Industries / Photographers
Websites for photographersA photographer website where the photos lead and the inquiry form asks the right things.
A portfolio that loads fast, packages with prices, an inquiry form for date and venue, and session booking.
An example of what Chip might build. Yours will be built around your business.
Photographers are hired by their pictures, and by their manner
A couple deciding on a wedding photographer will look at the pictures first. After that, they look for what the photographer will be like for ten hours on the biggest day of their year. Your site has to show the work and then give some sense of the person: a short story of how you shoot, a portrait of yourself, and a way of writing that sounds like someone they could relax around.
Show fewer, better pictures
A portfolio of twelve to twenty pictures per type of work will do more than two hundred. Pick complete stories, not isolated highlights: a few images from one wedding, in order, from getting ready to the dance floor. Separate your work by category so that a headshot client doesn't have to scroll through weddings. Keep file sizes sensible, because a slow gallery on a phone loses people.
Packages and the inquiry form
- Start with two or three packages and the price each begins at
- Say what is included: hours, number of images, delivery date, travel
- Ask for the date, the venue or location, and the type of event
- Ask how they found you, so you learn what works
- Offer a short call to talk through the day
Date is the most important field. If you are already booked, a quick note saves everyone's time.
Mini-sessions, seasons and search
Mini-sessions are a clever way to fill slow weekends: short, themed, at a set price, booked in time slots. Autumn family portraits and holiday cards are classics. Wedding inquiries tend to come in waves after New Year and again in late summer. For local search, add your city to the type of work, as in "wedding photographer in Asheville," and keep a Google Business Profile with recent shots, if you work with local clients. Put your name in the caption on any image you share, since copyright and credit are part of the job.
What clients check before they ask about a date
A client who likes your Instagram still opens your site before writing to you. They want to know whether you fit their day and their budget without having to ask out loud:
- Whether your style matches theirs: light and airy, moody, documentary or posed
- A starting price, so they know if they're in range
- Whether you travel, and if travel costs extra
- How long until they see their photos
- A face and a name, so they know who will be there
When the site answers those, the inquiries you get tend to come with a date and a budget already in mind.
Which apps a photographer needs, and which to leave off
The Photo gallery is your portfolio. Make an album per type of work, choose the justified rows or masonry layout, and let visitors swipe full screen. Location and camera details are removed from every photo. It's a public portfolio, not private client proofing; keep delivering finished galleries the way you do now.
Appointments books the consultation call and mini-session slots, each with its own length and buffer time to reset between families. The notes field takes the date and venue. The AI Agent answers "do you travel?" and "how many photos do we get?" from your pages, and takes a name and email when it doesn't know. The Announcement bar advertises a mini-session weekend with start and end dates. Visitor stats show whether people reach Packages, which tells you if the portfolio is doing its job.
A walk through the Ada Kerr Photography example
Ada Kerr Photography is the made-up photographer in the preview: honest, joyful wedding and portrait photography, with a Check my availability button. Portfolio holds albums for weddings, couples and families. Packages gives each option a starting price and what's included. Kind words is for a few lines from clients' messages that you have their permission to use. Inquire lists your email and opens the calendar for a short call.
You can build yours by sending 5 to 15 of your best photos and letting Chip build around them, or by describing your work in a chat. It starts at a free address such as adakerrphotography.dollarsite.page, and you can connect a domain you own once it is live.
Instagram, wedding directories and the site behind them
Instagram shows your latest work and directories bring couples who are already comparing photographers. Keep both. A post can't hold your packages, your travel policy and your calendar in one place, so put the site in your bio and in every directory profile. If a directory has rules about contacting clients outside it, follow them. The site is also where vendors you've worked with can send people, so ask planners and venues to link to it.
Delivery, rights and what happens after the shoot
Say when a client will see the first images and when the full gallery arrives. Explain how they can use the pictures, whether prints are included and how long you keep the files. A short paragraph on your process, from the shoot to the final gallery, lets a client trust that someone has done this before, and it prevents tense emails after a wedding.
The apps a photography business switches on first
Chip suggests these when you say you run a photography business. Tick the ones you want; add others whenever you like.
Photo gallery
Albums by type of work, in a layout that lets the photos lead.
Forms
An inquiry form for the date, location and budget.
Appointments
Mini-sessions and portrait days with set times.
Also included: Events & tickets, AI Agent, plus Contacts and an Inbox.
Pages a photography business site might start with
Written in your words, in a style that suits you.
Questions from photographers
Can I upload my own photos?
Yes. Drop them into the chat and Chip places them, or swap any image by clicking it.
Can I run seasonal mini-sessions?
Yes. Create a short service in Appointments with the dates and times you're shooting.
Won't an AI-made site look like every other photographer's?
Your photos lead, and those are yours. Chip builds the pages around them, and you change the layout, colors, fonts and words by asking. If a page sounds like someone else, tell Chip how you'd say it.
Can clients see their private galleries on my site?
No. The Photo gallery is a public portfolio. Keep using your client gallery service for proofing and delivery, and ask Chip for a button that links to it.
DollarSite is new. What if it disappears?
We're new, so it's a fair worry. You pay month to month with nothing prepaid. Your contacts and bookings can be saved as a CSV file whenever you like, your photos stay yours, and a domain you own stays yours too.
Do I lose the site if I stop paying?
After you cancel, it stays live to the end of the paid month, then goes offline. The site itself can't be moved to another website company, so save your contacts as a CSV file first. Reactivate puts it back online.
How much does it cost?
$7 per month for your first website, everything included. Each additional website is $5 per month. Building and previewing is free.
How long does it take to build?
Chip drafts your photography business site when you finish the chat, and you change anything you like before it goes live.
Rather start from photos? Send Chip 5 to 15 from your phone and it builds your site around them.
Send Chip your photosReady to see your photography business online?
Tell Chip about it below. It's free to build and preview, and $7 per month when you make it live to the Internet.