It’s a Portfolio Site. It’s an Archive. It’s Both!

We talk to a lot of photographers.

And although we get many compliments on our websites, we also hear from a lot of people who want a “portfolio” section that mimics a lot of the great Flash-based websites out there. The key components seem to be a very simplified interface with a limited number of galleries in a slick presentation.

We resisted the idea for a few years because there were some good options for photographers already, and we had numerous clients who had integrated a Flash-based portfolio site into PhotoShelter successfully. But Flash isn’t without its problems, and asking people to integrate sites can be pretty onerous.

Then a few months ago, a few things came into convergence. First, we came across Typekit, which gave us really cool web-based fonts that could be used to create dynamically driven menus, and second, we continued to adopt more contemporary AJAX code which allowed us to create animated websites without the need for Flash.

PhotoShelter is great for creating tons of online content, but sometimes you want a different way to highlight your best images and galleries. The Portfolio option makes it easier than ever. It’s also a great way for photographers who do a lot of commissioned work to present their best images to prospect for new work while delivering current projects in private galleries.

Setting up your Portfolio is easy. From any of your galleries, click the “Feature in Portfolio” link.

You can pick up to 10 galleries, and you can drag them into your preferred order.

From your Website Customization screen, just check “Portfolio” in the navigation options.

When you view your website, you’ll now see a drop down menu for your portfolio.

Navigating is easy. If you click on the right side of the image, you’ll go forward in the sequence. The left side goes back. We also have unobtrusive links to show caption and view the more detailed view of the image from your archive.

Let me show you with a little video…

We also programmed the Portfolio with AJAX so that the page doesn’t have to reload when you move between images. And unlike a lot of Flash sites, we made sure every image has a unique URL so that you can easily cut and paste your favorite images.

So rather than paying $40/month and up for a Flash-based portfolio site with limited functionality, why not try a full-featured PhotoShelter website with built-in sales, high res file distribution, and more for only $29.99/month?