How to Build a Photography Web Site Using Homestead
Websites are a great way for photographers to create an online portfolio to highlight their talents and show their work to prospective clients. Photographers without Web design experience can choose from various companies who offer free and low-cost Web hosting and design packages. One such company is Homestead, run and operated by Intuit. Learn how to build a photography website using Homestead to quickly publish your online photography portfolio.
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Things You'll Need
- Digital copies of your photographs
- Image editing software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop or GIMP)
Instructions
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1
Create a new folder on your computer. Place all digital copies of photographs that you wish to upload online into this folder. Check the file size by right-clicking each file and selecting "Properties" (on a Windows PC) or "Get Info" (on a Mac). Reduce the size of images that are too large by saving them at a smaller canvas size or lower quality in the image editing program of your choice.
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2
Register for an account at Homestead if you haven't already done so (see Resources below). Once your registration is complete, log in to your account.
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3
Create a new website using Homestead's built-in website templates. Choose a template that follows the theme of your photography portfolio. For example, choose one of Homestead's wedding website templates if you specialize in wedding photography.
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Edit each page by clicking "Edit." Enter information about your photography, skills, expertise and any relevant information regarding the online photography website you are building. Change the template's default images by clicking each photo and uploading your own photography from the file on your computer that you created in Step 1.
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Consider storing your photographs on an third-party server if you have a lot of images and exceed Homestead's five-page limit while trying to build a photography website. Various companies host photographs online for free, with one of the largest being Yahoo's Flickr service (see Resources below).
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Upload your images to a folder in your Flickr account and create a new slideshow.
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Embed the slideshow in the Homestead photography website that you're building. Type the following code into your Homestead photography website to display a changing, automated slideshow highlighting all of your photographs: <iframe align=center src=http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?user_id=YOURUSDERID width=400 height=400></iframe>. Change "YOURUSERID" to the custom ID assigned to your account.
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Promote the online portfolio you've built into your Homestead photography website. Consider mentioning your online Homestead photography site on your business cards, and include a link to the site in your email signature.
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Tips & Warnings
Use a third-party photo sharing website (such as Flickr) to add a photo slide show to your Homestead photography site.
