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In the past couple years, Responsive photography themes are becoming more popular than before. In this guest article, not only will you see examples of the best responsive photography themes available, but you will learn why they are useful.

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is an approach to web design in which a site is crafted to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones). – Wikipedia

A picture can tell 1000 words, so they say, and when it comes to showing off your photography work, a simple website can really assist in illustrating what you can offer to potential customers.

With this in mind, an online portfolio is an essential part of any photographer’s role, in order to gage new business, and it’s worth remembering that this may be the first impression someone has of you, so you need to make it accessible and memorable.

Before picking your photos for the portfolio though, it’s worth remembering that not everyone views a website on their computer anymore. They may be searching for you on the go on their smartphone, or sat on the couch on a tablet. This is where responsive design can help.

Responsive Photography Themes

Becoming increasingly popular as responsive themes become more widely available, these themes react to whatever platform your site is being viewed on, meaning it looks like a great website, no matter what the screen.

If you’re stumped on where to start, here are a few great examples of WordPress portfolio themes that are responsive, which could be ideal for your photography website.

1. Artboard

This full screen portfolio theme really puts the emphasis back onto imagery. Images overtake the screen to really make your work shine. With drop-down menus and a fully functional blog, this can create a visually stunning basic site if you’re after something heavily image-focused.

2. Expression

This WordPress theme allows for flexible galleries, with quirky animations and effects. The full screen image slider is a particularly great feature for photographer’s portfolios and is a great theme for use on various devices.

3. Photolux

This premium WordPress theme is ideal for both photographers who have no coding knowledge whatsoever, and those who may be a bit more into the development of their site. Using sliders to flip through the portfolio, the site provides ease of use with a simple navigation. A full-height full screen slideshow allows for your work to really do the talking.

4. Evolution

For those who want to more than just a showcase of work, Evolution provides a simple yet effective theme. It allows for a slideshow preview of work upon the homepage, whilst allowing room for background information and the latest blog post too. A great way to give a taster of your collection.

5. Gleam

Gleam is an incredibly sleek and modern theme – an ideal WordPress photography theme for photographers. The theme allows for full background photos, as well as the ability to display your work full screen. Remember, with responsive design this will look great on any device. For a more traditional layout, the standard gallery page uses small thumbnails with popups to view full images. The flexibility is here with all the glamour and simplicity you could want.

6. Reponsy

With a name like Reponsy, it’s no wonder it caught my attention for a responsive photography themes article. A fantastic HTML5 theme which will have all the tools you could possibly want for your site – whether it’s your social buttons, a blog post, or embedding your Flickr images. The clear layout of the theme pages allows for multiple portfolios if you want to section your work off. Clear, yet quirky, Responsy offers the full package.

7. Loook

A minimalistic theme which makes it ideal for responsive design, the highly customisable options alongside the white space of the theme allows for your work to really stand out. Because it is minimalistic, the theme is timeless and will require little monitoring to remain current.

8. JPhotolio

A premium WordPress theme, JPhotolio has an unlimited size of portfolio housed in an elegant and feminine template – ideal for wedding photography. With a great interactive portfolio that can be narrowed down by category, this site has personality already, whilst being customisable enough to add your own. The navigation bar at the top remains no matter where on the site you visit, allowing for excellent simple navigation.

9. Pegasus

A responsive and uncluttered WordPress portfolio theme, this is an incredibly effective theme if you want to show off your work without any distractions. The theme provides a more than adequate portfolio for photography, whilst offering flexible colours and social widget, creating focus on getting in touch.

10. Mixfolio

Mixfolio offer a ‘welcome area’ on your page, so you can automatically tell visitors who you are and how to get in touch, before delving into the imagery. The standard black, grey and white structures make for a simple, yet classic design, allowing for selected photographs on the landing page to relly stand out in contrast.

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Brett Harkness is a successful wedding photographer based in Manchester, UK.

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