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The part of your portfolio page visible without scrolling. Place your strongest images and key message here. First impressions matter — art directors decide within seconds.
Key photography and portfolio terms explained simply. Everything you need to understand when building and managing your photography portfolio online.
The part of your portfolio page visible without scrolling. Place your strongest images and key message here. First impressions matter — art directors decide within seconds.
A text description added to images for accessibility and SEO. Describe what is in the photo so search engines can index your work and screen readers can describe it to visually impaired visitors.
The opening in a lens that controls how much light reaches the sensor. Measured in f-stops (f/1.8, f/8, f/16). A wider aperture creates a shallower depth of field.
The proportional relationship between width and height of an image. Common ratios include 3:2 (standard DSLR), 4:3 (micro four thirds), and 16:9 (widescreen). Affects how images display in gallery layouts.
The aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas in a photograph, created by shooting at wide apertures. Often used in portrait and wedding photography for soft, dreamy backgrounds.
The percentage of visitors who leave your portfolio after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may mean your landing page or gallery does not engage visitors enough.
A camera setting that captures multiple frames per second when the shutter button is held down. Essential for action, sports, and wildlife photography.
A workflow where you upload session images to a private gallery so clients can review, select favorites, and approve final deliverables. Portfoliobox supports this with password-protected pages.
A standardized set of color data that ensures consistent color across devices. sRGB is the standard for web display. Always convert images to sRGB before uploading to your portfolio.
The arrangement of visual elements within a photograph. Includes techniques like rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry, and negative space.
A unique web address like yourname.com or yourname.photography that replaces the default subdomain. Essential for professional photographers who want to build trust with clients.
The process of reviewing and selecting the best images from a shoot, discarding the rest. A critical step before uploading work to your portfolio — quality over quantity.
The range of distance in a photo that appears acceptably sharp. Shallow depth of field isolates subjects from backgrounds. Controlled by aperture, focal length, and distance to subject.
A file delivered electronically after purchase. Photographers sell high-resolution images, presets, and guides as digital downloads through their portfolio store.
Dots per inch / pixels per inch. For web display, 72 PPI is standard. For print, 300 DPI is the minimum for sharp reproduction.
Metadata embedded in image files containing camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), date, and sometimes GPS location. Some photographers strip EXIF data before publishing online for privacy.
The amount of light that reaches the camera sensor, determined by aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Proper exposure is fundamental to every photograph.
The small icon in the browser tab next to your page title. Upload your logo or a camera icon to make your photography site look professional and finished.
The distance between the lens and the image sensor, measured in millimeters. Determines the field of view. 50mm is considered closest to human vision.
An image that extends to the edges of the page with no margins or borders. A popular layout choice for photography portfolios to maximize visual impact.
A page or section displaying a collection of photographs. The core of every photography portfolio. Portfoliobox offers over 40 gallery layouts including grids, masonry, slideshows, and horizontal scrolls.
The period shortly after sunrise or before sunset when daylight is warm, soft, and diffused. Highly sought after for portrait, landscape, and wedding photography.
The large, prominent photograph at the top of a page. Your hero image sets the tone for your entire portfolio — choose your absolute strongest shot.
A photographic style characterized by bright, even lighting and minimal shadows. Common in fashion, beauty, and product photography.
A graph showing the distribution of tones in an image from shadows (left) to highlights (right). Used to evaluate exposure accuracy.
The camera sensor's sensitivity to light. Lower ISO (100-400) produces cleaner images. Higher ISO (1600+) introduces noise but allows shooting in low light.
The process of reducing file size while maintaining visual quality for faster web loading. Critical for photography portfolios where large, high-resolution images can slow page speed.
An overlay that displays an enlarged version of an image on top of the page. Standard feature in photography portfolio galleries for viewing work at full resolution.
Adobe's photo editing and management software. Portfoliobox offers a Lightroom plugin on the Professional plan for publishing images directly to your portfolio galleries.
A photographic style using predominantly dark tones and dramatic lighting. Creates mood and atmosphere. Common in fine art and editorial photography.
A gallery layout where images of varying aspect ratios stack like bricks, filling space efficiently. Ideal for photographers who shoot in both portrait and landscape orientations.
HTML data that tells search engines about your page. Include keywords like 'wedding photographer [city]' in your meta titles and descriptions to help clients find you.
A legal document signed by a photographed person granting permission to use their likeness. Required for commercial use of portraits and essential when selling prints of people.
The process of selecting and arranging your best work for presentation. A strong photography portfolio shows 15-20 pieces that represent your current skill level and target market.
A saved set of editing adjustments in Lightroom or other software that can be applied to images with one click. Many photographers sell custom presets as digital products.
A service that prints and ships products only when ordered, eliminating inventory. Some photographers use this to sell prints without handling production themselves.
An unprocessed image file containing all data captured by the sensor. Provides maximum flexibility for editing but requires processing before delivery or web use.
A website that automatically adapts to different screen sizes. Essential for photography portfolios since clients browse on phones, tablets, and desktops.
Post-processing work to enhance or correct photographs. Includes skin smoothing, color grading, object removal, and exposure adjustments.
Search Engine Optimization. For photographers, this means using relevant keywords, alt text on images, clean URLs, and meta descriptions so potential clients can find your portfolio on Google.
How long the camera sensor is exposed to light. Fast speeds (1/1000s) freeze motion. Slow speeds (1/30s or longer) create motion blur. Measured in fractions of a second.
A gallery layout that displays images one at a time with transitions. Creates a focused, cinematic viewing experience. Effective for wedding and editorial photography portfolios.
Security that encrypts data between your portfolio and visitors. Shown as the padlock icon in the browser. Included automatically with all Portfoliobox plans.
A pre-designed portfolio layout you customize with your own images and content. Portfoliobox offers photography-focused templates with full-bleed galleries and clean navigation.
A small preview image in a gallery grid. Click to view the full-size image. Thumbnail quality and consistency affect how professional your portfolio appears at first glance.
Connecting your camera directly to a computer during a shoot so images appear on screen in real time. Common in studio and commercial photography.
A semi-transparent text or logo overlay on images to discourage unauthorized use. Common for photographers sharing work online. Balance visibility with not distracting from the image.
A camera setting that adjusts color temperature so whites appear neutral. Different light sources (daylight, tungsten, fluorescent) produce different color casts that white balance corrects.
Your end-to-end process from shooting to delivery. Includes importing, culling, editing, exporting, and uploading to your portfolio. A streamlined workflow saves hours every week.