How Many Photos? How Many Albums?

For the first few years of my membership here I was a free user and as such restricted to 15 images.

During Covid I took out a paid membership but have still stuck with the 15 image style and just rotating them as my shoots progress. I do have a couple of albums, one with my FPI’s and on with my two most favourite images.

If it were me, I'd do no than 40 (now)..... Then start creating folders. Keep your newest stuff on your main Portfolio, then arrange images into folders. 

eyesofjobe said

Ooops don't check out mine then... I has over 10,000 images!!!

Holy wassnames. 

Side story - in a previous job I was responsible for email servers, and we got a stat about how much was sitting in deleted items folders and we were about about to create rules to purge after a certain time, when we found the biggest number - nearly 100,000 messages - belonged to my boss, the head of IT. We joked about it but somewhere I did ask "you do know that you can delete stuff don't you ?"*

It takes me 3 or 4 years to shoot that many images, and I think the most I have from a shoot is a dozen pictures.  So 10K would about be about 800 shoots. You've been here about as long as me, 12 years according to your port** so if 10,000 uploads is 2 or 3 every day.   My imagination fails when I try to think of shooting enough never mind uploading at that rate... and I'm not saying that in a critical or negative way,   

* I know there's some level at which clearing out what you don't need is more trouble than it's worth. My boss's inbox, bookcases at home, crap in my garage.  

** Your PP page is slow to load because the 20-something full size images mean that loading and then nearly 200 + albums (7 per row and lost count in the low 30s I think it was 33 rows )) make it something like a 25MB download (according the F12 tools).  Finding the right folder in 200+ is going to be difficult for visitors. 

To the original question

How many is ideal ?  

There is no perfect number.    Navigation wise, with folders, YOU know what folders you have so - like eyesofjobe   you may very well be able to have huge number oKf folders and when you think of a picture "oh that's in folder A". Visitors don't.   The classic case is organizing by date, you [probably] know 'I shot that in 2022', but it's zero help to find what you're looking for on someone else's port.
If you have too many folders it just doesn't work - organise your folders by model and can't people find a category (also those who know how to use the site can search for where a model and photographer are both tagged). So I'm inclined to have a low number (no more than a dozen) of category  folders.

Too many in the main port people just get bored with scrolling - but I'm not sure that's really a penalty,  if people only look at the first few dozen, assuming that those are the ones you'd like them to look at. I've got a few screens full (~250 on the main page, another ~70 only visible via folders), which I think is a shade too many, probably nearer the 100 mark would be better, but I just can't thin them out. 

It's kind of an individual thing and also depends on what other interweb presence you have or want.

Very personally - less is more.
From and industry / professional viewpoint, I was told many years ago by a Creative Director I was pitching to, that a portfolio should have 10 images maximum. If you can't convince someone to work with you in the first 5, you certainly won't do it making them turn through 50 images. 5 images should convince them and the next 5 shows you didn't just get lucky. Almost all CD's, bookers etc wouldn't even talk to people with more than 20.

I've lived by that advice ever since and its served me very well.

But if this the only web presence you have and its your 'website' as such - then do whatever you feel!

My feeling is that people won't sit and click through 200 images and 26 albums - life is simply too short. If I click on a portfolio and the page is full of yards of notes and even more thumbnails, I simply move on unless there's something that absolutely jumps off the screen and grabs my attention. On here, that happens2-3 times a year max so far.
I suspect I'm not alone in that, either.

Imagine you have a free account - limit yourself to 15 and rotate through your best and new shots as you produce them. See how it works for you..

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That is different for everyone.

But I would say "only the best" and as long as it is interesting and varied then this is ok. And everything else in albums, I prefer by theme but also that is personal.

For me, too many is constantly scrolling.

Too less is non membership style. It's worth paying for the option to have more photos.

Albums.. I never pay attention to them.

CalmNudes said

eyesofjobe said

Ooops don't check out mine then... I has over 10,000 images!!!

Holy wassnames. 

Side story - in a previous job I was responsible for email servers, and we got a stat about how much was sitting in deleted items folders and we were about about to create rules to purge after a certain time, when we found the biggest number - nearly 100,000 messages - belonged to my boss, the head of IT. We joked about it but somewhere I did ask "you do know that you can delete stuff don't you ?"*

It takes me 3 or 4 years to shoot that many images, and I think the most I have from a shoot is a dozen pictures.  So 10K would about be about 800 shoots. You've been here about as long as me, 12 years according to your port** so if 10,000 uploads is 2 or 3 every day.   My imagination fails when I try to think of shooting enough never mind uploading at that rate... and I'm not saying that in a critical or negative way,   

* I know there's some level at which clearing out what you don't need is more trouble than it's worth. My boss's inbox, bookcases at home, crap in my garage.  

** Your PP page is slow to load because the 20-something full size images mean that loading and then nearly 200 + albums (7 per row and lost count in the low 30s I think it was 33 rows )) make it something like a 25MB download (according the F12 tools).  Finding the right folder in 200+ is going to be difficult for visitors. 

To the original question

How many is ideal ?  

There is no perfect number.    Navigation wise, with folders, YOU know what folders you have so - like eyesofjobe   you may very well be able to have huge number oKf folders and when you think of a picture "oh that's in folder A". Visitors don't.   The classic case is organizing by date, you [probably] know 'I shot that in 2022', but it's zero help to find what you're looking for on someone else's port.
If you have too many folders it just doesn't work - organise your folders by model and can't people find a category (also those who know how to use the site can search for where a model and photographer are both tagged). So I'm inclined to have a low number (no more than a dozen) of category  folders.

Too many in the main port people just get bored with scrolling - but I'm not sure that's really a penalty,  if people only look at the first few dozen, assuming that those are the ones you'd like them to look at. I've got a few screens full (~250 on the main page, another ~70 only visible via folders), which I think is a shade too many, probably nearer the 100 mark would be better, but I just can't thin them out. 

CalmNudes said

eyesofjobe said

Ooops don't check out mine then... I has over 10,000 images!!!

Holy wassnames. 

Side story - in a previous job I was responsible for email servers, and we got a stat about how much was sitting in deleted items folders and we were about about to create rules to purge after a certain time, when we found the biggest number - nearly 100,000 messages - belonged to my boss, the head of IT. We joked about it but somewhere I did ask "you do know that you can delete stuff don't you ?"*

It takes me 3 or 4 years to shoot that many images, and I think the most I have from a shoot is a dozen pictures.  So 10K would about be about 800 shoots. You've been here about as long as me, 12 years according to your port** so if 10,000 uploads is 2 or 3 every day.   My imagination fails when I try to think of shooting enough never mind uploading at that rate... and I'm not saying that in a critical or negative way,   

* I know there's some level at which clearing out what you don't need is more trouble than it's worth. My boss's inbox, bookcases at home, crap in my garage.  

** Your PP page is slow to load because the 20-something full size images mean that loading and then nearly 200 + albums (7 per row and lost count in the low 30s I think it was 33 rows )) make it something like a 25MB download (according the F12 tools).  Finding the right folder in 200+ is going to be difficult for visitors. 

To the original question

How many is ideal ?  

There is no perfect number.    Navigation wise, with folders, YOU know what folders you have so - like eyesofjobe   you may very well be able to have huge number oKf folders and when you think of a picture "oh that's in folder A". Visitors don't.   The classic case is organizing by date, you [probably] know 'I shot that in 2022', but it's zero help to find what you're looking for on someone else's port.
If you have too many folders it just doesn't work - organise your folders by model and can't people find a category (also those who know how to use the site can search for where a model and photographer are both tagged). So I'm inclined to have a low number (no more than a dozen) of category  folders.

Too many in the main port people just get bored with scrolling - but I'm not sure that's really a penalty,  if people only look at the first few dozen, assuming that those are the ones you'd like them to look at. I've got a few screens full (~250 on the main page, another ~70 only visible via folders), which I think is a shade too many, probably nearer the 100 mark would be better, but I just can't thin them out. 

Yeah I've changed my page somewhat after what you said, cut out all but one recent full size image and plan to get rid of some of the folders and weed it out a bit, makes sense in the end...