A portfolio that's as striking as the photography it showcases
Client
Lahzo
Industry
Photography / Creative
Services
Web Design, Framer Development, Portfolio CMS, Scroll Animations
Tech stack
Framer, CMS, Smooth Scroll, Lazy Loading
Year
2024
See how AGR Studio built Lahzo's photography portfolio website with full-bleed imagery, CMS-powered galleries, and smooth scroll animations on Framer.
Lahzo is a photography and creative services studio whose work spans editorial, commercial, and documentary projects. Their previous website was a basic template that buried their stunning imagery behind slow load times and generic layouts. For a brand built on visual excellence, the website was their weakest touchpoint.
They needed a site that does one thing extraordinarily well: let the photography take center stage. Every design decision, layout, typography, interaction, had to serve the imagery, never compete with it.
Content-First Approach
We started by reviewing Lahzo's full portfolio, over 200 projects spanning five years. Together, we curated the strongest 30 projects and organized them into categories that align with how clients actually search for photographers: by industry (fashion, food, architecture) rather than by technique.
Each project needed its own detail page with context: the brief, the approach, the final imagery. This transforms the portfolio from a gallery into a proof-of-capability, showing potential clients not just what Lahzo can shoot, but how they think about visual storytelling.
Invisible Design
The best portfolio websites are invisible. The design system uses minimal UI, no competing colors, no decorative elements, no visual noise. A monochrome palette with a single accent color for interactive elements. Typography is clean and recessive. Navigation is intuitive but unobtrusive.
Full-bleed imagery occupies 80% of the viewport on project pages. We developed three gallery layout templates, masonry, editorial, and cinematic, that Lahzo can choose from when adding new projects. Each template is optimized for different aspect ratios and project types.
Image Performance
A photography site lives or dies on image loading performance. We implemented progressive image loading: tiny blurred placeholders appear instantly, followed by optimized thumbnails, then full-resolution images as they enter the viewport. The result feels instant even on slower connections.
Scroll animations are deliberately subtle, fade-reveals and gentle parallax that enhance the viewing experience without drawing attention to themselves. Every animation serves the content, not the ego of the designer.
CMS Workflow
The CMS is structured so Lahzo can add a new project in under 10 minutes: upload images in bulk, select a gallery template, add brief context text, assign categories, and publish. No technical knowledge required.
Results
The new site became Lahzo's primary sales tool. Client inquiries through the website increased as the portfolio now showcases work in the context potential clients need, organized by industry, with clear contact pathways on every page. The CMS empowerment meant Lahzo started updating their portfolio monthly instead of annually.
30+
Projects Showcased
3
Gallery Templates
4 Weeks
Timeline
