I am soon going to be creating a web site for my new photo business.
I think! I want to upload at low res to the web site so that the pages load fast and also viewers can't download and print the photos them selves. I don't want to put a watermark on the photographs. Of course on screen I want the photos to be large in size i.e. fill the screen and look good
Any advise would be grateful is this the right way to go and if so settings would be helpful to export from Aperture.
Thanks in advance
Graham,
(a) people will steal your photos. this is a matter of fact if you post them on the web. they will repost them on their Facebook, tumblr, buzzfeed, myspace, flickr, etc. they will crop out your watermark. they will modify them. they might even try to sell them on ebay or somewhere else. they will use them for commercial purposes. this is life as a professional photographer who displays their work to help attract and retain clients.
(b) only you can decide how large (pixel dimensions) to post on the web. mine are 1200 pixels on the long edge and many would argue that is giving away too much. some only use 600-700 pixels on the long edge.
(c) you have to post images on the web if you are going to operate a photo business. there is no other way to advertise on the web than to show people examples of your work. if you don’t, people who happen to run across your web site will not call you.
(d) put a watermark on ALL your images. it can be small text in the lower left or right corner, but put it there. this puts people on notice that your images are protected under US and international copyright laws. it does not have to be across the center of the images and it can still look professional and not detract from the displayed image.
(e) you are operating a professional business. get used to practicing professional behaviors like watermarking your images, dealing with image theft, learning all you can about copyright law, and learning all you can about legal contracts and licensing intellectual property. as much as you want to think you are an artist, you really are in the intellectual property business. actual photography will consume less than half of your time.
(f) you need to decide how you will host your online portfolio. will you get a domain name and hosting plan and manage your own web site? will you use zenfolio or some other similar paid photo hosting service? will your website include commerce tools for selling prints and collecting money or just be a place to advertise your services and exhibit example of your work?
Walter
Photographer | https://www.walterrowe.com | https://instagram.com/walter.rowe.photo