This review will discover top female portrait websites to find inspiration, learn techniques, and connect with fellow photographers in this comprehensive review of the best online platforms for women's portraiture.
Portrait photography is one of the most challenging forms of photography to shoot and deliver, as the photographer has to capture the subject's personality and emotions in just one photo. This makes portrait photography especially ideal for women's portrait websites because women are much more expressive and emotional than men, especially in front of a camera.
In this article, you'll find out which female portrait photography websites do this best by reading my review of the top ten women portrait websites on the web today.
Top 10 Websites Review for Women Portraits
We have searched long and hard to find the best female portrait photography websites that are not only professional and high quality, but unique and memorable as well.
While we were compiling our top ten list, one fact became readily apparent – there is no shortage of women portrait websites out there! We had a tough time choosing only ten (in fact, we came up with 17 nominees) so if you don't see your favorite on our list, please tell us about it in the comments section.
| Website | Price | Features | Ease of Use | Variety of Portraits | User Community |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Women Photograph | Donation-based | ✓ Articles | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| 2. Self-Portrait | Free | ✓ Forum | ★★★★☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| 3. Inspire - The Women Portrait Project | Free | ✓ Community | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| 4. Badass Women Photos | $15/month | ✓ Uploads | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| 5. Unsplash | Free | ✓ High-resolution | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ✗(No community) |
1. Women Photograph
This photography website caters to female portrait photography, featuring regular articles on how to get great portraits of women and children.
The website also features an active forum where members can discuss techniques, ask questions, and share resources with other photographers. Members are encouraged to join in order to improve their photography skills by sharing their own photos and learning from others.
Pros:
Find different types of portraits including men and women
You can join a mentor or workshop classes
Cons:
- Need donation to download photos
2. self-portrait
Self-Portrait is your go-to resource for all things female portrait photography. It features a forum where you can converse with other fans of women portraits and photography, as well as portfolios from photographers who shoot female portraits.
The self-Portrait is especially useful if you're looking to network with other professional photographers in your field. It also features reviews of top women portrait photography websites so that you can get an idea of what sites will work best for your own portfolio.
Pros:
- Great site that lets you do everything on one page
- Top reviewed website
Cons:
- Limited options for women portrait
3. Inspire - The Women Portrait Project
This new and up-and-coming portrait photography website is a great place to find inspiration, motivation, and a community of people who are passionate about female portraiture.
From photographers to makeup artists to models, there's something for everyone here. Inspire The Women's Portrait Project provides a forum where all kinds of women can come together and share their passion with like-minded others.
Whether you're looking for someone to help you get started in your own business or just want some tips on how to take better pictures of yourself, you'll find it all right here.
Pros:
- Here you can nominate who inspires you
- High-quality women portraits
Cons:
- No easy download option is available
4. badass women photos
This website lets you upload your favorite photos. The webmaster posts your photos for you. These women's portraits are perfect for small business owners and service professionals who need high-quality photos of themselves to highlight their work online.
BadassWomenPhotos offers a quick, easy way to create a site full of powerful images to promote yourself or your business. For just $15/month, you can have as many pictures as you want to be featured on your own page. Uploading is easy and doesn't take much time at all.
Pros:
- Quick & easy way for women portraits
Cons:
- Paid
5. Unsplash
Here you can find beautiful, free high-resolution photos that you can use for commercial or personal projects. Photos have been carefully selected to provide a wide range of colors and styles to help inspire your next project.
Many photos have been shot specifically for Unsplash by professional photographers, while others are public domain images from organizations like NASA and The National Archives.
Pros:
- Most photos are free of copyright restrictions
Cons:
- Only limited photos are available for free
6. Vivian Maier
Vivian Maier's work is known for its intimacy and honesty. While she was working as a nanny, she never used a professional camera—but to her young charges, she was just as much an artist as photographers whose works appear in galleries.
Her personal site showcases her portraits of children during that time. In all of them, there's a tenderness, honesty, and intimacy that sets them apart from other portraiture—and makes you wonder how many more masterpieces might be out there.
Pros:
- A reliable website for women's portraits
- Free
Cons:
- Download the photos easily
7. National Portrait Gallery
Located in Washington, D.C., Smithsonian American Art Museum is a treasure trove of art and photography for any type of collector. The best part about their online database is you can view more than 50,000 works by women—which includes everything from paintings to daguerreotypes to prints.
There are even some photographs by women. It's also worth noting that all artwork on display at SAAM belongs to one of four different collections. So if you're looking for something specific, it's worth checking out their collection pages first before digging into individual artists.
Pros:
- A comprehensive database for various pictures
- You can download ancient photos
- Free to download
Cons:
- Nothing special to mention
8. NPG UK
The National Portrait Gallery is a museum in London on Trafalgar Square. Its collection includes portraits of key figures from history and many distinguished notables, especially in British culture and politics. They currently have over 8500 contemporary images online.
You can search by artist or by category to find specific subjects. Some notable artists include Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon, and David Hockney.
Pros:
- Extensive collection of historical photographs
- Great for inspiration!
Cons:
- Nothing special to mention
9. RICH
Rich Point of View's aim is to help customers look and feel their best. Each woman, each couple has different wants and needs for their photos.
Whether it be traditional with a clean, elegant look or something more contemporary with a bold, edgy quality, Rich Point of View will work with you every step of the way to capture your vision exactly how you envisioned it.
Pros:
- Download pictures free
Cons:
- A limited variety of portraits is available
10. PORTRAITS INC
Portraits In Color is a family photographer who specializes in portrait photography for children, babies, maternity, weddings, and families. Located in Southern California, serving the Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles area. Portraits In Color creates portraits of women with a modern flare.
The photography style is classic with a contemporary look. The colors are vibrant and pleasing to your eye. These women's portrait websites showcase high-quality images by extremely talented photographers who strive to create beautiful art that you will treasure for generations.
Pros:
- Portraits are free to download
Cons:
- Only painting portraits are available
If you want to make your portrait photo, VanceAI Image Enlarger is a tool that allows you to take a small picture and make it bigger. You can use multiple techniques to get even better results in some cases. This can be used by professionals and amateurs alike to improve your images. With tools like VanceAI Photo Restorer, you can quickly restore all your old photos without compromising quality. Using these tools does not require any technical expertise. If one does not possess such knowledge, he can use them without any problems. Upload your photo and watch it come to life.
Conclusion
When you're just starting out in a freelance photography career, it can be hard to find your niche. But there are countless opportunities for you to develop your own style and showcase your individual talents. You just need to find a way to connect with clients who want what you have to offer.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Is it legal to use these women's portraits?
Portraits are copyrightable subject matter, as are photographs and paintings. There may be copyright notices or other visual identifiers on some portrait websites that may help you determine whether a particular photograph is in the public domain.
However, these types of identifiers can be difficult to find, especially if you don't know what to look for; there could even be fake copyright notices put on an image to intentionally deceive people into thinking it's in the public domain.
One of these 10 top portrait photography websites could help you do that. Take some time to browse through each site, and try looking at their galleries from a photographer's perspective. Tell us more about your experiences with these websites in the comments.
