David is a self-proclaimed “lighting artist.”

And from the work on his site, I’d say that’s a fair title.

Especially when you look at some of his fashion portraitures.

The quality of his work is high, but his website needs work.

To be fair, he did tell me he was still tweaking it.

So some of the nitpicky stuff I point out might already be fixed by the time you see this.

There are little things like not having a favicon, or using inconsistent language in navigation.

And more important things like how to organise all the different types of work he can do.

And finding the best way and order to present it.

There’s no real hierarchy and it’s hard to tell which of the many things he can do, he really wants to do.

It’s also hard not to notice that his personal brand doesn’t match the quality of his images.

The layout, graphics, and copy could all be improved, and I think some more craft here would go a long way.

Most photographers get around this in one of two ways:

1. They remove all personal branding and simply let the photos speak for themselves.
2. Or they work with a designer and copywriter to create a look and feel that represents them well.

My suggestion is if you want to go the second route, embrace the first while you figure things out.

(An easy short-term fix might be to make the background of the site black or white to create a better “frame” for the photography and use blue for your logo.)

I like how David has used the fewest words possible to make the biggest impression in his bio.

He’s worked with some big brands!

But they’re missing from his site and this seems odd.

Here’s my last suggestion, if you’re shooting for ads, show the ads in your folio.

The ad nerds (like me) will love you for it.

Thank you for sharing your portfolio with me.