Why don’t you show more photos on your website?

Well, I guess that’s a reasonable question.

I’ve seen plenty of photographer websites containing many hundreds of images.

I’m guessing you have, too.

So here’s my response to your reasonable question.

FayFoto Boston has been around for a very long time, and we hope to be around for a long time to come. We work primarily with Corporate clients. We have some internal limitations regarding what we can show. These aren’t “industry standards;” they mirror our own ethical position which has evolved over time and over many business interactions.1

Here are two questions I’d like you to consider:

How many images does it take to demonstrate competence?

Really – I seldom look at all the images on a website anyway. Do you? Does it take more than a dozen to indicate competence?

If you recognize (let’s say, for discussion) three images from what appears to be the same event or session, don’t you sort of wonder if that photographer has shot more than that one assignment?

How would you feel if you found yourself on our website?

This is the tricky bit for us.

We take pictures of real people. Civilians, not celebrities.

We don’t always have an explicit restriction regarding promotional usage but…

I would feel odd and uncomfortable if I encountered my portrait on a photographer’s website without agreeing to do so, and I’m guessing you would, too.

The understanding we have with our clients is explicit in some cases, implied in others, but boils down to respect for individuals and organizations. We have to show something but we don’t feel the need to show everything. We therefore try to be selective about what we do show and be sensitive to the people and places we use to promote our capabilities and our business.

Would you like to see more? Ask for a meeting.

We have tons of images we will happily show in a private meeting, but which we might be reluctant to post to our website. If you haven’t seen what you are looking for on our website, we encourage you to Get in touch!

How many pictures NEED to be on a photographer’s website?

If you are tasked with sourcing a professional photographer for your firm, then the answer really is – not many! You can get a feel as to the potential resource’s capabilities quickly. A follow up phone call or email will confirm your instincts. We hope you’ll include FayFoto Boston in your search. That’s as easy as sending an email to our office.

  1. We rarely work with contracts. Most of our interactions are by phone or email. “Handshake” understandings in other words. Our terms, which stipulate we have the liberty to use images, shot on assignment, for self-promotion, are therefore implied more often than they are explicitly expressed. ↩︎