Open Thread: Tell Me Your WordPress Challenges as a Photographer

As someone with a tech background who’s been blogging for about ten years and who speaks and sometimes organizes social media events, I’m very much into WordPress.

As a photographer, I’m very much into displaying my work in a visually-pleasing and easy-to-follow way on the internet.

I’m aware that WordPress and photographers don’t always get along well. I’ve run into my own pain points in attempting to create sites with WordPress that provide the experiences that photographers want for visitors to their sites. Some companies such as Photoshelter and Graph Paper Press have provided some integration to help smooth things out, but there are other options as well.

Let me hear it: Tell Me Your WordPress Issues as a Photographer

Leave a comment below – I’d like this to be an open thread for issues, frustrations, pain, feature requests, or other things that you (as a photographer) wish was better or possible with WordPress. My hope is to take the information received and see what I can do to help make WordPress easier and more accessible for photographers.

Tagged as: blogging, photographer, photography, websites, wordpress

http://johnmetta.com/ John Metta

I’m not a professional photographer, used to do a lot with film in a past life and recently back into it with digital. I’ve noticed that, for me, the main issue just dipping my toe back in has been simply the workflow.
1) Getting images from camera into whatever desktop imaging/organization system there is (I use iPhoto because, as a dilettante, it works for me). This isn’t really a WordPress issue, but it’s part of the workflow.
2) Having to choose/export the images I need into another folder as a smaller size (because posting full-res images is crazy for me)
3) Having to use the WordPress upload system to load them into the gallery
4) Then merely navigating the WordPress gallery backend to organize them

This all takes much longer, and is much more troubling, than I want. As a programmer, I generally look for automation, and I’ll be surprised if more doesn’t exist- I’ve probably just overlooked it.

What I’d expect, is some automation plugin (or desktop app connector) that would connect with iPhoto (or, more generally, your filesystem) to allow you to select which photos to upload, automagically scale them to a web-appropriate size prior to uploading, optionally watermark them, then organize them appropriately in the WP backend- allowing you to avoid as much as possible the hassle of dealing with the WP backend when working with them. Assuming photo-per-post rather than photos-in-posts philosophy, it could then just auto-create the posts, maybe as drafts allowing you to title them.

It’s not actually too much, but just hasn’t been done. I’ve found with more serious writing, that WordPress makes a great generalist tool for getting stuff online, but once you are “author” specific, or “photography” specific, or anything specific, it seems to lack good functionality in favor of broad applicability. That’s good for WordPress, but it seems like we need more Desktop/WordPress connectivity apps out there to fill that gap and save us time when focused on specific areas.
JustinS

For pure, old skool blogging, I love WordPress. Don’t think there’s anything better out there, and I’ve had a lot of success teaching newbs to use it for that purpose. Definitely, though, have had some issues when it comes to helping people get photo-oriented blogs up and running.

For instance, while the way WP handles various media has improved considerably over the years (something I remember each time I log into an old WP blog that I haven’t bothered upgrading from 2.3), it can still be a little clunky. There’s a bit of a learning curve, etc., too, especially for people who might not be technically-savvy and are dependent on the WYSIWYG.

Lots of good themes and plugins out there, too, but again you need to fiddle quite a bit to get things working. Once you start playing with some of those, you really start running into the ease-of-use vs. flexibility trade-off.
http://steveeshom.com/ Steve Eshom

Honestly I still think parts of it are still too technical. While putting together my new site I had to hassle with things related to the fact text disappeared in ie9 (required a javascript update), why the logo at the top was too far above the image below (required a CSS update), and the lack of support for the media I wanted to show (Vimeo and YouTube were supported in the template but ProShow and Viddler were not).

Fortunately I’m a developer in my day job so these sorts of things are not as daunting to me as they are to others. Still with every post I do I have to remember to make sure that the image I post is checked with “none” on the alignment so things don’t go wonky with the comment block.

Are these all issue with WordPress specifically? No. The media support is problematic whether you are using WordPress or anything else. Can WordPress make some changes to make it easier for template developers and site builders? Sure. Is it way better than it was just a few years ago? Absolutely.
http://twitter.com/rbp2 Rob Peterson

((mental note: log into Disqus first, then type; vice versa clears your comment ))

I agree with both JustinS and John Metta – it comes down to two factors: tech background and workflow. With these two factors, you run into a wall depending on what version of WP you’re using: WP.com or WP.org. The .com version gives the user an easier way to get what they want – with little customizing – in the form of widgets and plug-ins. The .org version gives you the full creative control provided you have time or the programming skills to do so.

I’m converting from a .com to a .org solution (www.rbpeterson2.com –> http://www.rpphotography.net). The .net address is no where near being complete, but I have it live so that it can be more easily accessed by different browser platforms to see how it is performing. Short of pulling my toenails and fingernails out, I’m working through it. I really don’t have the programming background, but do have a little time to ‘tinker’.

As usage has increased, there has been a huge network of support out there, for programmers and non-programmers alike, so there isn’t a reason why a specialized site/person can get out on the web and get the site they want – you just have to have patience.
http://photographyblogsites.com Marty Thornley

Hi Aaron,
I saw your post and wanted to quickly mention ( plug/self promote ) a new version of WordPress – PhotographyBlogSites.com. While we have blog only versions, our main offerings are full portfolio websites and blog all-in-one. No Flash. All WordPress.

We are hoping to be a good balance of the two worlds that @Rob Peterson is describing. We are a fully hosted and managed setup similar to WordPress.com but our themes and plugins are based on years of experience doing custom sites for photographers. We’ve made it as easy as possible to get a quality WordPress site – no download, no install – just sign up and you have a site in about 30 seconds.

You also get access to amazing video tutorials, forums, live chat, etc… Support you don’t get in setting your own site.

We are very open to feedback and will definitely watch this thread for any tips.

@John Meta — The workflow can be a huge issue. Check out our new Bulk Image Uploader. Love the ideas about the automated system too. If you can leave some ideas in our forum, we are building something along these lines. Would definitely like feedback and guidance on what to include.
http://twitter.com/attyatlarge E.H.

My photography skills only extend to occasionally capturing my daughter in an image. Usually it’s her back.

My problem with WP and photos – or any image file – is that the interface has always felt like a kludge. (For me, it’s been about four years.) It’s not intuitive, I shouldn’t have to click so many damn times, I hate the pop-up box, and it’s annoying to me that the most efficient way for me to deal with photos is to format them, then go do a blog post.

Rant over.
http://www.pointofutterance.com Aloha Lavina

I’ve been using WordPress for a year now, for my blog, and I have to say it really makes blogging about photography an easy and enjoyable experience. My only challenges is that now my site is too slow–takes 3.106 seconds to load, and I have tried to use WP-Cache to speed it up, but it still is ‘slow.’ Having little of the backend skills needed to tweak the site is my challenge. Is there a comprehensive guide to tweaking a WP site without being a techie?
http://lynnclarkphotography.com Lynn

I love wordpress for many reasons. Once it’s all set up, it’s simple. I blogged for 2 years with no issues, really, until I’ve tried to use it as my main photography website.

I’m cheap is the problem. I like paying $90/year for hosting. I also don’t want to pay $180 for a ProPhoto template, or $49/month for Photoshelter. But I’m about to do one or the other because I’m not happy with the themes or the photo display. I thought I’d found a great solution in the Tofurious theme I’m using now, but then found out that that code conflicts with NextGen, which is how I’ve displayed my galleries. I’ve also tried the Pexeto Dandelion theme, but it loads SOOOOOO slowly.

I wish I could find a theme or a free/cheap plugin that would give my site a true flash-like experience with the SEO of an html site.

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