PhotoShelter Member Robin Moore: Why Beam Works for Me

PhotoShelter Member Robin Moore: Why Beam Works for Me

Award-winning photographer Robin Moore says that he ” immediately liked Beam’s website design because of the strong emphasis on the images themselves.” After all, your portfolio should do the heavy lifting when it comes to showcasing your work in the best way possible.

Most prospective clients spend an average of 30 seconds to a minute on a website before they decide to leave, so you should be investing in a portfolio website that will “wow” visitors and inspire them to learn more about you and your work.

Over the years, photo buyers have shared their thoughts on what makes a great website. The response was clear: buyers prefer sites that are simple and easy to navigate, load fast, are iPad/tablet compatible, and showcase your brand’s personality.

If you’re looking for a bold and striking way to get your work out there, then Beam might be right for you. Beam is PhotoShelter’s new portfolio website platform that lets photographers easily create beautiful, responsive websites that take advantage of today’s top technology trends. That means showcasing your images at their highest quality, with simple navigation between various portfolio galleries, and the ability to showcase videos, your blog, and even your Instagram feed from within your site. Says Robin, “Beam is exactly what I was looking for in an online portfolio.”

Robin is using Beam’s “Marquee” template design, featuring full-bleed image presentation on the homepage that really lets your images do the talking. This particular template (one of our now available with Beam) is ideal for photographers who shooting styles are varied – the tab-based navigation lets visitors easily browse different specialties and projects.

We spoke with Robin to learn more about his decision to use the new portfolio websites offered by Beam.

Why did you choose the “Marquee” template for your new Beam website?

I want a site that brings the best out of my images and I felt that the new designs achieved this. Size sometimes does matter – and I like my images to be viewed as large as possible. Marquee was the ideal template for showcasing my images at full screen without unnecessary distracting elements. I liked many of the features of this template, especially the ease of transitioning from the homepage into my featured galleries.

How do you think your clients will perceive the new design?

I expect they will love it. It is a more streamlined visiting experience, and I think it will be easier for the clients to get a feel for my work and to find the images they are looking for. The easier I can make life for the clients in finding what they need, the better.

What new Beam integrations do you find most exciting?

I never really missed having video integration in the past – but now that Vimeo seamlessly integrates into my site, I can’t believe I never had this before. I am excited by the potential to showcase moving as well as still images. The mobile compatibility is also a must these days – I think this is a deal maker on these new sites.

How did you find the process of building and customizing your new site?

I have overall found the process of customizing the new site very intuitive. I am very grateful that no knowledge of code is needed to make the changes I want to make. In the past I integrated WordPress with Photoshelter, and that extra step just increased the chances of something going wrong. And when things did go wrong, I could never be sure if it was on the WordPress or the Photoshelter end. The new customization interface has streamlined the process for me – meaning less time fiddling with websites and more time out shooting!

Beyond the new website templates, what’s your favorite PhotoShelter feature?

I have always valued the ability to store my entire archive of images on Photoshelter, safely and securely, and to share galleries and lightboxes with clients from anywhere with an Internet connection. I travel a lot internationally, and the capability to quickly and easily share images with clients directly from my website is a wonderful tool. I am excited by the fact that my image archive is now also my primary online portfolio.

Check out Robin Moore’s new portfolio website powered by Beam at robinmoore.photoshelter.com.

Next Post:
Previous Post:
This article was written by

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *