Florida-based photographer Ryan Wendler specializes in expressive portraiture, lifestyle, and brand photography. He came to Wonderful Machine for a Web Edit and Web Template Customization. Ryan wanted some help in coordinating, organizing, and expanding his existing presentation. He also wanted to focus his efforts on tidying up the type of work displayed to attract his ideal client. I, Andrew Souders, will be spearheading the web edit portion of the project. I specifically wanted the edit to convey his energetic storytelling and portraiture for brands and publications. Consequently, this creates a thoughtful edit that Ryan could begin using to reach out to clients and show off his updated work.
My goals for the web edit were to create a new dynamic look for my website that would have better organization, flow, and cohesion. We wanted to eliminate the unnecessary, redundant, and sub-par images, but at the same time show a wider variety of the newest strongest work in categories and niches that we felt were important to my business.
My overarching goal for this project was to simplify and create a more curated selection, starting with this highlights gallery. Then, we would break down more of Ryan’s work into a few separate galleries showcasing his different specialties. Additionally, we’ll include a section of smaller brand narrative galleries to highlight individual projects.
After brainstorming a new site structure that would help strengthen the presentation to clients, we began working parallel with Lindsay Thompson on a Web Template Customization to tighten up the navigation. This allowed us to recenter the focus, organization, and flow of the images on a new site.
Ryan supplied us with additional work from his more recent projects. We added this to the existing edit and separated galleries, sequencing them accordingly.
We ended up with some primary galleries that included a tighter highlights gallery, overview galleries of his best lifestyle and portraiture work, a travel gallery, and a section of brand galleries to show off his strongest projects.
Here’s what the final product looked like:
One of the more exciting aspects of this project was the inclusion of an extensive collection of images that Ryan had shot over the years. This collection was gathered during his time with Yellow Shoes — the full-service in-house advertising agency for the Walt Disney Company. This work would end up in a nicely curated “private” gallery that Ryan could show to select clients when needed. It included a lot of high-production lifestyle, hospitality, and travel work.
Overall, I think the final edit feels much more concise, streamlined, and organized. It effectively showcases the wide range of Ryan’s capabilities and specialties as a photographer. Additionally, it introduces a shiny new web template for all the great photos to live on.
The final web edit exceeded my expectations. My website now looks and feels the way I wanted it to. Andrew and Lindsay did all of the background work to set it up, but they provided clear instructions so that I can make updates or adjustments on my own as I shoot new work. They have also made sure I’m aware I can reach out to them if I have any questions or issues.
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