Your photos are no doubt striking and captivating, but to achieve maximum impact online, your website must have a design that does them justice. With the plethora of themes out there to choose from, however, you may find yourself chasing your tail to find the right one.
Picking a specific theme for your needs as a photographer is the ideal solution – you’ll be looking for design and typography that flatters rather than overpowers your images, with slider options aplenty, and a myriad of customization options.
Help is at hand! Below, we’ve gathered the best themes to showcase your photography portfolio – so within this collection, you’ll be practically guaranteed to find something suitable.
1. Sydney
You don’t need an overly-complicated theme to showcase your work effectively. With Sydney, you can make your photos stand out using a clean and simple layout.
The Photography starter site is available for free, yet gives you a lot of customization options. You can change the header, colors, and typography to suit your preferences. You can also control the layout of your website. For instance, you might opt for a full-width design so that your photos take center stage.
Sydney integrates with the Elementor page builder plugin and offers a selection of useful widgets designed specifically for this tool, including sliders and portfolios. With the Pro version of the theme, you’ll get extra styling options and settings that enable you to display your photos in an effective and engaging way.
If you want a flexible yet clean and easy-to-use theme for your photography site, look no further than Sydney.
2. Divi
If you’re looking for an elegant photography theme, Divi might be the right option for you. It offers a set of clean and timeless layouts for photographers.
Divi is also highly versatile thanks to its drag-and-drop builder. The Photographer Home Page layout features essential pages such as a portfolio, services section, and project page. Each page has a minimalist look, with black text over white background, and plenty of white space. However, if you want, you can customize every aspect of the theme with the Divi builder.
The great thing about Divi’s photography theme is that it places the focus on your work. It uses large imagery with hover effects, and lightboxes so that visitors can take a closer look at your photos. It also organizes your images in galleries with neat grids.
Divi is definitely worth considering if you want a simple yet flexible theme to display your work.
3. Uncode
When it comes to choosing a theme for a particular niche – such as photography – there are two schools of thought. A niche-specific theme can be a solid choice, but can also be limited in terms of features. With a multipurpose theme like Uncode, you still get the functionality required to make your images sparkle, while having a wealth of additional options at your fingertips.
While Uncode isn’t strictly designed for photography, it offers plenty of useful features for this type of website. For example, there are dedicated templates (or ‘concepts’) for photography sites, which provide almost everything you need to get up and running. For more specific design requirements, you can use the bundled WPBakery Page Builder plugin to make whatever tweaks you like.
Depending on the template you choose, there is also a wealth of demo pages included (such as About, Services, and Contact). These come ready with different preset layouts, which you can choose from depending on your needs. There are also a number of header options, some of which let you display media (with numerous animations and styles available). You’ll also likely value all of the portfolio and gallery features on offer, which are obviously vital for a photography website.
Whenever there’s a list of top-quality themes, Uncode can often be found within, regardless of the niche in question. It’s a useful theme with plenty of power, and is definitely a go-to solution for creating a photography website.
4. Nayla
Are you looking for a photography theme with a fun and creative design? Nayla is packed with unique layouts and animations.
The theme has a demo designed specifically for photography sites, and you get a lot of layout options. For example, you can use an infinite grid, minimal list, interactive carousel, fullscreen slideshow, and more. You can also choose between dark and light color modes. Plus, the theme is fully compatible with Elementor, enabling you to customize anything from your header and footer to your portfolio pages.
Nayla has several interactive features. These include parallel scroll effects, color animations, and smooth page transitions. You also get an interactive mouse cursor. Moreover, the theme offers WooCommerce support so you can sell your photos online.
A theme like Nayla can help you stand out from the crowd and project a professional image for your creative brand.
5. Oshine
Oshine markets itself as a “multi-layout, multi-purpose” WordPress portfolio theme featuring no less than 42 unique demos.
That might sound like a recipe for complete overwhelm, but in reality, the abundance of choice enables you to pick a design that features your photography in a way that feels close to perfect for your particular creative needs. Practically every imaginable layout is covered in the 42 demos on offer, which will give you a clear vision for how your photography might slot into the theme.
The latest version of Oshine is the result of a very successful run to date. The theme we see today has come about as a result of thousands of sales; it is clear that the developers have reinvested their efforts as a result of the theme’s initial success, to your benefit.
Just about any feature you might dream up in terms of theme customizability are on offer: drag-and-drop page builder, theme options panel with Google Fonts integration, multiple layout combinations, integrated slider, multiple blog layouts, video backgrounds, and much more. That aside, Oshine is of course retina-ready, responsive, and WooCommerce and WPML compatible.
It truly appears that no stone has been left unturned during Oshine’s development. Not only does it look fantastic (with more than enough inspiration through its 42 demos), it offers just about everything you could possibly need to mould the theme to your specific requirements.
I’ve only scratched the surface here; it would be remiss of you not to take a closer look at this truly impressive theme.
6. TheGem
Multipurpose themes sometimes get a bad rap – there’s no questioning their flexibility, but that quality can often cause an offering to lack the focus needed to excel in any particular niche. However, TheGem is the exception – if you could cut it open, it would bleed quality, regardless of its application.
We could talk all day long about TheGem’s customization options. There is a myriad of font and color choices, along with six header styles, and a plethora of demo pages to help you get up and running in a flash. If that isn’t enough, TheGem also comes bundled with three outstanding slider plugins – Slider Revolution, LayerSlider, and NivoSlider – to help you create stunning hero screens with compelling calls to action.
There are also a number of portfolio pages to choose from, with some photography-specific designs on hand including various masonry and grid layouts that all look stunning. For further design customization, the bundled WPBakery Page Builder plugin can be pressed into service – enabling you to create almost any layout design imaginable.
For the majority of themes, “specialization not generalization” rings true. However, there’s always one theme to break the mold, and TheGem is it. Add it to your shortlist, and be prepared to give up the pretence that you’ll be looking any further!
7. Leverage
Leverage is an excellent theme if you’re looking to build a portfolio website that makes a bold statement.
The fast and flexible theme, built with Elementor, is suitable for creative agencies, photographers, and designers alike. It comes with over 20 unique pre-built websites, including both one-page and multi-page versions, a one-click demo import feature, native theme forms, and more than a dozen inner pages.
Most of the templates boast a colorful and vibrant feel. This look can be the perfect option for creative professionals looking to differentiate themselves and capture visitors’ attention.
Leverage is also a strong option if you want to include a blog on your website. In addition to dark and light modes for the portfolio template, you can also choose from a handful of blog styles.
8. Artale
As a professional photographer, displaying your work on a beautiful website can help you secure new clients. If your specialty is weddings, Artale might be the right theme for you.
It comes with flexible layouts to showcase your wedding photos in the best way possible. You can select the number of columns you want to use and choose between masonry and grid image styles. Plus, you can set up category filters so that your visitors can browse your portfolio more easily.
If you’re worried about image theft, Artale has got you covered. This theme lets you set up password protection for each gallery on your site. You can also disable right-click to prevent image downloads on the frontend and add watermarks to your uploaded photos.
Overall, if you want a theme that can help you grow your wedding photography business, look no further than Artale.
9. Inspiro Pro
When you run a photography business, it’s important to have a website that makes an immediate impression on visitors. Inspiro Pro can do just that.
This portfolio theme is modern, elegant, and distinct. It features a bold, dark design and a fullscreen slideshow that you can use to display Vimeo, YouTube, or self-hosted videos in the background. It also fully integrates with the Elementor page builder plugin, providing you with dozens of custom widgets and starter site templates.
Inspiro Pro comes packed with powerful features for photographers and creatives. This includes curated, pre-designed pages and a portfolio module for highlighting your best work. It’s also beginner-friendly. The theme comes with a one-click demo importer, an easy-to-use customizer, and automatic updates.
We recommend Inspiro Pro to any professional photographer looking to take their website to the next level.
10. Kalium
Your photography portfolio website should be an extension of your art. Given this, Kalium helps you display your work in the best way possible — working with your content, not against it.
With the bundled WPBakery Page Builder plugin, you can begin to create your website in minutes. There is a wide choice of beautiful demo sites, all installed with just one click. You can further express your creativity with extensive customization options, such as countless page layouts, thousands of stylish fonts, header types, and much more.
The theme’s fast loading times will ensure your images are always accessible, as will highly-adaptive Retina support functionality, parallax scrolling, the bundled Slider Revolution plugin, and more.
The pared-back elegance gives your work a modern edge, too, with lots of negative space and no unnecessary clutter.
We’d suggest that if you’re looking for a stylish, award-winning theme to showcase your creativity, Kalium is for you. This theme will do the job in a way that’s visually impressive, giving you the platform to truly shine.
11. Kallyas
The secret to a great photography website is to focus on your work. This means you need a theme with the tools to make sure your photos look their best, and Kallyas could be a good solution for that.
Out of the box, Kallyas includes pre-built photography and portfolio layouts. This means it’s a great option regardless of whether you’re a freelance photographer or simply showcasing your art. Kallyas’ style is minimalist, so visitors can immerse themselves in your images. The theme uses clean typography and small icons, which are easy to interact with, but non-obtrusive.
Since you’re going to be uploading a lot of images, you need a performance-optimized theme. Kallyas is built with speed in mind, so your pages should load quickly even with dozens of images. Beyond this, the theme automatically optimizes your photographs so they look great, regardless of the screen you’re viewing them on.
In a nutshell, if you’re looking for a theme that puts your photographs in the spotlight and delivers solid performance, Kallyas should be on your shortlist.
12. Ashade
Most minimalistic themes have the same thing in common: negative space. While this is often a stylish solution to showcase your photography, it can also be boring. Ashade proves that you can be both minimalistic and creative while using more bold and dark colors.
This premium theme is designed with a dark mode in mind, which sets a sensual mood for your images. You can choose from over 18 layouts for galleries and sliders, video or static backgrounds, slick page transitions, and more. Ashade also features a client-friendly photo proofing option, letting your customers choose their favorite pictures in a password-protected area.
You can sell your work directly from your page, as the theme supports the use of the WooCommerce plugin. Last but not least, Ashade boasts a fantastic ‘before and after’ feature that shows the results of your image editing work on the frontend.
Overall, Ashade is a unique theme for any photographer who wants to stand out without compromising on simplicity and cleanness. Its innovative portfolio solutions make it an edgy yet elegant choice for anyone working with images, video, or game design.
13. Imagely Theme
Imagely Theme is focused on helping you put your photos front and center.
If you want your photographs and other images to be the main focal point of your website, then Imagely Theme is a theme you should consider for your project. The Imagely team is responsible for creating and maintaining the very popular NextGEN Gallery plugin for WordPress, a tool that many people use to display photos on their website in stylish and interesting ways.
Due to this, if you’re looking for a WordPress image gallery plugin and photography theme that work very well together, choosing Imagely Theme and the NextGEN Gallery plugin makes sense. Taking this approach will ensure that the features of your gallery plugin are all fully compatible with your theme, helping you to get the most out of your chosen configuration.
With Imagely Theme, you’re definitely spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding how your website will look. For starters, there are lots of different demos to choose from, covering a range of image-focused sites, including options that work really well for sharing travel, food, and nature photos, to name just a few.
Imagely Theme is highly flexible, too. Once you’ve imported the theme into your WordPress dashboard, you can personalize your site in many different ways through the WordPress Customizer interface. As well as changing the fonts, colors, and layout settings, you can also adjust your site so that it looks different on mobile compared to how it does on larger screen devices. This could include displaying a sticky header on desktop devices and using a more compact option for smartphone users.
When it comes to publishing your images, this theme is packed with templates and gallery options so that you can display your creative work in the best possible way.
Imagely Theme is available on a number of pricing plans, each with a different set of features.
14. Blacksilver
If you want to be taken seriously as a photographer, you need a website that tells people you’re a professional. This means you either grasp the fundamentals of web development or use a theme such as Blacksilver to do most of the heavy lifting for you.
Blacksilver can help you tackle both your portfolio’s design and functionality. For starters, there are over 12 modern designs that put the focus on your photography. You can import them with one click, and then choose from hundreds of internal page layouts. Every demo features interactive galleries, and you also get a lot of options for custom internal navigation.
Since photography websites are nothing without images, Blacksilver includes several features to help you make yours stand out. The theme allows you to add filters to your photographs, enable lazy loading for faster page speed, and create password-protected galleries for your clients.
We’d suggest that Blacksilver is great if you require a one-size-fits-all theme for your portfolio or agency site. As such, this theme should be a strong contender for your next project.
15. Azalea
When you think of ‘fashion’, what words pop into your head? Terms like sleek, stylish, and modern probably come to mind. If you’re working with fashion photography, your website should also fit those descriptors.
That’s where Azalea comes into the picture. Any content created for use in the fashion industry needs to ‘wow’, and having a choice of 12 stunning home page layouts helps you do just that. However, if you have a more specific design in mind, the bundled WPBakery Page Builder plugin has your back.
Of course, a portfolio photography theme would be nothing without a plethora of ways to display your work, and Azalea doesn’t disappoint on that front. You can create a showcase portfolio using the theme’s ‘list’ feature, or for clients already ‘on the hook’, use built-in proofing functionality to hasten the payment process.
In a nutshell, Azalea does the simple things well. It’s great for winning work, and also does plenty to keep customers rolling in. Our advice is to check out the demo and see it in action for yourself!
16. Photo Me
Extensive functionality and a myriad of bundled plugins are all well and good, but for some it may be overkill. Photo Me offers the bare essentials, but with potentially all the customization options you need to present your work in its best light.
Layouts in Photo Me are created with a custom drag-and-drop page builder, with four pre-defined header options, and mega menu support to create content-rich navigation. Landing page-style layouts are also easily created with the page builder, with the option for parallax background images if you desire. Also, the bundled Revolution Slider plugin enables full-width images, to prominently display your photos to visitors.
Photo Me includes over 50 gallery and portfolio templates, along with six blog templates – so there’s no worry about having a common design – and extensive social media integration options, including Flickr and Instagram.
Color customization for any element is possible with a full color palette, and over 500 Google Fonts mean you’ll easily find the right typography to flatter your photos. To get up and running immediately, the developers (ThemeGoods) have included eight demos, all with one-click import. Also included is a child theme, so that any customizations you make aren’t wiped away when updating Photo Me.
Finally, ThemeGoods have offered extensive documentation along with priority support for when you need a helping hand.
In total, Photo Me is a solid theme without any undesired bells and whistles, which is well worth considering to showcase your work.
17. Reflector
Many photography portfolios are static affairs design-wise. With Reflector, you get access to features that can make your photographs feel more alive, which could be perfect for capturing all-important attention for your business.
From a design standpoint, Reflector focuses mostly on galleries. The theme includes over 25 pre-built pages you can use to kickstart your website’s design. With every layout, you’re free to choose from multiple gallery styles, which includes elements such as micro-interactions and advanced features such as parallax effects.
In addition, Reflector also has plenty going for it under the hood. The theme enables you to set up price list pages with ease and includes functionality to help you create unique client accounts. Through those accounts, clients can get access to private galleries or proofing areas.
Overall, Reflector is going to be great if you’re looking for a theme to help you manage your photography business more efficiently. It should definitely be on your shortlist, and might just make the grade!
18. Ztudio X
Impact is a necessary element of memorable, long-lasting photography. It’s also important for many other aspects of branding, such as your website. With this in mind, the creatively-named Ztudio X could be just what you need.
Unlike with many other themes, this one doesn’t offer a lot of demo templates. However, that’s not an issue, mainly because what’s on hand is so usable. Even the basic demo is complete with bold typography, as well as ample space for your images. There are also layouts dedicated to solo photographers and minimalist designers.
What’s more, by using the built-in Goodlayers Page Builder, you can adapt a pre-existing design however you’d like, or even create a layout from scratch. There are nearly 20 header styles to choose from, and a number of handy portfolio and gallery features. Overall, the comprehensive customization options enable you to tweak your design to your heart’s content.
Agencies and creatives will love Ztudio X. Particularly if you have a predefined idea of what your website should look like, you’ll appreciate the wealth of design options at your disposal. All in all, this theme is a fantastic choice, regardless of your business’ setup.
19. Aurel
Maintaining an air of professionalism is vital for photographers and their clients. As such, you’ll constantly need to find new ways to deliver the very highest quality. This applies to your website as much as to your work. Fortunately, Aurel’s functionality can provide you with a top-notch online presence.
Of course, your own skill as a photographer plays a huge part in your site’s impact. However, Aurel’s design options help to enhance your images, turning a decent website into a stellar one. There are nearly 200 pages, albums, and galleries at your disposal, letting you quickly create your site with no worries about poor design elements creeping in. What’s more, the bundled Elementor plugin lets you create a layout that matches your vision.
However, this theme’s standout feature in our opinion is Aurel’s Photo Proofing option. It gives your clients the opportunity to choose the photos they want, from within an attractive and easy-to-use interface. You can also password-protect any proofing gallery, to keep public eyes away from client projects.
On paper, Aurel has a lot in common with other themes in this niche. However, there’s a sheen of quality to Aurel’s feature set, which makes it a go-to theme for photographers.
20. Novo
While there are many photography themes available, it’s fair to say that a lot of them look very similar. Novo is designed to buck that trend, by providing sleek, stylish, and modern visuals.
Novo’s default home page is an exercise in how to pack as much onto a page as possible, while keeping the focus on your images and service offerings. The approach used here is to fill as many edges of the screen as possible with navigation, social links, slider controls, and more. There’s even a slide-out menu that gives you another opportunity to share contact information, your latest work, and a small blurb introducing yourself.
All this functionality is available via the bundled WPBakery plugin – a leading drag-and-drop page builder. However, you also get four menu options, and over 20 different page templates to help create your website’s infrastructure. You’re not simply limited to a stunning home page, but have other built-in ways to provide value to your readers.
Overall, Novo is a very solid photography theme. We love its unique method of presenting your work. If you believe your images should stand out, this should be a key theme on your shortlist!
21. Grand Photography
Grand Photography is a dedicated photography theme, and it shows both in design and functionality. It offers a one-click demo install so you can be showcasing your work in no time.
With over 140 pre-built gallery and page options, you’re sure to be able to find the perfect way to display your work. Additional features such as parallax scrolling and video backgrounds enable you to use your creativity to create a visually stunning layout. You can also choose from six menu styles to help craft a user-friendly experience.
This theme was clearly built with commercial photographers in mind. The advanced gallery editor enables you to upload photos in bulk, then drag and drop to rearrange. You also have the option of protected passwords for each client, and clients can easily approve or reject images in a gallery.
A custom event post type means you can add events and let people know about the time, date, and location of exhibitions. And if you want to sell directly from your site, the theme is WooCommerce compatible.
There’s a lot to be said for having a theme that’s dedicated to your trade. Grand Photography has plenty of features to help any professional photographer succeed.
22. Gleam
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it’s sometimes ideal to add a few sentences of context. Gleam is perfect for photography portfolios and blogs with a story, which makes it an interesting theme option.
Overall, Gleam’s design is very straightforward. The theme makes excellent use of negative space and it offers a default modern gallery design. This same use of space is perfect to increase readability for any words you’d like to incorporate, which makes your blog posts a pleasure to navigate.
If you want to play with Gleam’s default styles, you can easily do so thanks to the bundled Elementor page builder plugin. The theme also works great with WordPress’ default block editor, so you have plenty of options when it comes to customization.
In a nutshell, Gleam is straightforward and helps you set up a portfolio or blog for your photography business quickly. We think it’s a good option, and should definitely slide onto your shortlist.
23. Photography
By giving their theme such an obvious name, this theme’s developers (ThemeGoods) are potentially banking on one thing: that Photography encompasses everything you’ll need in a theme to display your work.
With its tiny font size and full-screen galleries (courtesy of the bundled Revolution Slider plugin), Photography almost has a widescreen feel. The fonts themselves, along with their color and size, can be changed within the dashboard admin panel – as can the layout with Photography’s custom page builder.
The focus of this theme, however, is on gallery presentation. There are over 40 different layouts to choose from – including full-screen and parallax backgrounds, split screen, and a number of different column choices. Similar choices are available for portfolios too, and unlike most other themes, Photography includes a photo proofing layout for making collaborative choices, either within a team or with clients.
Finally, Photography’s integration with social media, along with the aforementioned photo proofing options, mean this theme is well-suited for those who enjoy collaborating on their work, rather than undertaking solo projects.
24. Arven
Photography or agency websites don’t always need to be simple affairs. If you want your website to make a strong impact on potential clients, you’ll need access to a wealth of features — something provided by Arven.
This theme includes an eclectic mix of designs accessible through a range of pre-built website demos. Each demo uses unique effects and gallery styles to make your photographs shine. Every page also includes custom loading and transition effects, which offers a professional-looking sheen to your layout.
Beyond the pre-built styles, Arven also enables you to choose from over 500 different gallery designs. Every element is fully customizable using a built-in drag-and-drop builder, which gives a boost to versatility.
We’d suggest that Arven is ideal if you’re looking to diverge from traditional design conventions, as it offers a huge degree of customizability. What’s more, it’s well-suited to both portfolio and agency websites.
25. Skylab
Skylab is best-suited for a large number of tight images with it’s block format. Every image is displayed in its own square on the homepage. Interior pages offer more customization and photos in gallery-style post formats.
