1. Prepare your photos:

  • Photograph your art with good lighting (bright shade), no shine spots, image only (not frame, background, etc.)
  • Edit your photographs with software (straighten, correct colour, crop, etc.)
  • Save with name-title-size-medium format in full size, i.e. YourName-Sunset23-30x40-oil.jpg.
  • Keep a copy of these photo files in a safe place!

2. Shrink your photos for the web!

  • Use an image resizing app or an online software such as resizemyimg.com to reduce the photo image for an appropriate internet size of about 200 to 500 kb. Then your website will load quickly and your image cannot be printed by others right off the internet. 
  • A quick and easy way to shrink your images is to email them to yourself - set the attachment size to medium or small. When you receive that email, save the attachments and they will be the size needed for posting on a website.

3. Begin with a simple portfolio website :

  • Create your account with a web creation company.   Here is a comparison chart of website building programs which may help you decide which to use. These companies typically have a free version to try out the software. 
  • Try making a simple home page with your name and a few photos as a test.  Here is an example of a one page portfolio website made using the Weebly.com software. Try a couple different companies to get a feel for the possibilities.
  • When you have decided which company to use, set up the basic home page with a portfolio. Add your photos, put appropriate captions on them, with price if you are selling. Add Contact information that you are comfortable having online. You may want to create an email account just for this website contact, e.g. gmail, to separate it from your personal email.

4. Connect to the larger group(s)

  • Send your website address and one resized image with its caption info to your local art group or community arts council to have it added to their website.
  • Then put a link to that website on your website, as a professional courtesy and to increase traffic to both.

5. Make your website a part of your artist practice.

  • Update your website regularly, adding new images and keeping it interesting.
  • Spread the word about your website, using business cards and other ways to let people know about it.

Nicola Valley Arts Centre

Discover your community at the Arts Centre!

P: 250-378-6515

E: info@nicolavalleyarts.com

M: PO Box 92 | Merritt, BC | V1K 1B8

2051 Voght Street (beside Kekuli Cafe)

 

Hours: Wed-Sat 10 am - 5 pm | Sun 12 pm - 4 pm

 

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