The web can be a fantastic way to increase your exposure when you’re starting out. Over the last few years in particular, there has been a seismic shift in the way people are using the internet. Dismissed initially by photographers as no more than somewhere to direct potential clients to when they want to see your book, photographers' websites are now increasingly being referred to by clients as a first step in the commissioning process.

When you’re starting out as a photographer, you’re going to need all the help you can get to establish yourself. While more established photographers might not want to waste their time aiming to get smaller, less well-paid jobs, the chances are that as a new kid on the block you’ll be raring to have a crack at anything that gets offered your way, and rightly so. This doesn’t mean that you should undersell your services – you should still charge a rate that is commensurate to your experience – but you should hesitate at turning your nose up at small jobs that you may feel beneath you as you can guarantee that you’ll learn something new everything you embark on a shoot, however small.

Why do I mention this? Because whereas in the past when a client who was unused to commissioning photography on a regular basis might have used an agency of some sort, relied on personal recommendation, or even turned to the Yellow Pages, people are now getting more used to using the internet to source what they’re looking for. And unlike the Yellow Pages, where there’s little way to tell one person from the next, the web can give potential clients a good idea of your talents. Plus it can give clients far more precise results than they could have ever dreamed of from a text-based directory. Say you’re after something really obscure like, say, urban fishermen, for your next Cornish pasty campaign? Just type this into google and you’re away. Ok, I admit that I have a vested interest in urban fishermen, as hopefully the search results will show, but you get the point (and yes I have had a job out of this project)… The beauty of the web is that if you shoot something specialist, you no longer have to go out of your way to find potentially interested clients – they will come to you. And the more specialist your photography is, the more your work will stand out from the crowd. This of course means that photography has to become increasingly specialised – after all, if you wanted your garden gnomes photographed and you had the choice of a specific garden gnome photographer you’d sourced on the web and a general photographer from the Yellow Pages, what would be the point in going for the general photographer?

The point is that the web has been a valid source for commissioners of photography for longer than many people realise, and is becoming more so by the day. Of course this doesn’t mean that ad and design agencies are going to stop wanting to see photographers and their books in person – there are other considerations after all than just how good your pictures are as to whether or not you get a job (professionalism, reliability etc…) but ignore the web at your peril. It’s not just people who want their gnomes photographed who are scanning the internet for talent. There have been stories recently of big clients commissioning photographers directly based on their web presence – Microsoft and Toyota for starters. What’s also interesting about these two cases is that they weren’t even professionals who got the work but talented amateurs who’d posted their photos on Flickr. This is just another indication of how technology is muddying the distinctions between amateur and pro (see this article for more on this).

In practical terms, though, assuming you’ve got no web experience, how do you go about promoting yourself? Well, it can actually be quite simple to get going. If you’ve got absolutely nothing online at all, you could quite possibly have clients calling you up within 24 hours. No joke. How? Firstly by using a template-based web service to get some of your photos on the web until you’re rich enough to get a designer to build you a custom site or learn to do it yourself. And secondly by using something I personally have used effectively for the past few years and know others who have described it as a ‘career saver’. It’s basically a form of online advertising but potentially so cheap that even one job could pay for your year’s costs. It has to be used cleverly though for it to be effective - you can read an article on exactly how to do it here (note: this article is for premium members of the site – this isn’t just to annoy you if you’re browsing, but because a) I don’t want the whole world to know how to do this or it wouldn’t be effective any more and b) because I like to make premium members feel a bit special).

Whether or not you follow this route, you should in any case be taking a long-term view at increasing your web presence and visibility. The sooner you start, the sooner it’s going to pay dividends. One of the most important things you should be looking at if you're interested in your site doing the work for you is getting the search engines on your side. Unfortunately, as far as the likes of Google and Yahoo are concerned, images don’t provide a lot of information for them to index (at least not yet). So you need to include text in your site, and that text should include keywords that people might use to search for your work. The more specific it is, the better. Use Flash sparingly, and don’t even think about having distracting things like sound to accompany your pictures. Nothing’s guaranteed to turn off a potential client faster (other than, perhaps, an intricate introduction page - steer clear of these like the plague). If your images are strong, they should speak for themselves – all you need is a site with simple functionality to support them.

The web these days is all about content and interaction, so if you’re able to provide any writing to accompany your photography, so much the better. A blog for example is a great way of boosting your site’s popularity amongst search engines – they love it if they can see that people are actively participating in your site and linking through to you. And if search engines like you, then that means potential clients can find you more easily, which means you’ll soon find work coming your way. It’s not an easy thing to do, but if you put in the hours and are able to create a site that’s more than just jpegs, then the natural selection process of the web is bound to ensure you start heading to the top of the pile.

©Duncan Soar 2007