Inside Studio Ombra: three portfolios, one rule

Studio Ombra has designed portfolios for photographers, architects and a model agency, and all three are in the directory: Semplice, Riflesso and Studiomax. Giulia Romano runs the studio with Matteo Conti.

What is the one rule?

Nothing on the page can be more interesting than the pictures. No hover effects that move images, no cursors, no loaders. If a photographer sends a client a link, the client should see work in under a second.

Semplice is almost empty. Was that hard to sell?

Not to the photographer. She wanted a clock, her name and her work. The clock was her idea: she shoots for magazines in different time zones, and it tells editors when she is awake.

How do you handle hundreds of images?

Riflesso is the extreme case. We treat every project like a contact sheet: strict columns, small captions and big margins. The grid does the editing for you, and Astro gives every image the right size so the page stays fast.

What do photographers get wrong about their sites?

They show too much. Twelve great pictures beat sixty good ones. We spend most of every project helping them choose.