booking, blog and legal pages.
How photographers can introduce themselves on camera: a simple structure, script prompts, ideal length, lighting, captions and the best places to show the video.
An about me video for photographers is a short film, usually 60 to 90 seconds, in which you introduce yourself to camera. Say who you are and who you work with, how a session feels and what to do next. Film in soft natural light with clean sound and add captions. Put it on your about page and home page.
Your portfolio proves you can take a good picture. An about me video for photographers answers the question a nervous client is usually asking underneath: what are you like to work with? Plenty of photographers hate being on the other side of the lens. If that’s you, relax. The film doesn’t have to be polished. It has to sound like you.
This guide is for UK photographers who shoot portraits, weddings, families, headshots, commercial work or events, and who want a simple way to introduce themselves that they can repeat whenever they need to.
Picture a prospective client sitting across a table from you. They want to know four things.
Add a little personality. That might be why you started, what you love about the work, or one small detail that sticks in the memory. Leave out your career history. Clients want to know about the experience they’ll have, and a list of qualifications won’t tell them that.
Four parts keep you on track and stop you rambling.
| Part | Roughly | What to say |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | 5 to 10 seconds | Your name, what you photograph and where |
| Story | 20 to 30 seconds | Why you do this and what you care about |
| Process | 20 to 30 seconds | What a shoot with you feels like |
| Invitation | 5 to 10 seconds | What the viewer should do next |
Break up the talking with a few seconds of you at work, or a handful of your best pictures. Those cutaways also show your style in action. If you’d like a more produced version, our videography for photographers team can film and edit it with you.
Don’t write a speech and learn it by heart. Jot down answers to a few questions, then say them out loud in your own words. Start with these:
Record several takes. Keep the one that sounds most like you chatting to a friend. A few stumbles won’t hurt. A relaxed take beats a flawless one that sounds read off a card.
Make your main version 60 to 90 seconds. That’s long enough to show who you are and short enough that people stay to the end. A longer two to three minute version can work on your website, provided every sentence earns its place. And a 15 to 30 second cut-down comes in handy for social media and email.
Nobody has set a fixed rule, so watch how people respond. If viewers drop off early, trim it or bring your best line forward.
Choose somewhere that suits your work and won’t pull attention away from you. A tidy corner of the studio works. So does a favourite location, or a spot at a venue your clients know. Stay away from busy backgrounds and noisy places like an open street or a cafe.
You’re a photographer. Viewers will notice bad light. Face a big window so the light falls softly on your face, keeping the window in front of you or off to one side. Never put it behind you. Don’t mix lamps with daylight, and avoid harsh light from overhead.
People will forgive slightly soft video long before they forgive bad audio. Use a clip-on microphone if you can. Turn off fans and notifications, and record a few seconds of silence to make editing easier. Set the camera at eye level and look into the lens, not at the screen.
Add captions. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative describes captions as a text version of the speech and non-speech audio needed to understand the content. They mostly help people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. They also help people who take in written information better than audio.
The W3C’s planning guidance recommends addressing accessibility as the video is planned and produced, and it says automatic captions are not sufficient on their own. So in real terms:
Your about page comes first. Put the video near the top, above your biography.
On your home page, a short version near the first screen lets new visitors meet you straight away. It also earns its place on your contact and enquiry pages, because people who are about to get in touch are reassured by a friendly face.
Pin it or feature it on your social profiles so it’s the first thing new followers see. And put a link or thumbnail in the reply you send to enquiries.
For the bigger picture, read our marketing for photographers guide.
The Limelight Company is a UK personal-branding and marketing agency, and working photographers are part of our team. Through our videography for photographers service we can help you plan your script, film your introduction, and edit it into versions for your website and social media. We agree a clear brief, scope and fee with you before any work begins.
It’s a short film in which you introduce yourself to camera. You cover who you are and what you photograph, how you work with clients, and what they should do next. Think of it as a friendly first meeting that happens before anyone gets in touch, so they feel they already know you.
Try not to read it word for word, because that usually sounds stiff. Write bullet points or short answers to a few questions and practise them out loud. Then record several takes in your own words, and keep the one that sounds most like you talking to a client.
No. A recent phone on a tripod can give you a good result if you add window light and a clip-on microphone. A professional brings better lighting and sound, plus framing and editing. That’s worth paying for if the video is the centrepiece of your website or you feel awkward on camera.
Yes. Captions help people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, and anyone who can’t play sound at that moment. W3C guidance says automatic captions are not sufficient. Check them and correct them. A transcript on the page gives people one more accessible way to read the same words.
Update it when something significant changes, such as a new look or new services, a move to a new location, or a shift to a different type of client. Many photographers keep a version for two or three years. Every so often, check it still sounds like you and still matches what you offer.
A page-by-page checklist for UK photographers: home page, galleries, about, pricing, testimonials, booking, blog and legal pages.
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Four quick questions, and we’ll show you where we’d start. Your answers come straight to us with your message, so you won’t have to explain it twice.
A 30-minute introduction call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Your answers come with the booking, so we’ll be ready for you.
Prefer to talk it through? Make an appointment for a 30-minute call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
A closer look at the work behind each part of your plan.
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